A new study suggests that e-cigarette users, known also as vapers, may harm the respiratory health of those around them via “secondhand vaping.”
Before we draw any conclusions, the paper has some important limitations that restrict its relevance to the real world.
Evidence confirming the relative safety of vaping continues to build. Multiple studies have now clearly shown that e-cigarette use is far safer than traditional smoking and effective in helping many people give up combustible cigarettes. But what about the secondhand impacts of vaping? A study just published in BMJ Thorax claims that “Secondhand nicotine vape exposure” may be associated with increased risk of bronchitic symptoms and shortness of breath in young adults. The authors concluded that their
“… results have important public health implications for the population exposed to secondhand nicotine vape. Unlike active vaping and smoking, secondhand nicotine vape exposure is not a voluntary exposure. Therefore, if the associations we observed are causal, prohibiting e-cigarette use in public places is warranted, just as secondhand tobacco smoke exposure has been prohibited in public spaces for decades …”
A careful reading of the paper indicates that this is little more than wishful thinking. The possibility that vaping has serious secondhand effects is speculative at best and offers little justification for restricting vaping in public places.
A look at the study
The researchers surveyed 2,097 high-school students who self-reported their secondhand vapor exposure and health data in four waves between 2014 and 2019. There were 2,090 participants in wave 1 in 2014; 1,609 in wave 2 the following year; 1,502 in wave 3 in 2017; and 1,637 in wave 4, about 78 percent of the original sample, in 2019. Twenty-three percent of the original students (481 participants) dropped from the study at wave 2 after graduating high school. There was a relatively small association between secondhand vapor and the reported respiratory systems.
Cameron English – American Council On Science and Health – 2022-01-13.
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