Research

Two recent studies from the US and UK continue to track the problem of the public misunderstanding of the relative risks of vaping and smoking. Science says vaping is much safer than smoking, but people - especially in the US - don't know it. So what's the problem?

Many people who argue against e-cigs are incensed by the technology because vapers are still addicted to nicotine, but these arguments inherently side-step the entire purpose of the technology: it’s a harm reduction device.

A new study has attempted to settle the "e-liquid flavors attract teens" debate, and found that flavors don’t attract non-smoking teens to e-cigarettes. The results suggest that pre-existing interest in e-cigarettes is the most important factor: even widely-criticized flavors like bubblegum or cotton candy had no impact on non-smoking teens' interest in vaping, and actually appealed more to adults.

The increasing prevalence of e-cigarette use seems to be stalling, as shown by a downward turn in their use among recent ex-smokers (after a continual rise since the start of 2012) and stagnation in usage rates among current smokers and use in respondents’ most recent quit attempts.

A new pre-clinical study presented at a conference last month suggests that human lung cells with mutations associated with a high cancer risk exhibit more “cancerous behaviors” after being exposed to e-cigarette vapor.

With widespread claims that e-cigarettes are a threat to public health, evidence-based assessments of the risks are desperately needed. Public Health England has just released such an assessment - updating their previous report in line with new evidence - and is strongly pushing the conclusion that e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than smoking.

New research published in the FASEB Journal has found that smoking cigarettes disrupts the body’s internal clock in both the brain and lungs, leading to a decrease in overall activity and disturbance of the sleep cycle in the mice studied.

A new piece of research looking at Korean adolescents has led to loud proclamations that e-cigs are a gateway to smoking addiction. The finding echoes concerns of late from hysterical anti-smoking campaigners and groups such as the CDC that e-cigs are some type of Trojan horse through which smoking is going to re-capture society.

The picture frequently painted for the public is that nicotine alone creates the addiction to smoking, and that nicotine in itself – whether consumed by smoking or vaping – is hugely addictive. But is this really true? Here's everything you need to know about e-cigarettes and nicotine addiction.

Apparently not satisfied with their first attempt at misleading the public about the extent of e-cigarette use among young people (nor with stoking the fires of the absurd e-liquid poisonings fears), the CDC has published a new study.

According to the findings of a new study, switching from smoking to vaping means reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals by a factor of about (probably over) 1,500. However, this study comes from tobacco company (and owner of Blu and SkyCig) Lorillard, so is it really reliable, or just a hollow PR stunt?

Yesterday, the Surgeon General released his first report on e-cigarettes, and it comes to completely different conclusions to the Royal College of Physicians' report from earlier this year. Why? Because he puts anti-vaping talking points ahead of the facts.

The CDC has released the next set of National Youth Tobacco Survey data, and despite spending the last few years continually harping on about the rising use of e-cigarette by youth and its potential as a gateway to smoking, the “concern” is growing less and less believable, as the data strongly suggests that e-cigarettes are actually causing dramatic declines in youth smoking.

A new study looks at data from over 13,000 smokers and former smokers in the EU, finding that daily vapers are much more likely than non-vapers to have quit smoking in the past five years.

A new study has demonstrated that e-cigarettes appear to reduce the ability of the lungs to fight off bacteria and viruses in mice, a finding which has been reported as “E-cigarettes increase the risk of flu and pneumonia.” The authors conclude that “e-cig exposure is not a safe alternative to smoking.” But do the findings really apply to human vapers?

Despite criticisms that vapers are simply continuing in their nicotine addiction, a new study has provided evidence that e-cigarette users are much less addicted to vaping than they once were to smoking. Not only do e-cigs drastically reduce harm, they curb addiction too.

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) isn’t as benign as Big Pharma wants you to believe. They may have suckered politicians, doctors and scientists into supporting their trade in an addictive drug, but with my powers of cherry-picking, misrepresentation and lies of omission, I can reveal the truth: NRT is a serious threat to public health.

According to a new study, minors can “easily” buy e-cigarettes online – provided they’re happy to lie about their age and are in possession of a credit card – so the authors argue that adult vapers shouldn’t be able to receive deliveries. The authors found that 94 percent of purchase attempts made by minors, that weren't thwarted by apparent website errors rather than age verification issues, were successful.