Your cart is currently empty!
Tag: studies
-
International Study Debunks Vaping-to-Smoking Myth
An international study completed by Queen Mary University in London discovered that vaping does not lead to smoking cigarettes. There have been many myths abound about the link between vaping and smoking.
It has been a long-standing belief that vaping could act as a gateway to traditional cigarette smoking. Researchers discovered that there is no sign e-cigarettes promote or cause cigarette smoking.
“There is no sign of that, and there are some signs that they, in fact, compete against cigarettes”, states Professor Peter Hajek, Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit at Queen Mary University.
“The results of this study alleviate the concern that access to e-cigarettes and other low-risk nicotine products promotes smoking.”, Hajek states, emphasizing the study’s findings.
Joey Dulay, president of the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association, also weighed in on the findings. “Among our peers, I have not seen any vaper turn into a smoker. It is either they continue to use e-cigarettes or quit altogether. In fact, I know a lot of former smokers who are now using e-cigarettes, which are far less harmful than combustible tobacco”.
The link between vaping and smoking: The Study
The comprehensive and in-depth study encompassed multiple countries in order to conclude its findings. Rather than encourage cigarette use, vaping seems to be causing a decline in it.
When comparing smoking rates between countries with differing e-cigarette regulations, the findings were striking.
Countries like Australia, where e-cigarette sales are banned, experienced a gradual decline in smoking. Meanwhile, in areas like the U.K. and the U.S., where e-cigarettes are more accessible, show a faster decline.
The study also examined countries where other smoking/e-cigarette alternatives are most popular, such as Sweden, where oral nicotine pouches are the delivery of choice. Japan and South Korea are also studied, where it’s common to heat tobacco rather than burn it.
While the promising study by the British university captivates attention, additional research on the link between vaping and smoking remains necessary. In the future they may be able to confirm the findings, as well as expand on the long term effects of vaping and other nicotine delivery products.
Professor Brian Ferguson, Director of the Public Health Research Programme (NIHR), shared his concluding thoughts on the researcher’s information.
“The initial findings from this study are valuable, but no firm conclusions can be drawn yet. More research is needed in this area to understand further the impact that alternative nicotine delivery products, such as e-cigarettes, might have on smoking rates,” he explained.
Many countries have opposing views and laws on e-cigarettes and smoking. It’s hard to say what will come for the future. However, it is certainly reassuring to have some light shed on current events. This news supports a favourable outlook on the future for nicotine users worldwide.
If you’re interested in using a low-risk nicotine product to quit smoking, read the owner’s testimonial here.
References
- John Lopez, Study Debunks Smoking Gateway Myth: Vaping Not Linked to Cigarette Smoking, Tech Times 2023. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/296990/20230929/study-debunks-smoking-gateway-myth-vaping-linked-cigarette.htm
-
E-cigarette & Vaping Studies
Vaping Studies
Although the Canadian government has not bothered with its own toxicity studies, several Countries have done thorough research on both the physical results from e-cigarettes, nicotine levels in the body compared with tobacco cigarettes, and secondhand vapor results. Here are a collection of studies on e-smoking.
How safe are electronic cigarettes? Health New Zealand, April 8th, 2008. Ruyan is one of the largest producers of e-cigarettes in the world. In this health New Zealand study, they looked into the following items regarding the e-cigarette:
- Actual nicotine content compared to labeled nicotine content in cartridges – Results: The labeling is similar to actual nicotine content
- Risk of microorganisms in cartridge liquid – Results: No tendency for microorganisms to grow in the liquid
- Metals in liquid – Results: Metals all < 1 ppm: Not a risk
- HCN, Butadiene, and acrylonitrile toxicant – Results: < 0.3 PPM: Not a risk
- Contamination from mouthpiece – Results: Sharing the e-cigarette mouthpiece is inadvisable
- Safety of e-cigarette ‘vapor’ for bystanders – Results: No increase in Carbon Monoxide exhaled, not restricted by smoke-free laws in New Zealand. Does not product second hand smoke.
