E-cigarette users who quit smoking have greatly reduced the levels of certain carcinogens and toxicants in their bodies.
Smokers who quit tobacco and replace it with e-cigarettes see benefits. A study on the long-term effects of the two products has in fact just revealed that ex-tobacco addicts who have completely replaced conventional cigarettes with vapers have seen a marked decrease in the concentrations of certain carcinogenic chemicals in their body compared to those who continued to smoke. These unprecedented results were published in the review Annals of Internal Medicine.
To reach this conclusion, an international research team followed for several months 181 people divided into 5 groups: smokers of classic cigarettes, former smokers who have become vapers, former smokers using nicotine substitutes, smokers who also use cigarettes. electronic, smokers who also use nicotine substitutes.
Less toxic chemicals
Participants provided saliva and urine samples. The substances sought by scientists were manifold. Among them are nitrosamines (carcinogens), nicotine, as well as other volatile organic compounds considered dangerous to health.
And the results are final. Researchers report significantly lower levels of toxic chemicals and carcinogens in samples from former smokers switched to electronic cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapy (patches …) compared to current smokers. Combined tobacco / e-cigarette use remains logically associated with very high levels of toxins and carcinogens.
Identical nicotine levels
In more detail, the most impressive difference concerns above all the level of specific nitrosamines in tobacco. These carcinogenic substances are particularly involved in the development of lung cancer. The levels found were reduced by 97% in exclusive vapers compared to smokers. Finally, the levels of nicotine in the urine samples were almost similar in all groups.
According to the authors, these results confirm that electronic cigarettes, like other nicotine substitutes, are much safer than regular cigarettes. The authors nevertheless caution users, insisting that they must quit smoking altogether to gain any health benefits.
Results to be confirmed
Principal author of the study, Dr. Lion Shabab even goes so far as to say: “We have shown that the levels of chemicals found in the body are considerably lower than those suggested by simulations of previous studies. This means that some doubts about the safety of electronic cigarettes could be false ”.
“Understanding and communicating about the benefits of nicotine substitutes, such as electronic cigarettes, is an important step in terms of reducing the number of smoking-related deaths,” says Alison Cox of Cancer Research UK. Faced with the reduced number of participants (181), we must be right to keep underline other imminent researchers.
(1) Researchers at University College London, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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