Electronic Cigarettes: Know the Research, Know the Risks
In the 2010s electronic cigarettes (aka e-cigarettes) and nicotine vapes exploded in popularity. People took interest in these products because they deliver nicotine through vapor instead of smoke. This gave many people the idea that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes. Some people also claim that e-cigarettes are less addictive than traditional cigarettes. But are e-cigarettes truly safer and less addictive than traditional cigarettes? What do we see when we look at the health of e-cigarette users over time? The research that has been done to date gives us some answers to these questions.
In this article, we’ll focus on the findings of a scientific literature review on e-cigarettes and nicotine vapes. In scientific fields, a literature review involves summarizing all the findings related to a certain topic to get the big picture. For this literature review (1), the authors summarized all the research on e-cigarettes and vapes (such as the JUUL) that they could find. Their review gives us insight into the health effects and addictiveness of e-cigarettes and nicotine vapes.
The research shows that e-cigarettes are not safer than traditional cigarettes despite being advertised as such. E-cigarettes still put users at risk for developing lung cancer just like traditional cigarettes do. Several studies found that lab mice who were exposed to e-cigarette vapor daily developed lung cancer growths at a higher rate than normal. These studies have also found that e-cigarettes can damage immune cells. This means that using e-cigarettes regularly can put you at risk to get infections like pneumonia or sepsis. Medical reports suggest that these health issues also show up in humans who use e-cigarettes. Lastly, since e-cigarettes are not regulated by the FDA, they sometimes contain harmful ingredients. For example, some people have experienced lung injuries from vaping. These lung injuries were caused by vapes that contained Vitamin E acetate. Vitamin E acetate is healthy to eat or put on skin but toxic when inhaled into your lungs.
E-cigarettes and vapes have also been advertised as a tool for helping people quit smoking. However, research shows that they not only fail to help people quit smoking but are also more addictive than traditional cigarettes. Newer e-cigarettes and vapes like the JUUL have much higher concentrations of nicotine. This makes them more addictive. Many people who use e-cigarettes to quit smoking end up going back to smoking traditional cigarettes. This happens because people who try to ween off e-cigarettes can get strong nicotine cravings. These cravings lead people to use traditional cigarettes again. For this reason, even e-cigarette users who do quit traditional cigarettes still stay addicted to e-cigarettes. Finally, multiple studies have also found that using e-cigarettes can make non-smokers more likely to become smokers.
When looked at in total, the research on e-cigarettes shows that they are not a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. Instead, e-cigarettes and nicotine vapes have major health risks and are actually more likely to make you addicted to nicotine. The good news is that there are steps you can take to quit smoking and vaping altogether. First, you can get free coaching for quitting by calling the national helpline for quitting smoking: 800-784-8669. There is also a free app to help people quit smoking called quitSTART.
The American Cancer Society, the CDC, and Smoke Free.gov all have detailed tips for quitting smoking. For example, one tip is to choose a day to quit, mark it on your calendar, and tell your friends and family about it. Another tip is whenever you get cravings to smoke, distract yourself by playing a game on your phone, watching a video, or by talking to friends or family. Of course, these are just some examples and most people will probably need a more detailed plan. To learn more about plans for quitting smoking or vaping, call the helpline number above or follow these links:
Sources
- Giovacchini, C. X., Alexander, L. E. C., & Que, L. G. (2022). Electronic Cigarettes: A Pro-Con Review of the Current Literature. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 10(11), 2843-2851.
