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Ohio State researchers launch two studies on e-cigarette safety
A national survey showed the majority of Americans aged younger than 35 years believe electronic cigarettes are not as harmful to the lungs as traditional cigarettes.
The survey included 2,000 participants, of whom 44% indicated they felt e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. More than half (54%) of men expressed that opinion.
Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute have launched two pilot studies to assess the health effects of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products among individuals aged younger than 35 years.
The first project will compare the effect of e-cigarettes vs. traditional cigarettes on lung health among current traditional smokers, e-cigarette users, smokeless tobacco users and nonsmokers.
The second project aims to enroll 600 otherwise healthy participants nationwide within 5 years. Researchers will assess the association of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products with smoke toxins and other cancer-causing chemicals.
“The truth is, there is just so much we do not know about these new products,” Peter Shields, MD, thoracic oncologist and deputy director of Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, said in a press release. “We have no idea where in the spectrum these are in terms of safety. Are they like cigarettes, or nothing like cigarettes? Do they affect people the same if they have never smoked, or a lot worse? We need to figure all of this out.”
HemOnc Today spoke with Shields about these two studies and the importance of their findings.
Question: What prompted you and your colleagues to conduct these studies?
Answer: E-cigarettes are on a very rapid rise of use among smokers, youth and young adults. Most scientists will say e-cigarettes are less harmful and toxic than regular cigarettes. In the media, we see the range [of perceptions] that these products are safe or that they are as harmful as cigarettes. However, all of this is essentially based upon no data. I personally think e-cigarettes will not be similar in harm to traditional cigarettes, but how much less harmful is unknown, for both dual users and people who quit smoking traditional cigarettes but use e-cigarettes long-term. There also are nonsmokers who begin using e-cigarettes recreationally or because they want the nicotine and they think these products are safe. Yet, we do not have data that says they are safe, and so these folks are using e-cigarettes without information. We need that information so they can decide if they want to accept the risks, if any. We are, therefore, trying to gather data on what harm e-cigarettes pose to health, and we are comparing smokers with nonsmokers.
Q: What specifically will be assessed?
A: We will be measuring a number of different markers in the lung, and we will assess how this may change when people use e-cigarettes.
Q: What do you anticipate that you will find?
A: We hypothesize that the e-cigarette vapors, at the least, are likely to cause inflammation. It is known that inflammation is a part of a pathway for cancer and lung disease. I think smoking regular cigarettes ultimately will be worse for those who continue to smoke compared with e-cigarettes, the reason being that e-cigarettes do not omit most of the carcinogens as normal cigarettes. I would try to switch a smoker over to a nicotine replacement therapy that we know is safe and effective, but some people have to use different methods to quit and the nicotine patch does not always work. There are some scientists who are concerned about e-cigarettes, and the threat they pose to heart disease and lung disease. However, I do not agree that e-cigarettes do cause as much harm as regular cigarettes. But, this is still something we do not know for sure.
Q: Where are you in the process now?
A: We are substantially along in the process. The initial hurdle was whether we would be able to conduct the research, whether people would volunteer and whether we would collect data correctly. We are now far enough along to know feasibility, which is wonderful. But, our target goals are still around pilot studies. I think we may very well see differences between e-cigarette smokers and nonsmokers, but they will still be small, pilot studies. These will hopefully lead to larger studies, and we hope to get the funding for that with these smaller studies.
Q: When do you anticipate publication of the findings?
A: These are pilot studies and there is only so much infrastructure right now for us. We can only put so many participants through the study each week. Proposals are pending to expand these studies and, with that, we could go a lot faster. But, at the current rate, I do not think we will be finished with our research until the spring. We then have to analyze the data, so it may not be until the summer or fall that we get our findings published. If we find something exciting, however, we will try and get the data out as soon as possible.
Q: Depending on what you find, what might future research entail?
A: There are many ways that e-cigarette delivery of toxicants can change by product, voltage, flavors and other factors that can be assessed. – by Jennifer Southall
For more information:
Peter Shields, MD, can be reached at The Ohio State University, 281 W. Lane Ave., Columbus, OH 43210; email: peter.shields@osumc.edu.
Disclosure: Shields reports no relevant financial disclosures.