Claims of vaping as safer alternative go up in smoke

A new study in JAMA Pediatrics states that usage of e-cigarettes leads to greater risk of a person taking to smoking. A metanalysis and systematic review of nine  studies comprising 17, 389 adolescents and young adults in the age group of 14-30 threw up this stark message. A ‘whopping’ 30.4 per cent of those who used e-cigarettes were likely to take up cigarette smoking. On the other hand, researchers found that only 7.9 per cent of those who never used e-cigarettes would go on to smoke.

Popular claims of the vaping industry have always played up the narrative that e-cigarettes help wean off smoking, but co-author of the study, Samir Soneji disagrees.

“Teenagers who vape (use e-cigarettes) were substantially more likely to become cigarette smokers than their peers who did not vape. I am skeptical of such claims that e-cigarettes help adult smokers quit. The scientific evidence to support such a claim does not exist,” said Soneji, PhD, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, US.

On the contrary, e-cigarette consumption is harmful to health. The 2016 World Health Organisation report released as part of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control negotiations that occurred in Greater Noida states that in some cases, the concentration metal content in cartridge of an e-cigarette — lead, chromium, nickle and formaldehyde — are equal to, or greater than traditional cigarettes.

Mumbai-based oncologist Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi warns of the detrimental effects of vaping due to their pure nicotine content. “There is an increased risk of cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders related to nicotine consumption. Besides decreased immune response, it also poses ill impacts on the reproductive health. It affects the tumour proliferation and metastasis, and causes resistance to chemo and radio therapeutic agents,” he said, stressing that, “The sale of e-cigarettes needs to be regulated”.

While the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has issued guidelines on regulating e-cigarettes, India has not banned it. Similarly, hookah bars are not banned, too. “Punjab, Maharashtra and Karnataka in their own capacity have banned e-cigarettes. The World Health Organisation recommends that e-cigarettes be banned by every country,” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi.

Vaping demystified

E-cigarettes are battery powered devices that electronically heat and vaporise nicotine to simulate the smoking experience

The minimal lethal dose of nicotine is 30mg, and experts say that the nicotine content in e-cartridges is higher

Propylene glycol, which is the main solvent in e-cigarettes is used as an industrial poison

Ingesting orally or intravenously 50-60mg of nicotine from an e-cigarette is akin to a 70 kg person being exposed to 30-40mg per cubic metre of smoke. Assuming a breathing rate of 50 litres of air per minute, it equates to smoking 50 cigarettes at once.

(Source: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, US)