Evidence still suggests that vaping regulated (i.e. not black market) products is safer than smoking a pack a day of traditional cigarettes
The underacknowledged danger of the recent spate of vaping-related deaths and illnesses is that we’ll lose the progress that has been made in the public health goal of getting people to quit smoking.
That might not seem like such a great peril. But if there is any contrast to the ambiguity about the long-term health effects of vaping, it is the absolute scientific certitude about the deadly damage conventional cigarettes, and their dozens of human carcinogens, cause the people who smoke them.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a statement about the recent outbreak of what it calls “e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI).” For the first time, the agency said, it had detected “a potential chemical of concern in biologic samples from patients with (EVALI).”
Knowing that the apparent culprit is vitamin E acetate, an additive in some black market vape products that contain the cannabinoid THC, is useful. It suggests that the risks of vaping can be lessened by sticking with regulated tobacco and nicotine vape products. It doesn’t mean that vaping these products is completely safe, but the key to remember is that the evidence still suggests that vaping these products is safer than smoking.
Marni Soupcoff – National Post – November 14, 2019.
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