Review: normal use of vapor unlikely to raise significant health concerns

Smokers should be confident that vaping with e-cigarettes is much less harmful to the lungs than smoking cigarettes, according to a new review of the relevant science. An article published in the Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine journal contends that there is growing evidence showing that electronic cigarette (EC) emission aerosols are relatively safe compared to tobacco smoke.

Led by Dr. Riccardo Polosa, director of CoEHAR, the Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of HArm Reduction at the University of Catania, The effect of e-cigarette aerosol emissions on respiratory health: a narrative review provides a critical assessment of the research published on the effects of ECs on respiratory system.

“For smokers who want to do something about their health, our review shows that switching to vaping is a very good option if they don’t want to or can’t quit completely. No-one can prove that e-cigarettes are one hundred percent safe, but all the science points to vaping being very much safer than smoking,” said Polosa. “We agree with Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians of London that it is reasonable to proceed on the basis that vaping is at least 95% less risky than smoking, and probably even less risky than that.”