Research presented at the ATS 2024 International Conference shows that former smokers who switch to e-cigarettes may face a higher lung cancer risk than those who don’t vape. The study, involving over four million individuals, found increased risks of lung cancer and related deaths among e-cigarette users, particularly among those who had quit smoking five or more years prior.
“This is the first large population-based study to demonstrate the increased risk of lung cancer in e-cigarette users after smoking cessation,” said corresponding author Yeon Wook Kim, MD, assistant professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
“Our results indicate that when integrating smoking cessation interventions to reduce lung cancer risk, the potential harms of using e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking must be considered,” said Dr. Kim.To determine these individuals’ risk, the researchers evaluated 4,329,288 individuals with a history of conventional smoking who participated in the Republic of Korea’s National Health Screening Program at two time points: 2012-2014 and 2018. They conducted a follow-up in December 2021.