Medium-Term Evidence Shows Vaping Is Far Less Harmful Than Smoking

Vaping has been found safer than smoking, according to a study.

Photo Insert: The report included systematic reviews on the health risks of vaping compared with smoking, and vaping compared with non-use, as well as harm perceptions about vaping and smoking.

Dr. Debbie Robson of Queens College London told The E-Cigarette Summit on December 9, 2022, that independent scientific evaluations since 2015 reveal that vaping, while not risk-free, exposes consumers to substantially lower quantities of toxicants than smoking.

Dr. Robson, a mental health nurse, co-author of the annual e-cigarette evidence reviews, and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) trustee, said the recent independent review commissioned by the Office for Health & Disparities, formerly Public Health England, the UK's highest health regulator, verified this. Such a development reaffirms earlier findings.

The current analysis used the World Health Organization's list of toxicants, including carbon monoxide, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), to analyze 413 papers from 2018. She said the meta-analysis found that vaping exposes consumers to far less toxicants than smoking.

After 2015 and 2018, this was the third review of smoking and vaping harm in seven years. The newest review covered worldwide and heated tobacco product trials.

In the short to medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the health dangers of smoking. She claimed vaping consistently provides less risk than smoking. The latest research examined biomarkers of exposure to evaluate bodily exposure to a drug or toxicant. Vaping has much lower biomarkers than smoking.

The review informed government and policymakers about vaping prevalence and characteristics among English adults and youth. It includes systematic reviews on the health risks of vaping compared to smoking and non-use, as well as harm perceptions about vaping and smoking.

To minimize vaping and smoking availability, it suggested age restriction rather than legislation. Dr. Robson suggested monitoring and researching disposables' rising use with better regulatory control. She advised “proportionate action” to minimize youth appeal.

Dr. Robson stated vaping's effects depend on several factors. It depends on the vaper's smoking history, medical history, comorbidities, and motives for vaping. She added that background exposure and where people reside must be considered.

Dr. Robson said the latest research is crucial for smokers, vapers, and those considering vaping. However, she advised against vaping or smoking.

“How any information is communicated and more importantly how that's perceived by the user is really important, for the millions of people who smoke, who will die in or living with chronic health conditions while we debate this,” she added.

The 10th anniversary of The E-Cigarette Summit was hosted at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in London, 60 years after the RCP released "Smoking and Health," which lay the groundwork for tobacco control.

The summit found that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death despite decades of tobacco control efforts and public health education on its dangers.

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