The study was carried out by assessing 941 subjects who switched to vaping for at least two months, and the results were published in the Journal of Addiction Research and Therapy. The findings illustrated that in regards to respiratory issues, 66% of study participants claimed improvement, 29% experienced no changes, and 5% reported worsening.
Senior Professor Peter Hajek from QMUL pointed out that although these findings need to be “interpreted with caution” since they are based on self-assessed data by the study subjects, there is no doubt that vaping is a much healthier option than smoking. This goes inline with several previous studies that found the same such as the one published by the Royal College of Physicians in the UK , the research from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in the US and the most recent one by Roswell Park Cancer Institute also in the US.
Hajek touched on the topic of previous studies that in his opinion led to misinforming the public and leading them to believe that e-cigarettes are dangerous. An example of such a study is one conducted on rats claiming that vaping made the rats more susceptible to infections. The professor pointed out that for the latter they did not use realistic exposure levels, however this new study conducted on human vapers and other surveys such as those conducted on asthma sufferers who vape, not only disprove such studies, but also prove that the switch carries substantial benefits.
An interesting turn in this argument was the suggestion that besides being credited to the cessation of smoking and the health detrimental properties it’s renowned for, the improvement in respiratory issues could also be attributed to a possible antimicrobial protection obtained through exposure to the chemical propylene glycol, found in e-liquid vapor. However this is just a theory that needs to be explored and studied.
Study to be followed up in a more objective manner
Peter Hajek concluded his argument by once again pointing out that the largest possible flaw with this initial study was the fact that it was based on subjective self-reporting by the individuals studied, and therefore has to be followed up by objective studies conducted on random samples from vapers. However the researchers concluded that despite the above, they are confident that “that the study provides a reasonable reassurance that vaping does not promote respiratory infections and may in fact reduce them.”
