Mischaracterisation of COPD findings risks driving smokers back to cigarettes

A recent statement by Dr. Stuart Jones claims “hard data” prove that vaping alone causes COPD. A closer look at the Nicotine & Tobacco Research paper does not support Dr Jones’s assertions and underscores vaping’s potential for harm reduction.

Key Facts

• Baseline COPD Prevalence: Only 1.3% of exclusive e-cigarette users had COPD at enrollment, versus 2.7% of never-smokers/never-vapers - a 67% lower COPD rate in the vaping group.

• Incident COPD Over 3-4 Years: While vapers did develop new COPD cases at a rate 2.3-times higher than never-users (adjusted hazard ratio 2.29 [1.42–3.71]), they simply reached parity with the never-smokers/never-vapers group’s higher COPD prevalence.

• No Evidence Vape-Driven Epidemic: End-of-study COPD prevalence in exclusive vapers mirrored the never-user group’s baseline level - hardly the “surge” implied by Dr. Jones’s sound-bite.

• Short Follow-Up: COPD is a decades-long disease. A 3½-year window can only capture early or preexisting lung damage - not new COPD caused by vaping.

• Harm-Reduction Evidence: Clinical research shows that smokers with COPD who fully switch to vaping experience fewer flare-ups, improved symptoms, and stabilized lung function compared to those who continue smoking. (https://respiratory-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12931-016-0481-x and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33101622/)

  “Cherry-picking sensational headlines over sober science does a disservice to public health,” says Jonathan Devery, Chair, Vaping Industry Association of New
  Zealand (VIANZ).

  “Vaping is not risk-free, but for adult smokers unable to quit, it remains far less harmful than cigarettes - and misrepresenting these findings could drive people back to the most lethal form of nicotine delivery.