The case for development of an E-cigarette Ontology (E-CigO) to improve quality, efficiency and clarity in the conduct and interpretation of research

There is an urgent need for more clarity and consistency in the use of terms in the field of e-cigarette research. Ontologies are computer artifacts that are increasingly widely used in science to represent knowledge in terms of uniquely defined entities and their relationships with other entities. These are constructed in a way that promotes clarity of thinking, much more effective searching, inference and interoperability across domains of study. We are constructing an E-cigarette Ontology (ECig-O) covering all the types of entity that are referred to in reports of e-cigarette research. It is part a larger Addiction Ontology (AddictO) covering all aspects of addiction.