Safety Report on the Ruyan e-cigarette cartridge and inhaled aerosol? Health New Zealand, October, 2008. In this follow-up study by Health New Zealand, they looked at additional facts about the e-cigarette, going deeper into the inhalation and expulsion of the vapor created by the e-cigarette:
- The toxicity of inhaled Propylene glycol – Results: Inhalation toxicity is not an issue
- The levels of TSNA’s – Results: The E-cigarette cartridge does not contain carcinogenic levels of TSNA’s
- The levels of PAH’s – Results: The E-cigarette cartridge does not contain any levels of PAH’s
- The levels of Radioactivity – Results: No gamma-emitting nucleotides were found above the detection limit.
- Safety of e-cigarette ‘vapor’ for bystanders – Results: No increase in Carbon Monoxide exhaled, not restricted by smoke-free laws in New Zealand. Does not product secondhand smoke.
- Overall findings – All toxicant’s in the e-cigarette cartridge, are at levels below those determined to be harmful, as well as below the minimum risk levels accepted by the US public health service and SOHA. The results obtained to date do not mitigate this report’s overall concluding that the e-cigarette is designed to be a safe alternative to smoking, and appears to be safe in absolute terms on all measurements we have applied. The composition of the cartridge liquid is not hazardous to health if used as intended.
Chemical composition of “instead” Electronic cigarette smoke juice and vapor – Alliance Technologies investigative analytical testing – December 2009. Instead is one of the larger sellers of e-cigarettes in malls in America. This is testing done specifically on their e-liquid and vapor production from their e-cigarettes.
Please Visit our Canadian Electronic Cigarette shop for all your e-cig needs. We carry a large selection of e-cigarettes, accessories, and e-liquid. If you are new to e-cigarettes, visit our Beginners guide, or read a few Testimonials from cigarette smokers who switched to the e-cigarette.
-
Vaping vs. Smoking: A Statistical Analysis of Health Impacts
The Numbers Game
I’ve always been a numbers person. Whether it’s due to my early days of playing online poker or my hyper-analytical mind, I’ve always broken down the data when dealing with a situation. Percentages, calculations, and projections; this is how my brain works. Perhaps I should have been an accountant.
Let’s delve into the statistics when it comes to smoking in Canada.
Smoking Statistics in Canada
In 2018, an estimated 15.8% of Canadians smoked cigarettes, which translates to approximately 4,900,000 people. Of those, the largest demographic was males aged 20-34 years, where nearly 25% were smokers.
By Province, British Columbia showed the lowest smoking levels overall at 12%, and Saskatchewan the highest at 20.1%.
Every year, about 17% of all deaths in Canada are related to smoking. It’s estimated that 36,500 Canadians die each year from smoking-related illness.
Broken down, if you are a smoker, you have a 0.7% chance every year you are alive of dying from smoking. Over a 10-year period, this is a 7.4% chance, and over a 50-year smoking lifetime, this is a 37.2% chance.
Looking at it another way, every year smoking kills close to 1% of its users. Every. Single. Year.
Digging a little deeper, secondhand smoke caused an estimated 831 deaths among Canadian adults in 2002. Also in 2002, smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke accounted for almost 100 infant deaths. Let’s add another nearly 1,000 more deaths in Canada to smoking.
Now let’s shift our focus to vaping; specifically, vaping nicotine e-liquid.
Vaping Statistics in Canada
In Canada, as of 2017, an estimated 15.4% of the population has ever tried an e-cigarette, which is approximately 4.6 million Canadians.
Of these, only 2.9% have used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, and only about 1% reported using e-cigarettes daily. This equates to approximately 292,000 Canadians vaping daily.
Over half of the current smokers in Canada report having used an e-cigarette, compared to just 6.7% of non-smokers.
Among youth, two-thirds of current smoking youth have used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, compared to 5% of non-smokers.
What Does This Data Mean?
Using an e-cigarette in Canada is much more popular (over 53% vs. 6.7%) in smokers vs. non-smokers. This means that the vast majority of Canadians trying e-cigarettes (87.4%) are current smokers using e-cigarettes to stop smoking as they are designed to do.
