The Italian Anti-Smoking League (LIAF) is increasingly clearing the electronic cigarette. The last point in favor of the e-cig comes from a 3-year study, led by the research center of the University of Catania: the investigators conducted a prospective re-evaluation of the variations in objective and subjective respiratory parameters in a total of 44 patients with COPD, comparing 22 patients who had quit smoking or had substantially reduced smoking with e-cigarette use, and 22 control patients who were smokers who were not using e-cigarettes at the time of the study. Convincing research results have shown that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who switched to e-cigarettes also had positive effects after 3 years.
And here are the results:
– Significant reduction in tobacco cigarette use (from a mean of 21,9 cigarettes per day to a mean of 2 cigarettes per day at one-year follow-up);
– Marked attenuation of respiratory infections and COPD exacerbations, with a respiratory physiology not aggravated by the use of the e-cig;
– Constant improvement in general health and physical activity performance;
– Very low recurrence rate to tobacco cigarettes (only 8,3% of patients returned to smoking).
Importantly, even COPD patients who used e-cigarettes but continued to smoke conventional cigarettes (dual users), reduced their daily consumption of conventional cigarettes by at least 75%, and showed improvement in respiratory parameters and quality of life. life.
Although the sample size in the study was relatively small, the findings may provide preliminary evidence that long-term e-cigarette use should not lead to serious health problems in COPD patients.
COPD is a chronic and progressive lung disease, very disabling and not entirely reversible, mainly caused by cigarette smoking, which affects about 3 million people in Italy.
"Quitting smoking is therefore a key strategy not only to prevent the onset of COPD, but also to stop its progression to more severe stages of the disease - commented Polosa - given that many COPD patients continue to smoke despite their symptoms , the e-cigarette could be an effective and safe alternative to tobacco cigarettes even in this vulnerable population. During the 3-year observation period, only two patients (8,3%) resumed smoking, and both patients were already dual users,” she added.
This is an important consideration, as standard smoking cessation programs have little efficacy in smoking populations with COPD due to high relapse rates.
Dr Pasquale Caponetto, co-author of the study, suggests that the low relapse rate of COPD smokers who switched to e-cigarettes is due to the fact that: "These tools reproduce the smoking experience and accompanying rituals with large compensatory physical and behavioral effects" .
In terms of improving health, co-author Dr. Massimo Caruso argues that "the halving of COPD exacerbations in patients who quit or significantly reduced tobacco cigarette use after switching to e-cigarettes is an extraordinary finding that confirms the harm-reversing potential of these products."
The work undertaken by Polosa and colleagues contributes to the growing literature in this field, recognizing that the e-cigarette is far less harmful than combustible tobacco products.
