NASEM report offers ‘conclusive evidence’ that vaping is safer than smoking
The National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) has recently published a report offering conclusive evidence that vaping produces no known adverse health effects long-term and is significantly safer than smoking. The U.S. findings closely mirror those of a 2015 publication by Public Health England indicating that vaping is as much as 95 percent less harmful than smoking.
Anti-tobacco activists will likely take issue with NASEM’s findings because its co-authors fall short of claiming definitely that vaping has zero long-term consequences. No reputable scientist would ever make such a claim, regardless of the subject matter, simply because the technology surrounding electronic cigarettes is always advancing at a rapid pace. But the scientists do make some very bold claims in favor of vaping as a safe and effective tobacco harm reduction tool and smoking alternative.
Overview of the NASEM report
Led by Dr. Nancy Rigotti of Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the researchers began by compiling and analyzing over 800 vaping studies conducted by the world’s most highly regarded researchers. After countless hours combing through the volumes of research, the Rigotti team determined that while vaping is not completely harmless, it is significantly safer than smoking and can greatly improve a smoker’s chances of quitting. Other noteworthy findings of the NASEM report entitled Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes include the following:
The report also goes on to state the existence of “moderate evidence” that second-hand vapor is far less toxic than second-hand smoke. “No available evidence” exists linking vaping to cardiovascular outcomes including heart disease, stroke, or artery disorders. And there is “insufficient evidence” to support the claims that e-cigs cause long-term changes to blood pressure or heart rate. The report even concludes that there is “no available evidence” linking vaping to cancer.
Michael Seigel, the NASEM report, and the FDA deeming regulations
The NASEM report began making its way into mainstream media almost immediately after publication. Within 48-hours of report’s release on January 23, the U.S. News & World Report published an Op Ed by Dr. Michael Siegel of the Boston University of Public Health. As a longtime pro-vaping advocate, Siegel uses this opportunity to take specific aim at FDA deeming regulations that threaten to wipe out vaping by 2022.
Seigel also urges anti-tobacco activists to read the NASEM report, officially endorse vaping as significantly less harmful than smoking, and perhaps throw their political weight behind a possible repeal of the “FDA’s de facto ban” on vaping. He specifically mentions the Pre-Market Tobacco Applications (PMTA) process that is both “expensive and burdensome.”
Related Article: DR. MICHAEL SIEGEL BLASTS AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION FOR LYING ABOUT VAPING