Research – Vaping and the Airways
A new study looks at the effect of vaping on the airways of smokers switching to a safer nicotine alternative.
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by Dave Cross
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Riccardo Polosa has been linked with many pieces of vape-related research. Just last year he was responsible for the production of a paper titled Electronic cigarette use and harm reversal: emerging evidence in the lung. In it, he stated: “Compared to combustible cigarettes, e-vapor products are at least 96% less harmful and may substantially reduce individual risk and population harm. The emerging evidence that EC use can reverse harm from tobacco smoking should be taken into consideration by regulatory authorities seeking to adopt proportional measures.”
In the latest study, the team of Italians (with a Canadian) sought to look at the under investigated subject of lung function: “Here we illustrate long-term changes in spirometric indices as well as in respiratory symptoms in smokers invited to quit or reduce their cigarette consumption by switching to electronic cigarettes. Prospective evaluation of cigarette consumption, spirometry and symptoms was performed in a 1-year randomized controlled trial of smokers receiving electronic cigarette containing 2.4%, 1.8%, or 0% nicotine.”
People taking part in the study had their lung function record. In addition, reported incidents of coughing, phlegm production, wheezing, chest pressure, and shortness of breath were noted. All participants were then measured after one year to give long-term results. At the completion of the study the participants were divided into three groups:
- Quitters who had totally quit smoking but still vaped.
- Reducers who had lowered the number of cigarettes smoked per day but still vaped (commonly referred to as dual fuelling).
- Failures who had stopped vaping and returned to their old smoking habit.
Quitting or reducing the number of cigarettes smoked did not alter large airway function, but ex-smokers who were still vaping recorded huge improvements in small airway function. Also noted, there was a marked reduction in cough frequency, phlegm production and shortness of breath in both the Quit and Reducer groups. No improvements in readings were recorded for the Failure group.
The American Association for Science and Health report: “The study results suggest that completely abstaining from combustible cigarettes may benefit even healthy smokers reverse some subtle lung changes. In those struggling to quit smoking, even reducing exposure to daily cigarette smoke can have a measurable impact on quality of life.”
Photo Credit:
Images
Banner – Pixabay.com
Lung cast - https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1469/23966574469_829fec5e58_b.jpg
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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