Smoking is directly responsible for 8 million deaths worldwide each year, mainly from cancer (30% of all cancers are due to tobacco) and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
There is therefore clearly nothing worse than cigarettes for health, and quitting smoking remains, by far, the best decision a person can make to reduce their risk of premature death.
In recent years, electronic cigarettes have emerged as a valid alternative to tobacco cigarettes to reduce the harmful effects of smoking on health. This approach is based on a relatively simple concept: while tobacco addiction is due to nicotine, it is rather the tobacco combustion products present in cigarette smoke that are responsible for smoking-related health problems. If we can satisfy smokers’ nicotine needs while eliminating exposure to cigarette smoke, we can therefore substantially reduce the damage to their health. This is exactly what e-cigarettes do, as these devices allow nicotine to be inhaled, but without the approximately 7,000 chemical compounds found in cigarette smoke, and therefore expose users to much lower amounts of toxins. This marked decrease in toxic molecules in e-cigarette aerosols has been confirmed by several independent bodies (Public Health England, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products, and the Environment), and it is for this reason that organizations such as Public Health England and the Académie nationale de médecine in France strongly recommend that smokers make the transition to vaping.
Cardiovascular benefits
A study recently published in Circulation, the flagship journal of the American Heart Association, is a good illustration of the positive impact of this harm reduction approach. In this longitudinal study, approximately 32,000 American adults were followed for a period of 6 years (2013–2019) to assess the risk of cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, stroke, heart failure) in smokers compared to non-smokers, exclusive e-cigarette users, and dual users (tobacco and e-cigarette).
Dr. Martin Juneau – ObservatoirePrevention.org – 2022-10-04.
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