Again: I like where you're coming from on this, and a balanced approach is needed. So I'd like to help you tune up your position by making a further point:
Strictly speaking, this IS NOT "confirmation bias." These are facts, which deserve fair consideration and cannot be dismissed.
On the other hand, taken by itself, this statement is indeed "confirmation bias." It is presented without supporting evidence, other than a reference in your article to a statement by Dr. Farsalinos...who himself presents no supporting evidence for the statement. It is nothing more than an idea, used to support another belief by dismissing the facts...just as you did in this quote.
I'm not trying to be insulting here. Striking a balanced posture is very difficult. I'll urge you again to give more than passing treatment to the work of Dr. Polosa, who presents actual evidence that vaping improves the lung health of even healthy smokers. It's OK to mention that BO is easy to misdiagnose, but one must be careful not to make too many assumptions about this when confronting the facts.
Thanks for your excellent input.
The reason I haven't given Dr. Polosa's important work more prominence in the article (despite linking to it) is that I don't consider it to be relevant to the specific debate. It's supportive of the notion that vaping sufficiently unburdens smokers' lungs such that rapid improvement is seen in terms of lung function, but it doesn't make any specific comment about the role of DA/AP in that process. Riccardo is quite emphatic, in person, that known risk factors should be eliminated as and when they transpire.
As to the references, this is my mistake. It appears a draft version without all the links was posted. I'll add the additional links back in.
Regarding the notion that BO may be underdiagnosed, here's the link from which I based this: Popcorn Lung (Bronchiolitis Obliterans) Symptoms and Causes - MedicineNet
Last edited: