May 11 - A prospective longitudinal study published recently in the world's largest clinical journal, BMJ Open, found that long-term smoking was associated with high blood pressure, cholesterol and other diseases in 17,539 American smokers who were followed, but no such diseases were reported among e-cigarette users. Another study, conducted by Penn State University, showed that using nicotine-containing e-cigarettes could help smokers quit by significantly reducing their dependence on cigarettes.

Despite the popularity of e-cigarettes, which many smokers around the world have come to see as the best alternative to cigarettes, some members of the public remain poorly informed about the health effects of e-cigarettes and many more remain skeptical. In fact, studies on E-cigarettes and their safety have long been carried out. In the document E-Cigarettes: an evidence update released by Public Health England in 2015, it was officially declared that "e-cigarettes can reduce the harm of cigarettes by about 95% compared with traditional tobacco".

A growing body of evidence also suggests that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional combustible cigarettes. A recent paper from the University of Michigan, Georgetown University, and Columbia University: Time-varying association between cigarette and ENDS use on incident hypertension among US adults:  a prospective longitudinal study.  The researchers constructed a variable of tobacco exposure over time from 17,539 American smokers over the age of 18 who were followed several times, the paper said. It was found that self-reported hypertension occurred between the second and fifth waves, and was associated with an increased risk of developing self-reported hypertension in smokers, but not e-cigarette users, compared with non-use of any nicotine products.

A similar follow-up study was conducted at Pennsylvania State University to assess smokers' dependence on cigarettes, e-cigarettes and total nicotine after switching to e-cigarettes. The study divided 520 participants into four groups. The first three groups were given vape products of varying nicotine concentrations, the fourth group was given NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) and instructed to reduce their smoking by 75% for one month, followed by follow-up exams at one, three and six months.

The research team found that all three groups using e-cigarettes reported lower cigarette dependence than the NRT group at all follow-up times, which was lower than the median amount of cigarettes smoked by participants. There was also no significant increase in total nicotine exposure compared to baseline. Given these results, the researchers believe that e-cigarettes could reduce dependence on cigarettes, allowing smokers to quit over the long term without increasing their total nicotine intake.

It can be seen that e-cigarettes are an effective alternative to other nicotine products in terms of smoking cessation and harm reduction, which can safely and quickly reduce smokers' dependence on cigarettes and minimize the risk of human health effects.