Professor Des Cox:

I will answer that. In regard to the public health statement that nicotine-inhaled products are 95% safer than tobacco, it is incorrect. It is based on a study that was published in 2013 and was done by a panel of experts and there was no scientific basis to that figure. There is no science to back it up. The truth of the matter is that nobody knows how harmful these products are. Again, to refer back to the HRB review from 2020, it published a very large literature map which demonstrated that there are numerous harmful effects of e-cigarettes. In regard to the UK, the Senator referred to Public Health England. That statement is no longer on its website. It is a statement that is commonly used and brought out, but it is actually incorrect. As I mentioned, there are other reviews of e-cigarettes which demonstrate that they have short-term and potential long-term harms.