Vapers Exposed to Lower Toxicants Than Smokers: Study

E-cigarette users are exposed to lesser nicotine and toxicants when compared to cigarette smokers, a study finds.

E-cigarette users are exposed to lesser nicotine and toxicants when compared to conventional cigarette smokers, a study has found.

Published in JAMA Network Open, the findings suggested that while the use of e-cigarettes appears to be associated with exposure to known tobacco-related toxicants, the exposure is reduced when compared with smoking combusted tobacco cigarettes.

The Study

Of the 5,105 participants, aged 35 to 54 years (weighted percentage, 2,411 of smoked cigarettes only, 247 used only e-cigarettes, 792 used both traditional and e-cigarettes and 1,655 never vaped nor smoked.

Urine samples of all these volunteers were assessed for biomarkers in order to test exposure to nicotine and other toxicants.

The findings were as follows:

• Compared with exclusive e-cigarette users, those who had never vaped/smoked had 19% to 81% significantly lower concentrations of these biomarkers.
• Exclusive e-cigarette users showed 10 percent to 98 percent lower concentrations compared with exclusive cigarette smokers.
• Exclusive e-cigarette users showed 10 percent to 36 percent lwer concentrations of several biomarkers than dual users.
• Frequency of cigarette use among dual users was positively correlated with nicotine and toxicant exposure.

As reported in the Reuters, study leader Maciej Goniewicz of the Roswell Park Cancer Center shared that for smokers trying to quit it might be beneficial to use e-cigarettes as a transition. However, the study suggests that some e-cigarette users might end up smoking as well, eventually doing both.

E-cigarettes are a benefit to smokers only if they completely switch to vaping. And we know from epidemiological studies that dual use is very common. Some people use e-cigarettes in environments where they are not allowed to smoke and then smoke at home.

The results are alarming as they show that vaping is only better than smoking. When not seen in relativity, it still does lead to considerable exposure to toxicants, and once combined with smoking, the consequences become severe.