Study Links E-Cigarette Use to Greater Risk of Lung Disease

A prominent researcher and tobacco control activist has authored a new study suggesting a link between electronic cigarette use and increased risk of chronic lung disease.

The research, published this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, states that three years after commencing use of e-cigarettes, individuals were 30% more likely than non-users of e-cigs to have developed a lung disease such as asthma, emphysema or bronchitis. NBC News reported that when the study began in 2013, none of the subjects had demonstrated any signs of a lung illness.

Study author Stanton Glantz, PhD, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, has authored numerous studies on e-cigs, including research showing that the products attract numerous non-smokers and have a questionable impact on smoking cessation.

The latest report is likely to fuel additional discussion at a time when the number of mysterious cases of lung illnesses associated with vaping has now exceeded 2,400, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still unable to isolate a common cause for the illnesses.