{"id":27194,"date":"2025-10-10T08:57:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T08:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=27194"},"modified":"2025-10-10T08:57:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T08:57:30","slug":"vaping-carries-far-lower-risk-of-wheezing-than-smoking-new-coehar-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/vaping-carries-far-lower-risk-of-wheezing-than-smoking-new-coehar-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaping carries far lower risk of wheezing than smoking, new CoEHAR study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Smokers were nearly twice as likely to develop wheezing compared with vapers. The risk of respiratory symptoms rose sharply according to the number of cigarettes smoked daily.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exclusive vape use appears substantially less harmful than smoking, with risk levels near those of never-users.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ex-smokers who switched to vapes and quit smoking more than six years ago reported wheezing rates similar to never-smokers, suggesting potential recovery over time.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The findings strengthen global evidence that switching completely to vaping can cut respiratory risks while maintaining nicotine use.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A major study has found that cigarette smokers face the highest risk of wheezing, while exclusive vape users show no significant difference compared with people who have never smoked or vaped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s12954-025-01315-8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The study,<\/a> published in the Harm Reduction Journal, was led by researchers at the respected Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) at the University of Catania, Italy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s one of the first large-scale European cohort studies to show that exclusive vape users do not face significantly higher odds of wheezing than people who have never smoked or vaped. It adds weight to a growing body of harm reduction research previously dominated by U.S. data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers analysed data from more than 9,000 Scottish adults aged 16 and over who took part in the 2017-2019 Scottish Health Survey. They examined rates of self-reported wheezing across exclusive cigarette smokers, exclusive vape users, and never-users of nicotine products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They found that smokers were nearly twice as likely to report wheezing as vapers, with risk climbing sharply alongside the number of cigarettes smoked each day. Compared with exclusive vape users, exclusive cigarette smokers had 1.8 times higher odds of wheezing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In contrast, exclusive vape use was not associated with higher odds of wheezing compared with never-users, suggesting that vaping &#8211; while not risk-free &#8211; may pose far less respiratory harm than continued smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-author Professor Riccardo Polosa, founder and director of CoEHAR, said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe findings reinforce that while abstinence remains the safest option, switching from cigarettes to vaping may substantially reduce respiratory harm, a message with important implications for tobacco control and public health policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A clear dose-response pattern<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The study revealed a strong dose-response relationship between smoking intensity and respiratory symptoms. Light smokers (fewer than ten cigarettes per day) showed only a small, non-significant increase in wheezing compared with vapers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But risk increased markedly among moderate smokers (10-19 cigarettes daily), who were 1.85 times more likely<strong> <\/strong>to wheeze, and among heavy smokers (20 or more cigarettes), who had odds more than twice as high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Predicted probabilities followed the same trend: compared with vapers, the likelihood of wheezing was around seven per cent<strong> <\/strong>higher for moderate smokers and 10 per cent higher for heavy smokers, but not significantly different for light smokers or never-users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Signs of recovery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The research also suggests that airway recovery may occur over time after quitting smoking, even when individuals continue to vape.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Former smokers who had switched exclusively to vapes and quit combustible tobacco more than six years earlier reported wheezing rates comparable to never-smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This, the authors suggest, may reflect the body\u2019s ability to repair airway damage once exposure to combustion stops. Cigarette smoke contains a complex mix of more than 7,000 chemicals, including tar, carbon monoxide and carcinogens that damage airway tissues and trigger chronic inflammation.<br>Meanwhile, vape aerosols contain far fewer and less toxic constituents, primarily nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine and flavourings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Difference between nicotine and smoke<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The CoEHAR team say their findings underline the importance of distinguishing between nicotine and smoke when evaluating respiratory risk.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The results \u201csupport the view that the respiratory harm from combustible tobacco is more pronounced\u201d and that switching to vaping \u201cmay offer tangible respiratory benefits for individuals unable or unwilling to quit nicotine altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some new vapers may experience mild irritation or coughing during the early weeks of switching, these effects \u201cgenerally subside as users develop tolerance,\u201d the authors noted, and are not indicative of lasting harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The research adds to a growing international consensus that vapes can play a positive role in harm reduction, helping smokers lower their health risks even if they are not ready or able to quit nicotine entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Implications for policy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The findings arrive amid ongoing debate over the role of vaping in public health. Regulators in the UK and Europe have increasingly endorsed vapes as a less harmful alternative to smoking, while calling for stronger restrictions to prevent youth use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Polosa said the results could help shape more balanced tobacco control strategies. He said: \u201cSwitching from cigarettes to vaping may substantially reduce respiratory harm.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A major study has found that cigarette smokers face the highest risk of wheezing, while exclusive vape users show no significant difference compared with people who have never smoked or vaped. The study, published in the Harm Reduction Journal, was led by&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990002,"featured_media":27195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,259],"tags":[334,330,186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-27194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-science","tag-global","tag-italy","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27201,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27194\/revisions\/27201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27194"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=27194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}