A complete switch from cigarettes to vape may improve smokers’ respiratory symptoms

A new study published in the journal (Nicotine and Tobacco Research) on November 12 this year found that smokers who switched completely to e-cigarettes experienced significant improvements in respiratory symptoms, especially a reduction in wheezing symptoms.

The study also warns of the potential for greater health risks associated with dual use, in which smokers use e-cigarettes while continuing to use cigarettes without reducing the amount of cigarettes they use.

The study, entitled “The relationship between cigarette-e-cigarette switching and respiratory symptom relief,” used data from the U.S. Population Tobacco and Health Assessment (PATH) study to evaluate health outcomes for adults over many years, focusing on respiratory symptoms such as coughing and wheezing. Participants were initially smokers who reported coughing or wheezing, and then tracked their switch to e-cigarettes, continued smoking, or use both products at intervals of two waves.

The findings showed that participants who switched completely from cigarettes to e-cigarettes only experienced a slight improvement in asthma symptom relief compared to continuing smokers. However, the same group did not see significant improvements in cough relief.

In contrast, smokers who switched to dual use but maintained or even increased cigarette use had a 15 percent lower rate of improvement in respiratory symptoms than those who were pure cigarette users.

The researchers stress that while e-cigarettes may help quit smoking and improve the health of the respiratory system in people who quit smoking completely, dual use may exacerbate health risks without reducing the severity of symptoms.

“Given the lesser harm associated with e-cigarette use, government agencies are increasingly weighing the risks and benefits of e-cigarette assisted smoking cessation. This study provides new evidence that a complete transition from cigarettes to e-cigarettes is associated with an increased rate of relief from self-reported wheezing symptoms,”The author writes.

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