So the all time long debate over whether e-cigarettes are alright for you and how damaging they are to your health is always put to the question. Truth is, no one really knows the exact stance seeing as there are reports and case studies showing how e-cigarette smoking isn’t anywhere close to being as damaging as your conventional tobacco cigarettes and on the other hand, there are other forms of research “proving” otherwise.
Needless to say, if you decide to take the trip to your local physician and ask them what their stance is, sure, they’ll sound convincing and tell you their opinion. But, guess what? Ask another local physician and they’ll give you a completely different opinion. It’s the whole game about mixed messages being extremely common in physicians when giving advice on e-cigarette usage.
Sure, the general position is negativity with a particular emphasis on the concern of e-cigarettes use and the nature of it being a very “new” product in the market however despite all the negative fronts many physicians will throw at you, several will fail to provide a good backing of solid evidence to prove their statements. This very statement derived from a recent analysis conducted by an online health forum regarding patients asking physicians about their opinions on e-cigarettes.
According to Judith Prochaska of the Stanford Prevention Research Center’s Department of Medicine, the topic which was observed as containing the highest discrepancy between physician’s advice and evidence based on research and analysis, related to the usage of e-cigarettes acting as an aid to assist in the quitting of traditional combustible cigarettes. She stated that an estimated 3 out of 4 doctors (which is an approximate 74%) gave a response on the theme of how e-cigarettes assisted in the cessation of tobacco cigarette smoking (hence being a positive outcome) with a 9% of doctors in the negative and a 7% of doctors being indifferent to the situation.
Despite e-cigarettes having made the fame list as a promotional tool to aid in the quitting of cigarette smoking, there have only been two verified published controlled randomized trials which evaluate the efficiency of e-cigarettes acting as a cessation device. The results of both trials displayed an indifference between the placebo and nicotine e-cigarettes which may raise concerns and prove to be rather unsettling. 
Based on the FDA’s history and regulations, a medication (in this case, the e-cigarette) which fails to outdo its placebo (in this case a nicotine patch for example), would not receive FDA approval in order to be considered as a therapeutic aid. Until further verifiable research and studies are conducted in relation to e-cigarettes acting as an assistance to quitting smoking, the FDA may find it difficult to submit to the general advocated view displayed by several e-cigarette enthusiasts.
The general concerns of patients posing questions to the physicians revolved around matters relating to risk of using e-cigarettes including the safety of it (a fair 27% of inquiries revolved around this), an e-cigarettes aid to quitting smoking (19%), reduction in harm as compared to smoking tobacco (18%), using e-cigarettes simultaneously with preexisting medical conditions (18%), and inquiries relating to nicotine-free e-cigarettes and the health risks revolving around them.
Based on the responses given by physicians, a fair 46% of the responses were negative with a 20% positive response. Several responses included the requirement for the patient to conduct further research in relation to the safety of e-cigarettes when compared to traditional tobacco cigarettes.
In all honesty, the answers given by physicians seem rather vague and unhelpful. Our advice would be to do your own homework because more likely than not, these physicians you’re going to for “professional advice” most likely have read the same article and same case studies/researches as you have on the internet in order to come to their conclusion. Just be sure to not follow blindly as you may find yourself in a better position of being informed when you do your own research.