The Truth About Vaping: Debunking Misleading Studies and Understanding the Real Facts

2023-06-21 09:34:00

The vaping is said to have damaged the participants’ lungs. Smoking would have had no effect.

The vape would damage the lungs

Vaping more dangerous than smoking, really?

Bad studies on vaping abound. Whether they are the result of a questionable methodology or, sometimes, of real dishonesty on the part of the authors, the major media often seize on them to alert the general public. A few days ago, a research1 of this type was published in the scientific journal Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Its objective was to quantify a molecule (nitric oxide synthase) in order to “characterize oxidative stress and inflammation in the lungs” of 15 attendees.

To do this, three groups were formed. The first had five members who had never smoked or vaped, the second had a group of five smokers, and the last had a group of five vapers.

In their conclusions, the authors indicated that they found “preliminary evidence” that users of electronic cigarettes “have greater lung inflammation than cigarette smokers and controls”.

Small sample and ignored smoking history

The results of this study reached the ears of Riccardo Polosa, Professor of Medicine at the University of Catania, and author of numerous studies on vaping.

After reading the entire analysis conducted by Wetherill et al., he sent mail to the publisher of the scientific journal that published the research. In the paper, he points out several of the inconsistencies and problems with said research.

First, he warns that if markers have been found in greater quantities in the lungs of vapers than in those of smokers, the study found no difference between the lungs of smokers and those of the group of participants who had never smoked or vaped. “The lack of difference between tobacco smokers and the control group is not consistent (…) given that smoking causes both an inflammatory response and oxidative stressnotes the researcher. This issue invalidates the interpretation of the study’s findings.”.

The size of the sample of participants used is also questioned. With three groups consisting of only five people, “the probability of chance discoveries is very high”.

Moreover, the smoking history of the vapers was not indicated. In other words, the damage identified on the lungs of the group of vapers may be the result of past potential smokers. And since it is not possible to differentiate, in such a case, the damage caused by vaping and that of smoking, here again, the results of the study cannot be taken into account.

As a reminder, Riccardo Polosa conducted research2 in 2017 which studied the effect of vaping on the lungs of participants who had never smoked or vaped in the past. After three and a half years of follow-up, he indicated in his conclusions that he had not noticed “no decrease in spirometric indices, no development of respiratory symptoms, no change in markers of lung inflammation in exhaled air, or any signs of early lung injury”.

Riccardo Polosa is a member of the Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR), an organization partly funded by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, a foundation belonging to tobacco company Philip Morris International.

1 Wetherill RR, Doot RK, Young AJ, Lee H, Schubert EK, Wiers CE, Leone FT, Mach RH, Kranzler HR, Dubroff JG. Molecular Imaging of Pulmonary Inflammation in Users of Electronic and Combustible Cigarettes: A Pilot Study. J Nucl Med. 2023 May;64(5):797-802. two: 10.2967/jnumed.122.264529. Epub 2023 Jan 19. PMID: 36657981; PMCID: PMC10152129.

2 Riccardo Polosa, Fabio Cibella, Pasquale Caponnetto, Marilena Maglia, Umberto Prosperini, Cristina Russo, Donald Tashkin. Health impact of E-cigarettes: a prospective 3.5-year study of regular daily users who have never smoked. Scientific Reports | 7: 13825 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-14043-2.