Practical guidelines on e-cigarettes for practitioners and others health professionals. A French 2016 expert's statement.

A group of 11 French medical experts has developed guidelines through a Delphi progressive consensus about smoking management at the e-cigarette era. The lack of scientific data about e-cigarettes led the experts to set out recommendations, mainly based on clinical practice while waiting for scientific validations. The validated smoking cessation treatments keep the first place in the prevention and the treatment of tobacco-induced damages. The e-cigarette, experimented by a large proportion of smokers, is a safer product than tobacco. The health professional must answer the patients about the e-cigarettes: (1) A smoker who questions about e-cigarettes should receive information. Even if there is a lack of data, e-cigarettes offer much lower risks than tobacco. (2) A dual user is at high risk of returning to exclusive tobacco use; he should also optimize other nicotine intakes by combining nicotine replacement therapy and/or optimizing the nicotine intake through the e-cigarette. (3) A smoker who wish to use the e-cigarette in order to quit with or without associated pharmacological treatment should be accompanied and not discouraged. (4) A vaper who is tired to continuing to vape should be accompanied to quit. Specific guidelines are also provided for adolescents, pregnant women, patients during perioperative periods and also for pulmonary, cardiac and schizophrenic patients.