WHEN it comes to new products, the one question the public rightly wants to know is how safe is this? Even though e-cigarettes are now being used by millions of people in the UK, when it comes to vaping the issue of safety is yet to be fully answered.

If you are a smoker deciding whether to have another cigarette or switch to vaping, the advice from public health experts is that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than tobacco - which still claims the lives of 10,000 people in Scotland annually despite years of trying to tackle the problem.

For smokers struggling to stop, vaping can provide a useful alternative to cigarettes. The UK has chosen to take a different approach from many other countries in viewing vaping as a useful way to cut the appalling toll from tobacco.

Yet the experts also warn this does not mean e-cigarettes are completely harmless. The first major trial to investigate the safety of e-cigarettes for pregnant women and the unborn child highlights this concern.

It took more than sixty years and millions of death before a link between smoking and cancer was finally heeded in the face of a concerted propaganda campaign by tobacco industry. It is a costly lesson that must be heeded when it comes to scrutinising anything which may affect our health.

The dangers of smoking are well-known, and e-cigarettes do offer a 'healthier' alternative to cigarettes - but until their overall safety can be clearly established, vaping must be treated with caution.