Vaping shocker: E-cigarettes linked to lung cancer, study suggests
E-cigarettes, or vapes, have long been touted as a much safer alternative to cigarettes, with some companies claiming their products pose virtually no cancer risk.
But alarming new research appears to be turning this perceived idea on its head.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers analyzed health data from 4.3 million former smokers and found that those who switched to vaping were twice as likely to die from lung cancer, compared to those who went cold turkey.
The findings cast doubt on public health initiatives around the world, many of which involve encouraging smokers to switch to vaping to prevent lung disease.
Author of the study Dr. Yeon Wook Kim, a professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Seoul National University Hospital, said the results show that doctors should consider the “potential harm” of e-cigarette use when talking to patients about quitting smoking.
Touted as a smoking cessation aid, many tobacco smokers have turned to the devices — which contain far fewer chemicals.
Cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic, while vapes are estimated to contain around 2,000.
E-cigarettes also do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, which are considered two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke.
However, the concern surrounding e-cigarettes is that chemical reactions between the liquid and the metal lead to the release of toxic metals such as arsenic, chromium, nickel and lead.
And more recent studies have found that these metals are linked to a plethora of negative health effects, such as popcorn lung – an inflammation in the lungs that causes wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath.
However, lung cancer as a risk factor had yet to be thoroughly investigated.
The disease affects approximately 234,580 Americans and causes 125,070 deaths per year.
According to the CDC, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, causing nearly half a million fatalities.
And the health department said smoking causes about 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths.
For the study, researchers looked at data from South Korea’s National Health Screening Program from 2012-2014 and 2018.
The maximum permitted nicotine content in a vapor is set at 20 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter of liquid (two percent) in Europe, the United Kingdom and Canada. These devices last approximately 550 to 600 puffs. In the US it is quite easy to find a device or capsule that contains as much as 5 percent nicotine
Participants were divided into six groups based on their smoking history and whether they turned to e-cigarettes.
Researchers found that 53,350 people had developed lung cancer and 6,350 people died from the disease.
Former cigarette smokers who quit five or more years earlier and switched to vaping were twice as likely to suffer a lung cancer-related death than ex-smokers who did not vape.
Additionally, former smokers who quit less than five years ago and started vaping had a 23 percent higher risk of developing lung cancer and a 71 percent higher risk of lung cancer-related death.
Based on their findings, the authors concluded: ‘Physicians should emphasize the potential harmful effects of alternative e-cigarette use when integrating smoking cessation interventions to reduce lung cancer risk.’
The study was presented at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference and an abstract was published in the American Journal and Critical Care Medicine.