The majority of youth (two-thirds of youth currently smoking) are looking at e-cigarettes to stop smoking. This is compared to just 5% of non-smoking youth. This means that 93% of youth using e-cigarettes are smokers using e-cigarettes to stop smoking.
Using an e-cigarette with nicotine in Canada has resulted in:
Zero confirmed deaths
E-cigarettes and e-liquid with nicotine have been available in Canada for over a decade. Canada Vapes has been selling nicotine vaping products to adult Canadians since 2010. There has been zero confirmed deaths from vaping nicotine in that time. Nearly 300,000 active daily users in Canada, and 4.6 million Canadians who have at least tried using an e-cigarette with nicotine; zero deaths.
Smoking vs. Vaping – Is Vaping a ‘Gateway to Smoking’?
The number of Canadians Smoking in 2001 was 21.7%. In 2007 it was 19.2%. In 2012 it was 16.1%. In 2017 it was 15.1%. Smoking in Canada has been gradually declining since 2000. There is simply no evidence to support the claim that vaping leads to smoking. The data provided shows that the majority of people trying vaping are current smokers, which should (in theory) further reduce the prevalence of smoking in Canada.
Since we started Canada Vapes in 2010, the number of daily smokers in Canada has reduced from 13% to 10.8% which is a reduction of 2.2% or 17% reduction of daily smokers in Canada.
Compare and Contrast:
Smoking: Kills 100 people a day, and causes 2-3 people to die each day from secondhand smoke. It also kills 100 babies a year. Approximately 4.9 million Canadians smoke.
Vaping: In 15+ years has killed 0 people. Approximately 300,000 Canadians vape nicotine e-liquid on a daily basis.
In Conclusion
I will draw no conclusions. I will let the numbers speak for themselves. If you are a current smoker, I would just ask that you let your own common sense and intelligence be your guide. If you are an adult smoker looking at vaping nicotine e-liquid, please consider visiting Canada Vapes. Since 2010 we have converted thousands of smokers to vapers. We believe we are saving lives, but will let the numbers talk.
2018 Smoking and mortality Study found here
E-Cigarette use in Canada study found here.
Smoking prevalence study can be found here.
-
86.7 Million years of live saved if American smokers switched to vaping
Potential Lifespan Gains if American Smokers Switched to Vaping
The Potential of Vaping
A recent article published in Tobacco Control estimates that up to 6.6 million premature deaths could be prevented, equating to 86.7 million years of life saved, if current smokers in the U.S. switched to vaping.
The Study by Dr. David Levy
Dr. David Levy, at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC, conducted a study with two scenarios; an optimistic scenario where smoking falls to 5% over the next 10 years, and a pessimistic scenario where it falls to 10%. This study explored the potential outcomes if a large number of cigarette smokers switched to e-cigarettes and vaping.
The Optimistic Scenario
In the optimistic scenario, the researchers used similar patterns of vaping use and currently published evaluations of likely harm reduction. If smoking was reduced to 5% across the United States, 6.6 million fewer premature deaths would occur, and 86.7 million years of life would be saved. This is a remarkable real-world study, potentially saving tens of millions of years of life across a country.
The Pessimistic Scenario
In the pessimistic scenario, the researchers repeated the results in a ‘worst-case’ scenario. In this scenario, more young people initiated e-cigarette use and the risks of e-cigarettes (vaping) are on the higher end of suggested estimates. Even in this worst-case scenario, it’s estimated by researchers that 1.6 million premature deaths would be averted, and 20.8 million fewer life years lost.
The Unexplored Impact of Secondhand Smoke
The most fascinating thing about this study is that it does not even delve into the damage and disease caused by secondhand smoke, decline in health, and increased disability that many smokers experience in the years before death. With this additional information, the benefits of e-cigarettes versus traditional cigarettes are even greater.
The Aim of the Research
The aim of the research is to ‘help the (US) Surgeon General and the Public Health Community develop a strategy to reach the ‘endgame’ for cigarette smoking’. Could you imagine a smoke-free America? Where vaping and e-cigarettes have completely abolished smoking in the United States? Where there would be no secondhand smoke illnesses, no more dirty cigarette butts on our sidewalks, and no more stinky cigarette smoke lingering in the air.
