Some positive findings about the benefits of vaping Vs smoking in an American study? Worth sharing...
https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/01/15/vaping-reduces-inflammatory-biomarkers-compared-smoking-15274
Extracts:
Inhaling combustion products is always a bad idea. Ask a firefighter. So before jumping into this new study, let me be clear: vaping is a gateway to better health for those smoking cigarettes – it is harm reduction, not necessarily elimination.
The research, reported in the journal Circulation, used a study conducted in the US. The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) was administered in cycles beginning in 2013. The dataset is from this first cycle using data of participants' smoking habits along with blood samples. The researchers looked specifically at metabolites, biomarkers, of inflammation and oxidative stress – the culprits felt to underlie tobacco's harmful effects. In addition to the usual demographic data, there was specific information on the use or nonuse of tobacco, vaping, and cigarette smoking.
Results reflect findings for adults age 18 or older, where data on biomarkers and tobacco use were available – 7130 participants overall.
The bottom line, e-cigarettes appear to have little impact on inflammatory biomarkers, certainly not as great as smoking tobacco. As we have maintained, e-cigarettes reduce harm; we can quibble about eliminating harm another day. Dual-use smokers are the current target of concern, representing individuals that are "failing" to switch completely or that need those additional hits of nicotine. But this data suggests that regular cigarettes are the primary driver of harm. When it comes to e-cigarettes, perfection is the enemy of good. We agree with the author's conclusion that these results
In a perfect world, we would prefer the latter, but it isn't an ideal world, so in the name of harm reduction, we accept e-cigarette use.
Source: Association of Cigarette and Electronic Cigarette Use Patterns With Levels of Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers Among US Adults Circulation DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.051551
https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/01/15/vaping-reduces-inflammatory-biomarkers-compared-smoking-15274
Extracts:
Inhaling combustion products is always a bad idea. Ask a firefighter. So before jumping into this new study, let me be clear: vaping is a gateway to better health for those smoking cigarettes – it is harm reduction, not necessarily elimination.
The research, reported in the journal Circulation, used a study conducted in the US. The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) was administered in cycles beginning in 2013. The dataset is from this first cycle using data of participants' smoking habits along with blood samples. The researchers looked specifically at metabolites, biomarkers, of inflammation and oxidative stress – the culprits felt to underlie tobacco's harmful effects. In addition to the usual demographic data, there was specific information on the use or nonuse of tobacco, vaping, and cigarette smoking.
Results reflect findings for adults age 18 or older, where data on biomarkers and tobacco use were available – 7130 participants overall.
- 58.6% neither smoked nor used e-cigarettes – these are the nonusers
- 29.6% smoked exclusively
- 1.9% vaped exclusively
- 9.9% smoked and vaped – dual smokers
- Exclusive and dual smokers had the highest inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers relative to nonusers – no surprise there.
- Exclusive vapers had "significantly lower levels" except for C-reactive protein [THAN SMOKERS, I ASSUME]
The bottom line, e-cigarettes appear to have little impact on inflammatory biomarkers, certainly not as great as smoking tobacco. As we have maintained, e-cigarettes reduce harm; we can quibble about eliminating harm another day. Dual-use smokers are the current target of concern, representing individuals that are "failing" to switch completely or that need those additional hits of nicotine. But this data suggests that regular cigarettes are the primary driver of harm. When it comes to e-cigarettes, perfection is the enemy of good. We agree with the author's conclusion that these results
In a perfect world, we would prefer the latter, but it isn't an ideal world, so in the name of harm reduction, we accept e-cigarette use.
Source: Association of Cigarette and Electronic Cigarette Use Patterns With Levels of Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers Among US Adults Circulation DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.051551
