A study that followed 32,000 Americans for three years shows that consumers of electronic cigarettes increased their risk of developing the same chronic lung diseases, just like ordinary smokers, according to results published Monday.
In the United States, a link was established between vaping and a striking and serious disease that caused 52 deaths (Evali) this year, but which is very specific for a type of recharge, often sold illegally on the black market, which contains cannabis and a toxic ingredient: vitamin E oil.
The study published on Monday is more comprehensive and statistical. It shows that those who used vapers were 30% more likely to develop chronic lung diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared to people who did not use them.
When people use vaporizers and smoke cigarettes at the same time, which is common, the risk triples.
We have concluded that electronic cigarettes are harmful in themselves, with effects that occur independently of conventional tobacco use,”
says one of the authors, Stanton Glatz, professor of medicine and director of the tobacco research center at the University of California, in San Francisco.
This is the first study that tracks vapers over time and shows that link, according to the authors, who published their work in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The data comes from the survey on tobacco users and health (PATH), which followed 32,000 American adults from 2013 to 2016.