1.
E-Cigarettes, harm and harm
reduction
The study opens by clearly defi ning its terms, laying out how
health outcomes are collected, and what the main health
concerns typically cited over vaping are. For this study,
changes in “…blood pressure, heart rate, body weight, lung
function, respiratory symptoms, exhaled breath nitric oxide
[eNO], exhaled carbon monoxide [eCO], and high-resolution
computed tomography [HRCT] of the lungs) from a prospective
3.5-year observational study of a cohort of nine daily EC users
(mean age 29.7 (±6.1) years) who have never smoked and a
reference group of twelve never smokers.”
3.
How exactly were the subjects tested?
“Participants came in the mornings for their check-up visits
during which vital signs (blood pressure - BP, heart rate -
HR, body weight) as well as measurements of lung function,
respiratory symptoms, and airway infl ammation (eNO and eCO
levels) were recorded.”
In order to keep results on neutral ground and untainted by
external factors, participants were discouraged from vaping or
consuming caffeine up to an hour before their measurements
were recorded. Check-ups were taken with a diverse range of
medical devices and (upon being identifi ed at baseline levels)
any new, noteworthy changes in respiratory symptoms were
obtained by asking the following questions:
“Have you had any cough in the previous 2-weeks?”
“Have you heard any wheeze when breathing?”
“Have you been short of breath in the previous 2-weeks?”
“Have you had diffi culty in breathing like a sensation of
pressure on your chest?”
2.
Who were the subjects and how were
they chosen?
“Subjects were recruited from June 2013 to September 2013
and data collection completed in March 2017.
“Adult EC users (≥18 years old) were identifi ed amongst a pool
of regular Vape Shops customers. Vape shop owners who
helped in a previous study were instructed to ask their regular
clients a few questions about smoking history and EC use
patterns. Customers who had never smoked or who reported
having smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime were
defi ned as never smokers.”
4.
What exactly did the study fi nd?
The initial fi ndings give us in the industry good reason to be
cautiously optimistic, but mindful of this project as a mere
beginning, and open to future fi ndings in this fi eld.
“…no pathological fi ndings could be identifi ed on HRCT of the
lungs and no respiratory symptoms were consistently reported
in the EC user group. Although it cannot be excluded that some
harm may occur at later stages, this study did not demonstrate
any health concerns associated with long-term use of EC in
relatively young users who did not also smoke tobacco.
“This small study, the fi rst of its kind to date, found no detectable
changes in lung health in never smokers who have been
regularly vaping for at least 4 years. Daily exposure to ECs
aerosol emissions caused no signifi cant changes in any of
the health outcomes investigated, including measures of lung
function and lung infl ammation.”
5.
Where do we go from here?
As the very fi rst study of its kind – factoring in the vaper who
has never smoked, a neglected and often invisible category in
vaping – this will hopefully prove a trailblazer, inviting further
inquiry and opening more minds. The best we can hope for now
is the encouragement of more research. Looking ahead, there
may now be a solid foundation to defend the relative safety
of e-cigarette use as a smoking cessation tool over a mid to
long term period, and even new discussions on marketing to
non-smokers.
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