Commentary by Dr. Marita Hefler
In additional commentary provided by Dr. Marita Hefler from the Menzies School of Health Research in Australia, she suggests it’s time to consider banning the sale of combustible tobacco products. Until e-cigarettes, no other products could match the efficiency of nicotine delivery. Without vaping as an alternative, an overall ban would be a non-viable option. Dr. Hefler states that the ongoing availability of combustible tobacco products is an “historical anomaly” as it is a legal consumer product that kills 2/3 of its users; an unfathomable deviation from consumer safety regulations.
Dr. Hefler’s Conclusion
Dr. Hefler concludes, “The new continuum of nicotine products presents an opportunity to end the exceptionalism of combustible tobacco, and allow the most dangerous end of the nicotine product continuum to be rapidly, and completely phased out.”
The Great Opportunity with Vaping Products
What a great opportunity we have with vaping products! Eradicate smoking completely and save tens of millions of lives. We hope that our politicians and government agencies will listen to reason and not attempt to ban this life-saving alternative to cigarettes. Cigarettes are called cancer sticks for a reason; they give you cancer and cause death. Every smoker-turned-vaper is a huge net-positive resulting in longer lives, fewer health conditions, and a healthier society for everyone.
Link to Study can be found here.
Link to Commentary can be found here.
-
Setting the record straight: Canada Vapes response to recent media.
RE: Health related vaping news:
Over the past several weeks, there have been a great deal of news articles, reports, and social media posts surrounding vaping related illnesses and deaths in the United States, and more recently in Canada.
At Canada Vapes, we believe that knowledge is power. We would like to take this opportunity to share the facts about this developing situation, as well as share our own stance relating to our customer’s safety and our responsibility as a Canadian vape business. This allows us to clarify what we have done and are continuing to do to ensure that our customer’s health and well-being are at the forefront of our guiding principles.
Verifiable information regarding the illness in the United States is somewhat sparse, but from what we do know the most likely reason for these illnesses has been linked to an agent being added to black market THC oil infused vape pens (source). When THC distillate is created, it is very thick (similar to pine sap) and must be modified in order to be used in a vaping device. It is believed by some experts that a manufacturer, or several manufacturers are using Vitamin E acetate to modify the THC distillate for use in their THC vape pens (source). This may be the primary reason for these illnesses. We must re-state that this is the preliminary evidence provided by many news sources, however, it is important to understand the difference between a THC infused vaping pen and the products that are sold at Canada Vapes.
Canada Vapes does not sell THC oils, pens, or pods. Canada Vapes has always been very transparent in the ingredients of our e-liquid, and do not and have never used Vitamin E acetate. No products manufactured or sold by Canada Vapes have been linked to any known health issues. Information on our e-liquid manufacturing process can be found here.
We have a strong desire to see those involved with the production of these dangerous and potentially lethal THC vape pens shut down immediately and brought to justice.
When a situation such as this arises, it is important for our government and our media to be as specific as possible. The information provided by our media has been very generalized and should instead provide specific information regarding the particular product(s) being used that are causing this harm. Similar to the food industry, if a particular brand and type of meat were to be contaminated, we suggest our government force a recall and post a warning against consuming that product, and not recommend we stop eating altogether.
We are confident at Canada Vapes that the facts and details relating to these illnesses will vindicate the lawful vape companies who are safely producing and selling vaping products. We encourage all of those concerned to take a deep-dive into the information available and use critical thinking and common sense in order to make an informed decision regarding nicotine vaping and its potential benefits to your health and wellness.
We want to see improved consumer safety in the vaping industry as a top priority. Vague misleading news headlines such as this cause confusion within the general public. This could potentially lead to a reduction in smokers considering vaping as a harm reducing alternative compared to combustible cigarettes.
