Switching to e-cigarettes can reduce the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by 50 percent, according to a leading study
Recently, a paper published in the well-known journal Advances in the Treatment of Chronic Diseases has attracted the attention of the medical community. Smoking can make chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) worse, the study found. If quitting is impossible, switching to e-cigarettes can reduce the severity of symptoms by about 50 percent, and the improvement in health can be maintained in the long term.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic disease characterized by cough, chest tightness, shortness of breath and poor breathing. If not taken seriously, the disease will further progress to pulmonary heart disease or respiratory failure, with high disability and mortality rates.
The study was led by academics from the Centre of Excellence for Accelerating Tobacco Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) at the University of Catania, Italy. The paper shows that for patients with COPD, if they continue to be exposed to cigarette smoke, the chances of respiratory infections and worsening symptoms will be greatly increased, and quitting smoking is the first task to improve the disease. However, the reality is that most patients have difficulty in quitting smoking, so switching to e-cigarettes to reduce harm is a very practical method.
Photo: (CoEHAR) founder and renowned scientist Dr. Riccardo Polosa is one of the lead authors of the paper
The 60-month clinical observation period was the longest of its kind and resulted in complete data from 39 COPD patients, 20 of whom were former smokers who switched to vaping. The researchers compared data from the 20 patients before they switched to e-cigarettes with data from 60 months of follow-up. To maintain the objectivity of the study, the researchers also selected 19 patients who only used cigarettes as a control group and comprehensively assessed their respiratory deterioration, vital capacity index and quality of life.
Among the e-cigarette users, nine managed to quit smoking after switching to e-cigarettes, while the remaining 11 did not quit completely but also smoked significantly less, according to the data. These patients had an approximately 50% reduction in COPD exacerbation and significant and sustained improvements in lung function, respiratory health, and physical activity. But smokers showed no significant changes in these areas.
Another important finding of the study was that only two COPD patients in the e-cigarette group returned to smoking during the five-year study period. This is because e-cigarettes mimic the process of smoking and the associated experience, which can effectively prevent relapse, and this is an important mechanism by which e-cigarettes contribute to long-term abstinence, the authors note.
The report also cited data from a large U.S. study of 1,190 CODP patients from 2014 to 2015, which found that 75.7 percent of patients reported an improvement in respiratory symptoms after switching to vaping, and that many were using e-cigarettes to avoid relapse.
The authors note in the paper that the study is all the more valuable given that many COPD patients are reluctant to quit smoking even when they have overt disease. Doctors can advise these patients to opt for the relatively harmless e-cigarette alternative, which has been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of smoking and getting sick by 95 percent.