{"id":39700,"date":"2026-07-17T07:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=39700"},"modified":"2026-07-17T07:10:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:10:02","slug":"studies-link-vaping-to-lower-death-risk-in-cancer-patients-and-reduced-carcinogen-exposure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/studies-link-vaping-to-lower-death-risk-in-cancer-patients-and-reduced-carcinogen-exposure\/","title":{"rendered":"Studies link vaping to lower death risk in cancer patients and reduced carcinogen exposure"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"clear-before-content-2\" style=\"margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\" id=\"clear-1176156001\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.broughton-group.com\/nicotine?utm_campaign=43296353-Clearing%20the%20Air%20PPC%20Campaign%20-%202026&#038;utm_source=ppc&#038;utm_medium=Paid%20Ads\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" aria-label=\"728 x 90 (2)\"><img src=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png 728w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-300x37.png 300w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-370x46.png 370w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-600x74.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A South Korean study of 46,834 cancer patients found that deaths occurred at a 16 per cent lower rate among those who used vapes after diagnosis than among those who continued smoking.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vape users also had a 28 per cent lower rate of heart and circulation problems.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A separate US study found that smokers who began vaping alongside cigarettes had lower exposure to two cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In adjusted comparisons, the reductions were clear among lighter smokers. The differences among heavier smokers were smaller and could have been due to chance.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>People with cancer who used vapes after their diagnosis had lower death rates and fewer heart and circulation problems than those who continued smoking, according to a large <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/42391591\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">South Korean study<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/add.70527\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Separate US research<\/a> found that smokers who began vaping alongside cigarettes had lower exposure to two cancer-causing chemicals than people who continued to smoke exclusively. The clearest reductions were seen among lighter smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Together, the findings add to evidence that switching from smoking to vaping, or vaping while cutting down on cigarettes, is associated with fewer smoking-related harms than continuing to smoke exclusively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lower death rate after cancer diagnosis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The South Korean study examined 46,834 people who were smoking when they were diagnosed with cancer between 2015 and 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers used data from the country\u2019s National Health Insurance Service. After diagnosis, 17,418 people continued smoking, 25,909 quit and 3,507 were classed as vape users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a median follow-up of 4.2 years, deaths from any cause occurred at a 16 per cent lower rate among vape users than among people who continued smoking. Among those who quit, the death rate was eight per cent lower than among continued smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These figures are based on what researchers call hazard ratios. This means they compare how quickly deaths or health problems occurred in each group over time. They do not mean that every individual vape user had exactly a 16 per cent lower chance of dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vape users also had a 28 per cent lower rate of heart and circulation problems than people who continued smoking. Among those who quit, the rate was 36 per cent lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study also found more lung-related complications among vape users than among people who quit smoking without switching to vapes. The estimated rate was 26 per cent higher, but there was uncertainty around the result. The lower end of the estimated range suggested there may have been little or no difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers concluded that vaping was linked to lower death rates and fewer heart and circulation problems than continued smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People who quit without switching to vapes had a larger reduction in heart and circulation problems and fewer lung complications. However, the researchers did not directly compare quitters and vape users for every result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because researchers observed people\u2019s behaviour rather than assigning them to different groups, the study cannot prove that vaping caused the lower rates. Differences in previous smoking, cancer type, treatment, general health or lifestyle could also have affected the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research involved people who had already been diagnosed with cancer. It did not examine whether vaping lowers the chance of developing cancer, prevents cancer from returning or reduces the risk of dying specifically from cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dual use linked to lower carcinogen exposure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second study looked at US adults who moved from smoking cigarettes exclusively to using both cigarettes and vapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers analysed data from 8,688 adult smokers taking part in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study. Of these, 798 began vaping alongside smoking between two survey rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their results were compared with those of people who continued to smoke without vaping. Researchers also compared each person\u2019s results before and after they began dual use, helping to reduce the effect of differences between individual smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People who began dual use had a 13.4 per cent reduction in NNAL and a 9.5 per cent reduction in NNNT compared with those who continued smoking exclusively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NNAL and NNNT are markers found in urine that show exposure to tobacco-specific nitrosamines. These are cancer-causing chemicals linked mainly to burning tobacco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Average cigarette consumption among people who began dual use fell by 11 per cent, from 14.3 to 12.7 cigarettes a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nicotine exposure did not fall in the same way. Compared with continued smokers, dual users had a 17 per cent increase in one measure of nicotine breakdown products and an 8.7 per cent increase in another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The results varied according to how much people smoked at the beginning of the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among lighter smokers, defined as those smoking no more than 13 cigarettes a day, dual use was linked to a 17.7 per cent reduction in NNAL and a 14.1 per cent reduction in NNNT. Among heavier smokers, the adjusted differences were much smaller and were not large enough for researchers to rule out chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These smokers still cut their cigarette use from around 22 to 18 a day. Their levels of the two carcinogen markers also fell after they began vaping. However, after researchers adjusted for other differences, their results were not significantly lower than those of people who continued smoking exclusively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The findings show that dual use did not have the same effect for everyone. How many cigarettes people replaced with vaping may have influenced the results, although the relationship was not straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study measured exposure to harmful chemicals rather than actual cancer cases. Lower exposure to known carcinogens may be relevant to future risk, but the findings cannot show how many cancers might be prevented or predict what will happen to an individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What the findings mean<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The South Korean study examined health outcomes among people with cancer. The US study looked at one possible reason why moving away from cigarettes could reduce harm, which is lower exposure to cancer-causing chemicals produced when tobacco burns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both found benefits when vaping was compared with continuing to smoke exclusively. They also suggest that moving away from cigarettes as fully as possible is likely to produce greater reductions in harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither study examined whether vaping lowers the long-term chance of developing cancer. However, taken together, they show why the comparison is important. Against continued smoking, vaping was linked to lower death rates, fewer heart and circulation problems and reduced exposure to specific tobacco carcinogens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The US findings also suggest that smoking patterns, including how many cigarettes are replaced, can affect the results.<\/p>\n<div class=\"clear-after-content\" style=\"margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\" id=\"clear-3044279743\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.broughton-group.com\/nicotine?utm_campaign=43296353-Clearing%20the%20Air%20PPC%20Campaign%20-%202026&#038;utm_source=ppc&#038;utm_medium=Paid%20Ads\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" aria-label=\"728 x 90 (2)\"><img src=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2.png 728w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-300x37.png 300w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-370x46.png 370w, https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/728-x-90-2-600x74.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People with cancer who used vapes after their diagnosis had lower death rates and fewer heart and circulation problems than those who continued smoking, according to a large South Korean study. Separate US research found that smokers who began vaping alongside cigarettes&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990002,"featured_media":39701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,259],"tags":[26,186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-39700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-science","tag-lifestyle","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39700","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=39700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39708,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39700\/revisions\/39708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39700"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=39700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}