Health committee  I don't believe there's any published evidence, at this point, about other substances being vaporized through the traditional electronic cigarette, but there's certainly lots of anecdotes about marijuana oil. So, you may well be right. This may well become a vehicle for other things, and we may have other considerations at that point.

Health committee  If the question is “how effective are electronic cigarettes as a cessation device?”, that's again a slightly complex answer, because there's a lot of anecdotal evidence. A lot of people will tell you that they have used electronic cigarettes to quit smoking. A lot of online surveys will also report that people are using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking, but if you look at trials that have compared electronic cigarettes to other evidence-based treatments to help people quit smoking, there's very little available.

Health committee  I'm sure Dr. Hammond will have a comment on that, but I would suggest that it's the missing piece. We don't know what the conversion rate is. I think some of the early evidence would suggest it's not very high. There is a lot of experimentation, but it doesn't seem like many people go on to become regular users.

Health committee  Sure. I think you're looking for an answer to a simple question, when it's actually a much more complex question. First, just for context, I think around six million people a year die from the use of cigarettes globally, and almost none of them, I would suggest, die from nicotine.

Health committee  Again, looking for numbers is very difficult. I'm a little alarmed to hear nicotine being demonized, because we're talking about individuals who have already been using nicotine for three decades, and they're not going to die from it. They're going to die from smoke. If they switch to an electronic cigarette, it's not the nicotine that's the issue unless their children swallow the cartridges, and then that's a different issue.

Health committee  I have around 10 minutes, is that correct?

Health committee  First of all, just to introduce myself and let you know who I am and what I do, I am a physician, I work at Vancouver General Hospital, and I spend my clinical time in the smoking cessation clinic. Essentially, I eyeball people who want to quit smoking and help them in their quit journey using evidence-based treatment.