FEATURES
WHAT EVERY SMOKER SHOULD KNOW …
… dual use may help you quit but switching exclusively to vaping is necessary to maximise the harm reduction benefits of e-cigarettes .
Words : Patrick Griffin
Ask any vaper who has successfully switched from smoking if the change has improved their health and the answer will sure to be a resounding ‘ yes ’.
In fact , the desire to become healthier is one of the most frequent reasons cited by smokers for wanting to quit .
Now research by a team of scientists led by Professor Hongying Dai from the University of Nebraska Medical Center has confirmed what vapers have known for years .
The study ’ s starting point was a simple question :
Does exposure to tobacco-related toxicants change when users transition between cigarette , e-cigarette , dual use , and no use ?
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They examined urine samples from smokers for a range of harmful biomarkers and compared them to those who had exclusively switched to vaping , those who both smoked and vaped ( dual
“ users ) and those who neither smoked nor vaped .
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These findings may inform regulatory strategies and public health policies to guide tobacco users toward harm reduction transition patterns .