Overview
- Researchers published a pilot study online in Tobacco Control on Nov. 10–11 that measured lung function in 22 mainly e-cigarette users aged 21–35 at baseline and again about 12 months later.
- The study recorded a statistically significant reduction in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), a standard test of airflow, at the second visit and found larger average falls in FEV1 with higher daily vaping frequency.
- Quantitatively, the authors reported roughly 100 ml lower FEV1 for people vaping 5–9 times per day, about 190 ml lower for 10–29 uses, and about 240 ml lower for 30+ uses compared with 0–4 uses per day.
- Authors and independent experts stressed key limits: the sample was small (n=22), tests used only two time points, there was no tobacco-free control group, and some participants could have recently smoked, so causation is not established.
- Public-health groups say the findings warrant larger, longer, controlled studies and reaffirm that vaping is less harmful than smoking but is not risk-free, so never-smokers and young people should avoid e-cigarette use.