The last couple of days has seen the release of findings from what is thought to be the first longitudinal analysis of the impact or smoking and vaping on lung health. The new research reinforces the view that e-cigarettes are a less harmful alternative to smoking. Alongside this we have seen some of the usual lazy scaremongering from the Daily Fail!
The study into smoking, vaping and the lungs
The new paper was recently published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine and covered by Time. It represents the first longitudinal analysis of the association between vaping and lung disease and looked at four conditions, all referred to under the umbrella of respiratory disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. The study was undertaken with the intention of finding what effect vaping would have on the likelihood of developing these respiratory diseases, as opposed to smoking and abstaining from smoking.
32,000 American adults took part in the study by responding to the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, which gathers information on the public’s tobacco product use, their general health and other demographical information. The study includes three years of PATH results, with about 12% of the total sample group identifying as former e-cigarette users, 5.5% identifying as current users, 45% identifying as former combustible tobacco users and 26% as current users.
The end results of the study found that vapers have a 1.3-times higher risk of developing respiratory disease than those who do not use any tobacco product, however, cigarette smokers have a 2.5-times higher risk.
Vaping is still less harmful than smoking
Despite questionable methodology - more on that later - the results do suggest that using an e-cigarette reduces the user’s chances of developing a respiratory disease compared to the higher risk group that continues to smoke cigarettes. No one has suggested that vaping is harmless or completely safe, and continued research into the long-term implications of e-cigarettes is needed to ensure we are knowledgeable and informed about the stop smoking decisions we make.
However, it is consistently clear that vaping is a far less harmful alternative to smoking, and although the study shows that discontinuing tobacco and nicotine products altogether would be the most beneficial course of action, for many people it is not that easy to simple quit cold turkey.
Public Health England and many other healthcare organisations continue to inform that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than smoking, and if it is a choice between making the switch to an e-cigarette or continuing to smoke, the most beneficial option is quite clear.
Issues with the recent study
The study was conducted by Dr Stanton Glantz and an associate. Glantz has long been a critic of e-cigarettes, and so in spite of the positive outcome of his results, he has chosen to primarily focus on the negatives. Professor John Britton has been quick to point out some of the flaws in the research in a letter to the Times. He explains that three of the four diseases bracketed under ‘respiratory disease’ in the research can take decades to become apparent, meaning that most of the participants found to have these diseases likely had them for years before the research took place, but they were not yet able to be diagnosed. This also means that most of these cases were already developing the respiratory diseases before e-cigarettes were even available to purchase.
He also points out that the research is somewhat skewed by participants previous smoking habits, stating;
“His findings are also flawed by the fact that most vapers have smoked, and since smoking is a strong cause of chronic lung disease, vapers inevitably carry an increased risk of lung disease long after quitting smoking.”
Most e-cigarette users were previously smokers, some of whom could have been smoking heavily for decades before making the switch, which will have unfortunately made a lasting impact, and an e-cigarette can only do so much in that situation.
Links -
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7797079/Vaping-WORSE-smoking-lung-disease-study-finds
https://time.com/5748868/vaping-respiratory-disease/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vaping-raises-risk-of-chronic-lung-disease-zt556jdp9
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-letters-proposed-overhaul-of-defence-spending-xmm9hwd8m
