Discussion of potential harm reduction associated with the use of e-cigarettes assumes that smokers will “switch completely” from cigarettes to e-cigarettes or stop both tobacco products. Advocates of this view, including the US FDA, recognize and accept that this process may include a period of dual use in which smokers use both products. Now JosefContinue reading “Dual use is not an intermediate condition on the way from cigarettes to “switching completely” or quitting”
Tag Archives: vaping
Dual cigarette and e-cig use increases human risk of lung cancer 40 times
As summarized in an earlier blog post, exposure to e-cigarette aerosol accelerates tumore growth and spread (metastasis) among established cancers. This effect is distinct from actually causing the cancer (i.e., carcinogenesis). Indeed, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine (PG/VG), the primary solvents in e-liquid and which have been assumed to be inert are major causes ofContinue reading “Dual cigarette and e-cig use increases human risk of lung cancer 40 times”
E-cig advocates publish results showing e-cig users have more respiratory symptoms than nonsmokers
E-cigarette advocate Riccardo Polosa, along with pro-harm reduction colleagues from around the world, recently published Respiratory symptoms among e-cigarette users without an established smoking history in the VERITAS cohort. Their paper presents strong evidence that sole e-cigarette users (i.e., people who are not also smoking cigarettes) are significantly more likely to experience respiratory symptoms thanContinue reading “E-cig advocates publish results showing e-cig users have more respiratory symptoms than nonsmokers”
FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco
My colleagues and I submitted this public commento to FDA and NIH regarding their priorities for tobacco cessatio research. The Regulations.gov tracking number is m3p-2qiq-zm6w. A PDF version is available here. While it was not publicly available when we were preparing this comment, a lot of the suggestions overlap or complement the recently-released Surgeon GeneralContinue reading “FDA & NIH must support research to increase tobacco cessation reach and engagement to address populations disproportionately harmed by Big Tobacco”
The RCP got this right: Promotion of tobacco harm reduction is playing right into the tobacco industry’s hands
I previously published three detailed critiques of the 2024 UK Royal College of Physicians report E-cigarettes and Harm Reduction: An Evidence Review for being an incomplete and selective review of the literature in three areas — underestimating the magnitude of disease risk caused by e-cigarettes, ignoring the large body of real world evidence that e-cigarettesContinue reading “The RCP got this right: Promotion of tobacco harm reduction is playing right into the tobacco industry’s hands”
Smokers who use e-cigs as for smoking cessation are more likely to end up dual users than to “switch completely” or stop smoking and vaping
E-cigarette enthusiasts, including the FDA and the NHS and others in England, and some in New Zealand and Canadian governments continue to promote “switching completely” from cigarettes to e-cigarettes as a form of harm reduction. I just found another paper that shows that the reality is that adult smokers who use e-cigarettes as a smokingContinue reading “Smokers who use e-cigs as for smoking cessation are more likely to end up dual users than to “switch completely” or stop smoking and vaping”
Calif updates state ban on sales of flavored tobacco products to close loophole and strengthen enforcement: A great model for others
When California passed its law prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products in 2020, including menthol cigarettes, RJR and other tobacco interests forced a referendum to try and block the law. Voters upheld the law in 2022, and it went into effect. This law prohibited retail sales of tobacco products with a “characterizing flavor,” looselyContinue reading “Calif updates state ban on sales of flavored tobacco products to close loophole and strengthen enforcement: A great model for others”
Implications of 2024 NYTS: Ban nicotine salts and clamp down on Zyn
Last week the FDA and CDC released their analysis of the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The 2024 report moved beyond earlier FDA and CDC summaries of NYTS results by including details on how heavily youth were using e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, as well as details on brand preferences and specific flavor preferences, including “ice”Continue reading “Implications of 2024 NYTS: Ban nicotine salts and clamp down on Zyn”
Criticism of our meta-analysis of e-cigarettes and disease and our response is published
NEJM Evidence has published two letters to the editor that raised questions about our meta-analysis, Population-Based Disease Odds for E-Cigarettes and Dual Use versus Cigarettes that concluded that for cardiovascular disease, stroke and metabolic disorder e-cigarette risks are similar to cigarettes and for respiratory and oral disease, while lower risk than cigarettes, the risks areContinue reading “Criticism of our meta-analysis of e-cigarettes and disease and our response is published”
New meta-analysis of e-cigs and cardiovascular disease shows increased risks
Chen Chen and colleagues recently published Assessing the association between e-cigarette use and cardiovascular disease: A meta-analysis of exclusive and dual use with combustible cigarettes that found significantly elevated cardiovascular disease risk in dual users (people who use both e-cigarettes and cigarettes) and former smokers who had switched to e-cigarettes compared to people who hadContinue reading “New meta-analysis of e-cigs and cardiovascular disease shows increased risks”