Journal retracts study claiming e-cigarettes kill 650,000 people a year
In other news, a journal has retracted a study that claimed that vaping kills as many as 650,000 people a year. While minor, this presents a victory against the rising misinformation on the actual dangers of vaping.
As American Experiment’s recent report shows, Minnesotans, especially the youth, are heavily misinformed about the harms of e-cigarettes, especially when compared to traditional cigarettes.
In 2020, only 18.2 percent of Minnesota youths said they considered e-cigarettes to be less harmful than regular cigarettes, down from 35.2 percent of respondents in 2017.
Similarly, nationally, the number of people who consider e-cigarettes and vaping to be equally or even more harmful than cigarettes has grown. Consequently, there has been a decline in the number of people switching from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
Why is this so?
Misinformation, particularly by anti-tobacco activists, could be contributing to this. In their quest for a nicotine-free society, anti-tobacco activities continue to demonize e-cigarettes and other less harmful vaping products.
Exhibit A:
What scientific evidence really says about e-cigarettes and vaping
The fact is, e-cigarettes do not produce toxins that are a result of the combustion involved with traditional cigarettes. These toxins are associated with cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses and deaths. Studies have, in fact, suggested that vaping could be up to 95 percent less harmful than smoking. While there have been cases of deaths and illnesses associated with vaping, these have been due to THC-laced products that were flooding the market.
Indeed, e-cigarettes are not risk-free, but they are a better alternative to traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes could help reduce smoking among adults and help others quit. It could also reduce smoking among the youth who are more likely to start smoking.
If the aim is to reduce public health harm caused by smoking, waging a war against safer alternatives is a losing battle.