Last week a Cancer Research funded study was released that proved that e-cigarettes are better for you then cigarettes.
This isn't new information of course, Cancer Research has for some time advocated the use of e-cigarettes, but the new study was the first of its kind as it measured every aspect of the participant’s body over 6 months.
The study set out to measure what levels of toxic chemicals where left in e-cigarette users versus cigarette users. They found that in some cases there was a 97% difference in toxin levels between cigarette and e-cig users!
THE STUDY
The study was conducted at the University College London and measured for different cancer causing toxins common in smoking. To get a full range of results they divided the 181 participants into three groups, e-cigarettes only users, e-cigarette and cigarette users and just cigarettes users.
They then began to take samples from all three, testing both saliva and urine for the toxins. To predict for long term effects they made sure that everyone used their product for at least 6 months.
What made this research different from the rest is that this is the first study which tried studying the long term impact of e-cigarettes. Normally studies focus on the immediate effects of vapour or nicotine on the body itself. It is also one of the longest running studies as well, and gives more evidence to the fact that e-cigarettes are safe in the long term as well as the short term.
However the most startling discovery was when they tested for a chemical called NNAL. This is a compound commonly found in smokers and is strongly associated with cancer. When the scientists ran the tests on the e-cigarette users they had 97% less toxins floating around than in smokers.
They also tested for other substances called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These are known to cause cancer as well. These VOCs include acrylamide and cyanide-releasing acrylonitrile, both of which are common in smokers.
Although there wasn't quite as dramatic a difference between e-cg users and the smokers like there was with NNAL, there was still a huge decrease in e-cigarette users.
GOOD NEWS FOR E-CIGARETTES
The leader of the study, Dr Lion Shahab, concluded “Our study adds to existing evidence showing that e-cigarettes are far safer than smoking, and suggests that there is a very low risk associated with their long-term use.”
That is great news for e-cigarette users as this test supports what Public Health England said, that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than cigarettes, and the effect of them is negligible.
Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer prevention, confirmed this as well. She said "This study adds to growing evidence that e-cigarettes are a much safer alternative to tobacco, and suggests the long term effects of these products will be minimal."
The outlook however was not as cheery for those who used e-cigarettes and continued to smoke. Though they had fewer toxins then the smokers, they still had a significant amount of both the NNAL and the VOCs in their bodies. It seems that although cutting down on cigarettes is beneficial, it is nowhere near as good. Cancer Research finished their study by saying "a complete switch is needed to reduce exposure to toxins".
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