A few self-appointed experts are sharing their feelings about vaping, but feelings aren’t the same as facts and so this is a good time to get reacquainted with what the science says about electronic cigarettes. Since 2015, a group of independent academics at King’s College London have been producing evidence updates for the UK Government. Across eight reports, they carefully monitored what the science is telling us about vapes and their potential to help or harm.
The final report in the series, “Nicotine vaping in England: an evidence update including health risks and perceptions”, was released last year and encapsulates the knowledge gained from eight years of comprehensive and rigorous analysis.
RISK
The headline statement hasn’t changed since 2015: “In the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking”.
They were content to repeat this position every year because they reviewed all the reliable, independent studies looking at the levels of potentially harmful substances contained in the vapour ecigs produce when compared to cigarette smoke.
The report’s authors stated there is “significantly lower exposure to harmful substances from vaping compared with smoking, as shown by biomarkers associated with the risk of cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular conditions”.
SECONDHAND VAPE
They also pointed out that no one has demonstrated any evidence that vaping poses a risk to people nearby who do not smoke or vape.
HARM
For experiments looking at harm caused by vaping, they found evidence that states that over the short and medium term, there were “no major causes of concern associated with vaping”.
WHO
Also, regarding current fears that thousands of non-smoking teens are taking up vaping, the team from Kings said: “Most young people who have never smoked are also not currently vaping (98.3%)”.
The same goes for adults, and the rate for non-smokers to take up vaping remains exceptionally low.
HOW AND WHY
Despite disposable vapes experiencing a boom in sales, over 64% of vapers choose to use a tank system – and almost all took up vaping as part of a quit smoking attempt and continue to vape to remain smoke-free. In fact, those smokers who chose to switch to vaping “were associated with the highest success rates”.
With flavours, there was no evidence that they cause health issue – but plenty that adults prefer flavoured e-liquids. Fruit was the most popular choice, followed by menthol and mint
NICOTINE
Not only did the team find that vaping delivers less nicotine to the body, but the evidence also shows it is less addictive than when inhaled with cigarette smoke.
EXPERTS
Professor Caitlin Notley, Norwich Medical School, says: “The latest evidence review confirms that vaping is substantially less harmful than continuing to smoke tobacco. Reassuringly, the evidence shows that people who switch away from smoking to vaping are exposed to fewer toxic chemicals that may cause disease in later life.”
Dr Lion Shahab, University College London, comments: “This latest report on nicotine vaping is by far the most rigorous, comprehensive and up-to-date piece work on this topic ever published in the UK. It confirms findings from previous reviews in this area that nicotine vaping is far less harmful than smoking tobacco.”
Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, University of Oxford, adds: “People who have switched from smoking to vaping should feel reassured that in doing so, they are likely to have improved their health. People who still smoke should switch completely to vaping.”
Professor Peter Hajek, Queen Mary University of London, says: “In vapers, the chemicals responsible for smoking-related death and disease are either completely absent, or present at much lower levels, often similar to levels found in non-smokers. Smokers should be emphatically advised that switching to vaping removes almost all of the risks of smoking.”