A rational approach to e-cigarettes: challenging ERS policy on tobacco harm reduction

Reply to: "Nicotine or tobacco abstinence?"

9 years ago, in July 2013, a group of 12 experts, many who had previously expressed support for e-cigarettes, rated the relative harm of 12 nicotine-containing products by using 14 criteria addressing harms to the users and others [1]. The group concluded e-cigarettes were substantially less harmful than combustible cigarettes. The popular media have taken up these results and promoted e-cigarettes as “95% less risky” or “95% less harmful” than combustible cigarettes. However, the authors acknowledged, “a limitation of this study is the lack of hard evidence for the harms of most products on most of the criteria” [1].

The true impact of vaping on health will manifest over the coming decades, but the evidence to date on the deleterious effects of e-cigarettes on health justifies the recommendation to abstain from the consumption of inhaled nicotine and other productshttps://bit.ly/3Dn4riC

E-cigarette or Vaping Product Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) Presenting As Cardiac Arrest

E-cigarettes or vaping products became available in the market in 2004. Since then, their use has rapidly increased in all sections of society. They have been increasingly used as a "safer" alternative for combustible cigarettes and as an aid toward smoking cessation. Over time, the acceptability of e-cigarettes in public spaces increased. Lack of regulatory control also led to a rapid rise in the rate of e-cigarette/vaping product users. We report a case of a 35-year-old female who recently switched from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarette usage, and who presented to the emergency department after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. She was found to have bilateral extensive nodular ground-glass opacities on a CT angiogram of the chest. She needed non-invasive ventilation and was initially started on broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment for possible pneumonia. Due to a worsening clinical status, e-cigarette or vaping product associated lung injury (EVALI) diagnosis was considered, and she was started on parenteral steroid therapy, leading to rapid recovery in respiratory status. With a tapering course of steroid therapy and cessation of e-cigarette use, there was complete clinical and radiological recovery. This case highlights that EVALI can have varied clinical presentations, and the diagnosis should be considered in anyone who presents with an acute cardio-pulmonary decline and a concomitant history of e-cigarette use. 

An update on controversies in e-cigarettes

E-cigarettes are electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) which mimic tobacco smoking without the combustion of tobacco. These devices have been misleadingly marketed as "less harmful" alternatives to conventional smoking tobacco products. The e-liquid in e-cigarettes include nicotine, a humectant and other additives including flavourings, colourants, or adulterants such as bacterial and fungal products. In this review, we discuss the contrasting views of the tobacco lobby and most professional societies. We describe the epidemiology of the use of these devices, with a widespread and significant rise in youth e-cigarette use seen in both the USA and Europe. We also describe what is known about the toxicity and mechanisms of EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury). This characterised by respiratory failure with an intense inflammatory response. The presentations are diverse and clinicians should consider vaping as a possible cause of any unusual respiratory illness in patients who have a history of vaping or other use of e-cigarette-related products. Second hand exposure to e-cigarettes is also harmful through respiration and transdermal absorption. E-cigarettes have a worse acute toxicity than tobacco and their long-term toxicity is unknown, and we advocate for the immediate, most vigorous anti-vaping legislation possible.