If you’re one of the more than 100 million people worldwide who vape regularly, you may want to think about ways to start reducing your consumption.
According to recent research conducted by scientists at Seoul National University and published in Natural medicineUsing tobacco-free devices like vapes and e-cigarettes to help quit smoking has a strong link to the development of lung cancer.
Researchers analyzed anonymous health data from more than 4.5 million Korean adults. They were divided into three main groups: current smokers, short-term smokers and long-term smokers. They were then categorized by whether they vaped daily in a 2018 screening as part of the Korean National Health Survey, with adjustments to control for factors such as age, gender and previous health conditions.
In total, scientists found that those who turned to vaping after quitting traditional cigarettes developed lung cancer at about a 56% higher rate than those who quit completely. Alarmingly, cases of lung cancer deaths among vape users have almost doubled, with a lung cancer-specific mortality rate 91% higher than that of non-vape users.
Of course, there is a large group that falls outside the study’s limits: everyone who became addicted to vaping without first trying cigarettes. It would be fascinating to learn more about their fate, but the study’s implications — that vaping increases cancer risks in former smokers — are almost certainly alarming.
While it may be easy for non-smokers to roll their eyes at the results, it’s important to note that empirical data on the relationship between vaping and lung cancer remains relatively scarce.
“Although epidemiological and biological studies support the association between e-cigarettes and various respiratory disorders, evidence regarding the relationship between e-cigarettes and lung cancer risk remains limited,” the researchers wrote.
This is an observational study, which means it cannot establish true causality. In the future, more research will be needed to definitively determine whether there is a causal link between vaping and cancer – but the early data doesn’t look pretty.
Learn more about smoking: Scientists say test subjects were able to quit smoking after blowing their brains out with a huge magnet
Gn Health
