Are e-cigarettes more dangerous than cigarettes?

In this era of rapid development of new tobacco, government departments and public health organizations in various countries often speak through mainstream media in order to "boycott new tobacco", and the reports of these mainstream media will contain many "unfactual" and "full of controversies." "The research report", coupled with a sensational title such as "Vapes are seven times more poisonous than cigarettes", has caused people to misunderstand vapes.

However, in fact, there are many researches on vapes in the world that have positive value, and these researches are often used by industry-related units as "channels of communication with the government". When formulating policies, the government should not ignore the harm reduction value of new types of tobacco."

Recently, there are two research and analysis reports on disposable vapes, which were published in famous medical journals in the world, one of which is for nicotine, and the other is for metal substances released in the device.

Disposable vapes have fewer harmful substances

A study published in JAMA Network Open measured the composition of participants' urine to prove whether vapes are safer than traditional cigarettes.

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention searched urine samples for 50 biological reactions known to occur in tobacco users, and focused on finding heavy metals and carcinogens that may increase the risk of cancer.

Researchers compared the levels of these toxic substances in the urine of traditional cigarette users, vape users, dual users, and the general public.

Unsurprisingly, those who did not smoke at all had the least amount of toxic substances in their urine, while the urine of traditional cigarette users was about 19% higher in lead content, 23% higher in cadmium content, 20% higher in pyrene content, and acrylonitrile. The content increased by 66%. Inhalation of these harmful substances may cause respiratory diseases, cancer, impaired fertility or affect unborn children.

Compared with traditional cigarettes, disposable vapes contain slightly less harmful substances, but with the exception of cadmium, the content of heavy metals is similar to that in the urine of traditional cigarette users. However, the researchers also stated that "many vape users are former Smokers, and because heavy metals accumulate in the body for a long time, these metals may only be leftover substances when using traditional cigarettes."

The transition period is the key

The latest research led by Maciej Goniewicz of Roswell Pak Comprehensive Cancer Center investigated the concentration of harmful substances in traditional cigarette users and e-cigarette users.

To conduct this research, Goniewicz and his team divided the subjects into multiple groups, e-cigarette users, traditional cigarette users, dual users, and the general public. Then, they tested the levels of different chemical substances in each subject. Concentrations, these chemicals are the key substances that cause tobacco-related diseases.

They found that although e-cigarette users are exposed to some of the same harmful substances as traditional cigarette users, the levels of these substances are much lower. The highest concentrations found in dual users, but before the results are hysterical, the most important thing is " Remember that dual users are usually in the process of transitioning from traditional cigarettes to new tobacco products. "Once they pass this difficult stage, their exposure to harmful substances will be much lower.

In addition, Goniewicz found an interesting fact, "The total nicotine content in the body of e-cigarette users is about 93% lower than that of traditional cigarette users", which will destroy the accusations thrown by anti-e-cigarette groups because they always like to be in the media. Complained that "an e-cigarette contains as much nicotine as 1,435 ordinary cigarettes".

In general, it is not only e-cigarettes that have received negative media coverage, but also heat-not-burn devices and Swedish snus. These products with public health value are often described in mainstream media as being more traditional Cigarettes are more harmful and dangerous products" and are prohibited from being sold, which makes many people unable to truly understand the benefits of these products.

Perhaps preventing nicotine addiction is indeed a big problem, but as the mainstream media, it should be more objective and neutral. It should not just "suppress e-cigarettes ignorantly" and report "negative but not factual" related research, but ignore the "replacement". The rights of smokers make smokers miss the chance to save their lives because of wrong information.