Evidence for harm reduction in COPD smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes.

[Painter_]

Evidence for harm reduction in COPD smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes. - PubMed - NCBI

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are battery-operated devices designed to vaporise nicotine, which may help smokers quitting or reducing their tobacco consumption. There is a lack of data on the health effects of EC use among smokers with COPD and whether regular use results in improvement in subjective and objective COPD outcomes. We investigated long-term changes in objective and subjective respiratory outcomes in smokers with a diagnosis of COPD who quit or reduced substantially their tobacco consumption by supplementing with or converting only to ECs use.

RESULTS:
A marked reduction in cigarette consumption was observed in ECs users. A significant reduction in COPD exacerbations was reported in the COPD EC user group, their mean (±SD) decreasing from 2.3 (±1) at baseline to 1.8 (±1; p = 0.002) and 1.4 (±0.9; p < 0.001) at F/up1 and F/up2 respectively. A significant reduction in COPD exacerbations was also observed in ECs users who also smoked conventional cigarettes (i.e. 'dual users'). COPD symptoms and ability to perform physical activities improved statistically in the EC group at both visits, with no change in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS:
These findings suggest that ECs use may aid smokers with COPD reduce their cigarette consumption or remain abstinent, which results in marked improvements in annual exacerbation rate as well as subjective and objective COPD outcomes.

 

[CarolT]

It's a Giant Tuskegee Experiment - they're suppressing research to blame smoking for COPD caused by cytomegalovirus
Cytomegalovirus Is Implicated in COPD

NHANES: 23% of COPD patients are never smokers
Airway obstruction in never smokers: results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. - PubMed - NCBI

Neither demanding that patients quit smoking nor recommending that they vape instead is treating the underlying cause of the disease.

 

[DC2]

Thanks for posting this!

Anecdotal evidence has been extremely strong that this would be the case.
I've been reading about the improvement people have been seeing for years now.

Glad we have some results to back it up.

 

[Painter_]

... Glad we have some results to back it up.

Not one of the media outlets are reporting this today. Wrong narrative for the story they want to spin.

 

[Verb]

Not one of the media outlets are reporting this today. Wrong narrative for the story they want to spin.

Wrong narrative for the story they are paid to spin.