Very critical doctors towards an alarmist study on the e-cigarette

A recent study maintains that electronic cigarettes increases the risk of respiratory diseases. But the vapers studied were all ... former smokers.

Is electronic cigarette a safe alternative to tobacco?

While most international medical instances respond in the affirmative, a new study comes back oil on fire. Published on December 16 in the Revue American Journal of Preventive Medicine, she says that vaping, such as tobacco, increases the risk of respiratory diseases and recommends therefore not to use an e-cigarette. But the study is far from impeccable, which has earned him important criticisms from certain doctors.

At first glance, she has everything to convince. The researchers followed 32,000 adults between 2013 and 2016. The latter were classified into five categories: smokers, ex-smokers, vapers, ex-vacateurs and finally, those who have never smoked or vapoted. In parallel, the authors of the study have identified all cases of respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive broncho-pneumopathy, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema, asthma) occurring during the three years of follow-up.

They then discovered that vapers had a 30% higher risk of developing respiratory disease compared to people who have never smoked or vapoted. A fallacious observation, according to Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg because the vast majority of these vapers are in fact ... former smokers! How can we know if the e-cigarette is at the origin of these diseases, or if it is the years of smoking that are to blame? "They should have compared respiratory disease rates in ex-smokers who vapote and in ex-smokers who have never vapoted," criticizes the pulmonologist, for whom vaping constitutes a very precious tool for smoking cessation. "The worst," continues the doctor, is that the authors probably have this data but they do not reveal it. "

"The rate of respiratory diseases found in this study in vapers is completely compatible with what is observed in smokers who have never vapoted," said Professor Dautzenberg. Clearly, this study does not make it possible to say that the electronic cigarette alone causes pulmonary diseases. "All that can be said is that the occurrence of respiratory symptoms is linked to smoking, that smoking and vaping at the same time does not decrease the risk but that passing from cigarette to the vaping designer decreases this risk considerably", continues the doctor.

An observation shared by several scientists, including Professor John Britton, Director of the Center for Studies on Tobacco and Alcohol at the University of Nottingham (England) who, in a right of response published by the British daily The Times, explains: “These results are biased by the fact that most vapers have smoked in the past. And since smoking is an important cause of chronic pulmonary diseases, ex-fumers vapor inevitably have an additional risk of developing this type of disease, even long after having stopped smoking. "

Actual effects due to tobacco

In June 2019, the same team had published a similar study, which claimed that vaping increased cardiovascular risks. "Here again, the results were biased," said Professor Dautzenberg. It was not the vape that caused these heart accidents: it is above all that a large number of ex-smokers victims of heart accidents had put themselves in vape. "

For the time being, the data concerning the long -term risks of the electronic cigarette is missing. But health authorities agree that it greatly reduces tobacco risks when used as weaning. A study has even shown that it could avoid millions of deaths. On the other hand, it can never be recommended for non-smokers.

On 12/20/2019, by Le Figaro, Cécile Thibert. https://www.sante.lefigaro.fr/