Vaping and Blood Clots Study Debunked
The media has been full of yet more scaremongering stories around vaping and blood clots.
The shock horror news comes from a study led by Swedish doctor, Gustaf Lyytinen.
He claims that in tests and after just 30 puffs of an e-cig containing nicotine, there was an immediate short term ‘change‘ in the vapers blood, heart rate and blood pressure.
Lyytinen said:
Our results suggest that using e-cigarettes that contain nicotine have similar impacts on the body as smoking traditional cigarettes.
This effect on blood clots is important because we know that in the long-term this can lead to clogged up and narrower blood vessels, and that of course puts people at risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Vaping and blood clots…sounds scary huh..?
Vaping and Blood Clots – the Experts Fight Back
Good thing medical professionals in the know took a detailed look at Lyytinen’s study and of course, blew it out of the water.
Dr Adam Jacobs, Senior Director of Biostatistics at Premier Research, said:
It’s important to note that the researchers did not look at any clinical outcomes.
The headline suggests that patients may somehow suffer from deleterious effects of blood clotting, but that is not what they have shown at all.
I’m not even sure whether they have looked at the patients themselves or just at blood samples taken from the patients.
There is no clinical outcome investigated in this study.
So the statement in the press release ‘with long-term use, [vaping] could result in heart attack or stroke’ is absolutely not supported by the study.
They have investigated neither long term use nor heart attacks nor strokes.
Overall, I don’t find this research compelling…
Ouch!
Prof Peter Hajek, Director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), said:
This conference presentation documents well-known short-term effects of nicotine, but these are not considered to be related to cardiovascular disease.
Nicotine on its own, without combustion products from cigarettes, poses minimal health risks.
Long-term users of nicotine products such as Swedish oral tobacco or nicotine chewing gum have no increased risk of heart attacks or strokes.
Press releases and media stories that suggest that vaping is as dangerous as smoking because of effects like this are misleading.
Smokers who switch to using e-cigarettes dramatically reduce the risks to their health.
I could go on, but you get my drift…once again the anti-vaping media has pounced on a not so very scientific study and sexed it up scaring the shit out of vapers.
For the record, the UK Stroke Association recently came out in support of e-cigarettes as a quit smoking tool – along with other methods.
And I’ve lost count the amount of times we’ve rebuffed similar scare stories on vaping and heart health…and a reminder the British Heart Foundation supports vaping as a way to quit smoking.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation says:
…vaping may be less harmful to your blood vessels than smoking cigarettes.
Within just one month of ditching tobacco for electronic cigarettes, people’s blood vessel health had started to recover.
I know who I believe…
Read my article from way back in 2017 for more info: Will Your E-Cigarette Give You a Heart Attack?
Dodgy Disposable Vapes Seized
Disposable vapes are all the rage right now but many on sale in the UK are classed as ‘illegal‘.
This week Oxfordshire County Council seized hundreds of them as they contained 5% nicotine, way above the legal limit of 2% currently the TPD standard in the UK.
Earlier this month the UK Vaping Industry Association [UKVIA] issued guidelines to vape retailers urging them to follow the rules.
Councillor Neil Fawcett, the county council’s cabinet member for community services and safety, told the Oxford Mail:
This detection work is essential in protecting anyone who vapes from the dangers of illegal e-cigarettes.
We understand that vaping can be a useful tool in assisting people to quit smoking.
But it is unacceptable that vapers are unknowingly risking their health by using these illegal nicotine-intensive products.
I totally agree.
ALL vape products on sale in the UK MUST have prior approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA, says an investigation has shown a worrying amount of ‘illegal‘ vape kits being sold mostly in corner shops, adding:
We are doing all we can as a trade association to ensure the industry’s reputation is not tarnished by a minority of resellers and retailers intent on making a quick buck out of a trending product.
Whilst disposables have a major role to play in the vape market, like all products they need to adhere to the legislation.
Our guidance is designed to ensure retailers keep on the right side of the law.
We’re also working closely and are in discussions with leading disposable vape product manufacturers and the major online marketplaces to ensure they play a key role in taking a hard line against those behind the sale of non-compliant products in the country.
Good to hear.
The last thing the UK vape scene needs right now is illegal vapes catching the eye of the media and politicians looking for a quick soundbite.
Retailers are urged to download the guide: If in doubt, check it out.
—————————–
A quiet few days on the vape news front dominated by the shit show that is the FDA PMTA delay.
More vaping news on Wednesday.
