No study had yet compared the long-term effects on the body of electronic cigarettes and
tobacco. It’s done, with the results that researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and
Public Health at University College London (United Kingdom) have just published in the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine.
These show, in former smokers switched to electronic cigarettes , a significant decrease in the
concentration of toxic products in the body, compared to the concentrations found in smokers .
A benefit which, according to the study, is lost when the electronic cigarette is associated with
the consumption of conventional cigarettes. Until now, only two studies on cell lines and one
carried out in animals had measured the concentrations of toxic molecules in e-liquids and
vapor.
Fall in levels of toxic molecules
First result: the amount of nicotine is about the same in all participants, regardless of the means
of delivery used. The most spectacular difference concerns above all the level of tobaccospecific nitrosamines, carcinogenic substances involved in lung cancer : they are reduced by
97% in exclusive vapers compared to smokers.
“It may seem surprising to find these highly carcinogenic substances in electronic cigarette
users, notes Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg, pulmonologist at the Pitié-Salpétrière hospital
(AP-HP, Paris). “In fact, pure nicotine does not exist, since when it is extracted from tobacco,
nitrosamines are taken with it. This explains why it is found in small quantities in liquids for
electronic cigarettes containing nicotine, he continues. The Afnor standard (April 2015)
concerning electronic cigarettes and their liquids encourages e-liquid manufacturers to choose
nicotine with as few impurities as possible
The preferable full stop
Regarding certain toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) , concentrations much lower than
those obtained in smokers have been found in vapers and ex-smokers using nicotine
substitutes. “These molecules are not specific to tobacco, explains Bertrand Dautzenberg. Thus
we find acrylonitrile, an irritating VOC classified as a probable carcinogen for humans, in the
textile industry or in the manufacture of toxic materials. 1,3-butadiene is a proven carcinogen
that emanates from the combustion of organic materials such as oil, coal and gas, continues the
pulmonologist. Finally, these volatile organic compounds are never totally absent from our
organisms.”
According to Professor Dautzenberg, “these first results obtained in real situations only confirm
very strongly anticipated facts”: the e-cigarette is not a panacea, but remains a lesser evil.
These new data push the authors to take a stand. “Switching to e-cigarettes, with total cessation
of smoking, could induce a significant benefit for the health of smokers, since it reduces
exposure to toxic and carcinogenic agents of tobacco”, they emphasize. “On the other hand, the
use of this device does not avoid exposure to nicotine, and therefore a possible health risk. A
complete cessation of all nicotine products remains the best option to avoid with certainty any
long-term danger”.The researchers, aware of the limitations of their study, in particular due to
the too small number of participants,
According to a study by the French Public Health Agency, the proportion of vapers who also
smoke conventional cigarettes rose from 82% to 71% between 2014 and 2015. Another study ,
published in August 2016 in the journal Addiction, estimated that within the member countries of
the European Union, 6.1 and 9.2 million people have stopped and reduced their smoking
respectively thanks to e-cigarettes.
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