Canada Vapes supports vaping regulations, and we welcome additional government regulation requiring high safety standards in the vaping industry in Canada. We strictly adhere to our own high set of production standards, such as:
- Clear list of ingredients & warning labels on each bottle
- Clean laboratory environment & production facility
- Regular quality testing all nicotine base to ensure accurate nicotine levels
- Use of USP and food grade ingredients approved and tested by Health Canada
- Childproof & tamper evident caps
- Lot numbers & Expiry dates on all e-liquid products
Canada Vapes strongly agrees with the recommendations of the CDC that individuals immediately stop THC infused vape pens purchased on the streets or by individuals not from a long standing reputable manufacture (source). Individuals vaping THC oils are taking an enormous risk using products that are not regulated and only available on the black market as these items have no safety or quality standards.
RE: Concerns about the rise in vaping among youth:
There has been news in Canada related to the increase in youth vaping numbers, and the availability of vaping products to youth. It has been suggested by some media outlets that vaping companies are actively attempting to influence youth into purchasing vape product through advertising and promotion of flavoured e-liquids. It has been suggested that banning flavours in e-liquid is the answer to this problem and would reduce youth vaping.
Canada Vapes makes every effort to keep vaping products, services, and marketing material out of the hands of minors. We take this responsibility to our community very seriously and have a comprehensive set of policies & mechanisms in place for both our online and retail environments. All customers in our retail store are ID checked in the same way as those visiting a beer or liquor store. Our retail staff have been trained by the Tobacco Enforcement Municipality (source) to correctly and accurately ID check every patron in our retail store on entering the premises. All first time customer orders are ID checked by Canada Post. Our website is age restricted. We will continue to explore additional ways to improve our business to further reduce any chance of underage individuals using our products.
Canada Vapes continues to support and work with industry leaders such as the Canadian Vaping Association, and legislators to shut down any vaping companies who would look to target our youth with advertising or promotions, or who sell vape products to those under the age of 19.
On many occasions we have been visited by the local Middlesex Health Unit (source) and can assure you that the Ontario Government is strictly policing the activities of vape shops to ensure they are not selling vape products to minors. The punishment for such infractions is severe in Ontario, starting at up to $20,000 fines for first time offences, with the potential to have your business banned from selling vape products with a second offence (source). We would like to make this clear: Canada Vapes has no interest in promoting or selling any of our vaping products to minors.
Parental discussions with children at a young age about healthy lifestyle choices, and dangers of addiction, should be prevalent in our society. Canada Vapes fully supports the recent addition of vaping awareness to the public school curriculum for empowering our Canadian youth to choose to live healthy lives. We further support the restrictions around public schools which do not allow vaping within 20 meters of any public schools (source). We support parents being the biggest & loudest voice in their child or teen’s life when discussing any adult activity or lifestyle choice.
We believe that adult vapers enjoy, and often prefer sweet and fruity flavours in their e-liquids. Having many flavour choices helps current smokers transition away from cigarettes to a harm reducing vaping product. We believe that limiting or banning these flavours would reduce the effectiveness of vaping to current smokers, thus turning many of them back to cigarettes which has been shown to be 95% more dangerous than vaping (source). Similarly to our liquor stores that offer adults a choice of fruity and sweet choices in their alcohol, including alcohol infused root beers and lemonades, tropical fruity drinks, and sweet candy liquors, we believe adult Canadian vapers deserve these same product choices.
Canada Vapes products are designed for adult smokers only. They are not designed for non-smokers, or anyone under the age of 19. If you are under the age of 19, and/or not a current smoker, please do not use any vaping products. Canada Vapes products are a risk reduction product, and are not considered safe to use. They are safer than and reduce the risk of those currently smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.
Our mission at Canada Vapes is to assist adult, smokers’ transition to less-harmful vaping products as an alternative to smoking tobacco cigarettes as they pursue their personal health & lifestyle goals. Canada Vapes recognizes that our products, resources, and services are no substitute for qualified medical advice and recommend vapers should discuss all options with their doctor before considering vaping. In addition, Canada Vapes has and will continue to work in coordination with regulators, legislators, and industry groups including the Canadian Vaping Association to manufacture, promote, and sell vaping products in an ethical & responsible way.
Thank you,
Canada Vapes ownership & staff
This article was posted on September 24th, 2019. To the best of our knowledge It is accurate as of this date, and as information and results from CDC, Health Canada, and other community sources become more available this information may be changed or updated.