Document is current

Article History

Received: 16 June 2017

Accepted: 3 October 2017

First Online: 17 November 2017

Competing Interests

: R.P. is full-time employee of the University of Catania, Italy. In relation to his work in the area of tobacco control, R.P. has received lecture fees and research funding from Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, manufacturers of stop smoking medications. He has also served as a consultant for Pfizer, Global Health Alliance for treatment of tobacco dependence, ECITA (Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association, in the UK) and Health Diplomat (consulting company that delivers solutions to global health problems with special emphasis on harm minimization). Lectures fees from a number of European electronic cigarette industry and trade associations (including FIVAPE in France and FIESEL in Italy) were directly donated to vaper advocacy no-profit organizations. He is currently scientific advisor for LIAF, Lega Italiana Anti Fumo (Italian acronym for Italian Anti Smoking League) and Head of the European Technical Committee for standardization on “Requirements and test methods for emissions of electronic cigarettes” (CEN/TC 437; WG4). F.C. is full-time employee of the National Research of Italy, Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology, Palermo. P.C. is full-time employee of the University of Catania and has no relevant conflict of interest. M.M. is part-time employee of the Teaching Hospital of the University of Catania and has no relevant conflict of interest. U.P. is full-time employee of the ASP Messina (Ospedale “San Vincenzo” - Taormina, Italy) and has no relevant conflict of interest. C.R. is full-time employee of the Catania Hospital Trust (ARNAS Garibaldi, Italy) and has no relevant conflict of interest. D.T. is a part-time employee of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and has no relevant conflict of interest outside of his employment at UCLA.