A new international study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, indicates that vaping does not produce clinically important respiratory symptoms. Significantly, the study stands out as one of the first large-scale efforts to examine people who vape but do not have histories of smoking, which have previously led to smoking-related harms being attributed to vaping.
The study, part of the VERITAS project led by researchers from the Center of Excellence for Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) at the University of Catania, Italy, has been praised by tobacco harm reduction advocates, although its interpretation has also faced some criticism.
Studying Vapers Without Smoking Histories
Dr. Riccardo Polosa, CoEHAR's founder and one of the study authors, explained that a "common flaw" in the "vast majority" of vaping research is the failure to identify and study the health of people who have only vaped, hindering the understanding of vaping's effects in isolation.
The research involved a cross-sectional group of adults who had never smoked, across six global regions in five continents. One cohort consisted of 491 people who had vaped in the past seven days, while a control group comprised 247 people who had never regularly vaped. Most participants in each group were aged between 25 and 44.
Validated Questionnaire Reveals Slight Difference
Participants completed the Respiratory Symptom Experience Scale (RSES), a validated questionnaire that Polosa described as an "important strength" of the study. The combined average score for the vaping group was only 0.18 higher than for the control group, representing a difference that "wasn't large enough to matter clinically," according to Polosa.
The authors cautioned against interpreting the results as proving that vapes caused the difference, suggesting that "reverse causation"—people with pre-existing symptoms being more likely to choose vapes instead of cigarettes—might be another possibility.
Findings Align with Prior Research, Challenge Harm Claims
Polosa emphasized that the study's findings align with prior research showing minimal respiratory symptoms in vapers and challenge claims that vaping is as harmful as smoking. He welcomed constructive feedback but criticized the assessment of Dr. Stanton Glantz, a retired professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, who accused the researchers of "minimizing the importance of the results."
Polosa stressed that the study adds to the evidence that vapes are relatively harmless and far safer than the cigarettes they typically replace. He called for balanced discussions about vaping and highlighted the need for future studies, especially those tracking participants over time, to guide policies on vaping risks and benefits.
