A major international research study has been launched to look at the health effects of vejping - and only vejping. Smokers and former smokers are being sidelined when comparing the potential health effects of e-cigarettes with not using nicotine or tobacco at all.
"The Veritas Cohort study" is the name of the research project launched by Coehar (Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction) in Italy. The study is led by respiratory physician and professor of internal medicine Riccardo Polosa. He is considered the world's leading researcher in the field of electronic cigarettes and since 2009 his research team has been focusing on vejpning and the impact of e-cigarettes. Recently, the team highlighted e-cigarette use in COPD patients.
Focus on non-smokers
The Veritas Cohort study will focus on the effects of vejpning over time and will be Coehar's most ambitious project to date. It has already received more than 400 participant applications from 27 different countries, and not one of them is a former smoker. If they are, they are screened out. That's the point: to study the effects of 1TP8 vapor itself in more detail. This is relatively uncharted territory for research, as many vejp users are former smokers whose health is likely to have been affected by chronic smoking. Therefore, people who have used e-cigarettes for at least three months will be compared to a control group of people who have not used nicotine or tobacco at all.
- The primary goal of Veritas is to assess the long-term health impact of vejpning by comparing data collected from vejpers, smokers and non-vejpers. In just a few months, the project has received hundreds of requests and we are actively collecting and analyzing data," said Professor Riccardo Polosa in a press release.
Looking at health effects
Participants, who must be over 18 years old, will be asked to answer questions about their 1TP8 habits, the products they use and in particular about perceived health effects - primarily regarding respiratory symptoms. Applications are now open and they are looking for participants in two main groups.
* Individuals who have used e-cigarettes for at least three months and have never smoked, or have smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.
* People who have never used e-cigarettes, smoked or used any other tobacco products at all.
Sources for this article:
Link to "Veritas Cohort Study"
"The Veritas Cohort study"
- The main objective of the study is to find out how vaping affects health over time, by asking questions about health.
- The study will focus on things like how often participants cough, how much phlegm they have, how easily they get out of breath and how their chest sounds when they breathe
- The study will also look at other aspects of health and behavior, and check whether there are any problems or risks related to vejping or not vejping.
- The study will also ask about details of vejp habits, such as when the participant started, how often they vejp, what type of vapes they use, what flavors they like, why they vejp and whether they use different types of vapes.
