Researchers Push Heart Danger
The European Journal of Preventative Cardiology carries a new study attempting to link vaping to heart attacks
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by Dave Cross
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The study was conducted by Maryam Kavousi, Charlotta Pisinger, Jean-Claude Barthelemy, Delphine De Smedt, Konstantinos Koskinas, Pedro Marques-Vidal, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Eva Bossano Prescott, Monica Tiberi, Vassilios Vassiliou and Maja-Lisa Løchen.
Charlotta Pisinger is Chair of the staunchly anti-vape (anti-science) European Respiratory Society Tobacco Control Committee and responsible for the 2019 missive that stated: “We cannot recommend tobacco harm reduction as a population-based strategy”. [link]
Anything encompassing Pisinger’s input will be corrupt from the outset – and this paper proves itself to be just that. The authors cover a number of reputable studies in their references, but they also include third-rate pseudoscience from the likes of Levy, Barrington-Trimis, and Glantz.
On vaping’s impact on the heart, they write: “The National Health Interview Surveys of 2014 (N1⁄436,697) and 2016 (N1⁄433,028) suggest an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in e-cigarette users”. This is despite them admitting there is an “absence of robust long-term evidence”.
Although they reference a number of studies involving Doctor Konstantinos Farsalinos, they missed “Is e-cigarette use associated with coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction? Insights from the 2016 and 2017 National Health Interview Surveys”, published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease [link].
In that study, Farsalinos, Polosa, Cibella, and Niaura write: “The pooled analysis of the 2016 and 2017 NHIS showed no association between e-cigarette use and MI [heart attack] or CHD [chronic heart disease]. The associations between established risk factors, including smoking, and both conditions were remarkably consistent. The inconsistent associations observed in single-year surveys and the cross-sectional design of the NHIS cannot substantiate any link between e-cigarette use and an elevated risk for MI or CHD.”
Accident, or purposeful omission?
They conclude: “The prevalence of e-cigarette smoking is increasing, particularly in the young, and evidence suggests that this will increase the likelihood of conventional smoking. Some studies have found e-cigarettes to have harmful cardiovascular effects, but more studies in particular on long-term effects of e-cigarettes on cardio-vascular outcomes are needed. Currently, there is a lack of robust longitudinal data on the impact of e-cigarettes on smoking cessation, and more research is warranted. Nonetheless, health professionals should inform their patients and the general public of the possible cardiovascular and other risks of e-cigarette smoking. Continued monitoring and legislation to limit use is important.”
In the release accompany the paper’s publication, senior author Løchen said: "Vaping is marketed towards teenagers and the tobacco industry uses celebrities to promote it as being healthier than smoking. Legislation on the marketing and sales of e-cigarettes varies enormously between countries. Action is urgently needed to halt the growing use in young people. The World Health Organization states that e-cigarettes are harmful to health."
She didn’t provide any evidence of this so-called teen marketing, teen epidemic continues to be debunked, and The World Health Organization isn’t the best body to be referencing on tobacco harm reduction.
The team also try to claim that vaping doesn’t work as a quit tool, that ‘we don’t know enough about them’, and pregnant women shouldn’t vape.
More than just being wrong, Kavousi, Pisinger, Barthelemy, De Smedt, Koskinas, Marques-Vidal, Panagiotakos, Bossano Prescott, Tiberi, Vassiliou and Løchen present a clear and present danger to the world’s health.
Related:
- “Electronic cigarettes and health with special focus on cardiovascular effects: position paper of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology” by Kavousi, Pisinger, Barthelemy, et al. – [link]
Photo Credit:
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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