The term “ENDS/ENNDS” first appeared in a 2014 Report of the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. A Google Scholar search reveals that this term has not caught on with anyone outside of the WHO.
Because the WHO has applauded countries – including India, Finland and Mexico – for banning nicotine vaping, many experts and advocates in the field of tobacco harm reduction view the WHO’s coinage with some skepticism. Another problem arises from the fact that “non-nicotine delivery systems” is potentially overly broad.
ENNDS was spliced together with “ENDS” to refer to vaporizers with hydrophilic (non-oil) nicotine-free liquids. Technically, however, ENNDS could also refer to a completely different class of products used for completely different purposes: vaporizers filled with oil-based liquids containing THC or CBD.
ENDS first appeared first in a 2010 WHO technical report. Over the years since then, many terms have been proposed to describe nicotine vaporizers including alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS), vaporized nicotine products (VNPs), and non‐medicinal nicotine delivery systems (NMNDS).
Recently, the term “safer nicotine products” (SNPs) appeared in the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction. This term may be useful, but it is far broader than “ENDS” or “e-cigarette” since it must include nicotine vaporizers, smokeless tobacco products (e.g., snus), nicotine patches and gum, and prescription nicotine inhalers.
