ACSH Debunks “Lousy” Study
The American Council on Science and Health has debunked a research paper claiming that “vapes don’t help people quit smoking normal cigarettes”
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by Dave Cross
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Independent observers have noted that the evidence supporting the use of electronic cigarettes as a quit smoking tool has continued to gain in strength over the last ten years.
The ACSH says: “About a decade ago, studies began to show that vaping helped smokers abandon their deadly cigarette habit, and the evidence has only grown more convincing since then.”
Trajectories of ENDS and cigarette use among dual users: analysis of waves 1 to 5 of the PATH Study was published in the journal Tobacco Control detailing work by a team at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
They concluded: “Most dual users maintained long-term cigarette smoking or dual use, highlighting the need to address cessation of both products.”
The team’s press release said: “A new study by researchers at The George Washington University found that adults who both vape and smoke are likely to continue smoking in the long run. The findings run counter to the industry’s message that vaping can help current smokers quit.”
“This study suggests that at the population level, vaping may not help people kick the smoking habit,” said lead researcher Nandita Krishnan. “People who concurrently use e-cigarettes and cigarettes experience increased health risks and both products deliver nicotine, which is addictive. We should be trying to help them quit both smoking and vaping.”
The ACSH noted that the team and newspaper journalists missed a key finding from the results – for all people who took up vaping, “every one of them significantly reduced their cigarette intake or quit smoking entirely”.
Continuing: “Just over 11 percent of people took up vaping and gradually quit smoking; more than 10 percent quit vaping and smoking; almost 15 percent became long-term dual users. In other words, nearly 60 percent of the participants saw some benefit from vaping. How's that for an alternative headline?”
The ACSH says: “The researchers were working from self-reported (meaning “unreliable”) data from just 545 people. They didn't know which vaping devices or how much nicotine the participants used, nor did they know with any precision how much they smoked. Participants were included in the analysis if they had ever smoked a cigarette, smoked more than 100 cigarettes, or currently smoked ‘every day or some days’. Those numbers are as trustworthy as a politician on the campaign trail. Anyone who accepts them is just a bit too gullible.”
References:
- Another Lousy Anti-Vaping Study, Debunked - https://www.acsh.org/news/2022/12/14/another-lousy-anti-vaping-study-debunked-16737
Photo Credit:
Image by Chris Martin from Pixabay
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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