The largest study on vaping safety to date has confirmed that vapers are exposed to far fewer toxic chemicals than are smokers, according to a story published on the website of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association.
The story, by Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, conjoint associate professor at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, referred to a study of 5,105 adults that was published recently in JAMA Network Open by a group of leading researchers, led by Maciej Goniewicz.
The study measured the levels of tobacco toxins in the urine in four different groups: exclusive vapers (vaping only); exclusive smokers (smoking only); dual users (smoking and vaping); and never-smokers
Mendelsohn said that the researchers had tested 50 of ‘the most important toxins normally found in tobacco smoke which cause most of the smoking-related disease, including TSNAs (tobacco-specific nitrosamines), PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), metals and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Many of these chemicals were carcinogens or were toxic to the cardiovascular, lung or reproductive organs.
Mendelsohn said that the key finding of the study was that vapers had a 10-98 percent lower concentration of toxins compared to smokers for the toxins measured.
‘All levels were lower in vapers except for most metals and 3 VOCs (toluene, benzene and carbon disulfide),’ he said. ‘Vapers had higher exposure to passive smoking so some of the toxins may have come from second-hand smoke. Also, some chemicals such as metals stay in the body for years and may have originated from past smoking or other sources.’
Never smokers had toxin levels that were 19-91 percent lower than those found in vapers.
The study results were said to have been similar to other previous studies as summarised in the 2018 US National Academies of Medicine, Science and Engineering report.