People who vape have significantly higher self-reported health than smokers, a new study has found.
The study, published in the journal Springer Nature Link, examined the differences in “self-rated general health” between exclusive vape users and exclusive cigarette smokers among Scottish adults.
It found that those who vaped exclusively were almost 1.5 times as likely to report higher general health overall than those who smoked cigarettes exclusively. Even after adjusting for other variables such as age, gender, socio-economic and health factors, vapers were still 1.26 times as likely to report higher health than smokers.
“Our findings indicate that exclusive e-cigarette users consistently reported better SRH (self-rated health) than cigarette smokers, the study said.
“This association remained significant after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors, such as age, sex, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, marital status, ethnicity, alcohol consumption, physical activity, long standing health conditions and age of smoking initiation.”
Heavy smoking linked to lowest self-reported health
The researchers also found that the more cigarettes a person smoked, the lower their self-reported health was likely to be.
Heavy smokers (20 or more cigarettes per day) had the lowest odds of reporting better self-rated health followed by moderate smokers (10 to 19 cigarettes per day). Light smokers (less than 10 cigarettes/day) showed no significant difference in self-rated health compared to vapers.
The study said: “A graded relationship was also observed in the fully adjusted model, with progressively lower odds of reporting better self-rated health as smoking intensity increased, using exclusive e-cigarette users as the reference group.”
“These findings indicate that exclusive e-cigarette use is associated with better self-rated health compared to exclusive cigarette smoking, particularly among moderate and heavy smokers,” it concluded.
Prior smoking not relevant to self-reported health
Researchers found that previous smoking made “no significant differences” to self-reported health among vapers. It said: “Additional analyses revealed no significant differences in self-rated health among exclusive e-cigarette users based on prior smoking history or among exclusive cigarette smokers based on prior e-cigarette use.
“These findings suggest that prior use is unlikely to explain the observed association between exclusive e-cigarette use and better self-rated health compared to exclusive cigarette smoking.”
The study looked at data from the 2017–2019 Scottish Health Survey, which included 2,484 adults. The researchers said that although self-rated health (SRH) is subjective, evidence shows it is “meaningfully associated with objective health outcomes.”
They added: “Studies have demonstrated strong correlations between SRH and specific health conditions, including diseases like epilepsy, cancer, and diabetes, across various age groups.
“Poorer SRH is consistently linked to a higher prevalence of diseases and abnormalities in laboratory parameters, such as cardio-cerebral vascular diseases and hemoglobin levels.”
They concluded: “These findings emphasise the value of integrating subjective perceptions with objective measures to gain a comprehensive understanding of health outcomes. By doing so, researchers and policymakers can better assess the potential impacts of e-cigarette use on population health.”
