Switching from cigarettes to vaping seems to lead to a reduction in respiratory infections, it has been claimed.
The conclusions come from a survey of vapers – but, according to the researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, the findings are overwhelming.
The findings have been reported in the Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy.
Some 941 people took part in the survey and 66% reported improvements in respiratory symptoms. Some 5% reported deterioration and 29% reported no change.
The researchers say some animal studies have suggested vaping might increase vulnerability to infection – but that no human trials have found a similar effect.
Researcher Professor Peter Hajek said: "There is no doubt that e-cigarettes are much safer than conventional cigarettes, but smokers are still led to believe that they’re dangerous.
"This misinformation includes a misreported study on rats that claimed that vaping may increase vulnerability to infections. These new findings from human vapers show that this is not the case.
"The study needs to be interpreted with caution because it is based on self-reported data, and further studies using objective measures are needed. However, the present results provide sufficient information to suggest that vaping does not increase infection rates and may in fact lead to a decrease in infections."
Changes in the Frequency of Airway Infections in Smokers who Switched to Vaping: Results of an Online Survey. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy August 2016; doi: 10.4172/2155-6105.1000290 [abstract]
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