E-cigarettes raise lung cancer death risk twofold after quitting, study finds

Switching to e-cigarettes after quitting traditional tobacco does not offer the full health benefits of complete cessation, according to a study from Seoul National University College of Medicine. The research, published in Nature Medicine, analyzed over 4.5 million Korean adults with a history of smoking.

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Lung cancer is a disease with a very high mortality rate and is a major cause of death in smokers.

Individuals who used e-cigarettes daily after quitting traditional cigarettes faced a 56% higher risk of developing lung cancer and a doubled risk of dying from the disease compared to those who quit entirely. While their overall mortality risk was lower than those who continued smoking traditional cigarettes, it was still 22% higher than individuals who had completely abstained from all tobacco products.

The study highlighted that the increased risk of lung cancer mortality was disproportionately higher than the increase in overall mortality. For individuals aged 50-80 with a smoking history of 20 pack-years or more, the risks were even more pronounced, with a 91% increase in lung cancer incidence and a 92% increase in lung cancer mortality.

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The perception that e-cigarettes are 100% safe is dangerous, as this study shows.

Researchers noted that e-cigarettes, despite lacking a combustion process, still contain harmful substances like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, which are also found in traditional cigarettes and are known carcinogens. While the study is observational and cannot prove causation, the findings suggest that e-cigarette use after quitting may significantly diminish the protective effects of complete cessation, underscoring the importance of total abstinence for lung cancer prevention.

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Ultimately, the final goal of quitting smoking should be to completely break free from all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.