May 2022 Podcast with Neal Benowitz

Let's talk e-cigarettes

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson discuss emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Neal Benowitz. In this episode Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Dr Nicola Lindson discuss the emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Professor Neal Benowitz. This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches. Long description In the May episode Jamie Hartmann-Boyce talks with Neal Benowitz, Emeritus Professor at the University of California San Francisco, Professor Benowitz practices medicine, cardiology and clinical pharmacology and has a particular interest in tobacco as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Professor Neal Benowitz talks to Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce about the toxicological data from studies of e-cigarettes. He stresses the importance of comparing e-cigarette use to combustible cigarette use, as the exposure to biomarkers that we can measure is much lower in people who vape than in people who use combustible cigarettes. Professor Benowitz points out that many e-cigarette users have been long-term combustible cigarette users so it is difficult to separate out the effects of each. He highlights the need for longitudinal studies among people who have only used e-cigarettes and have not used combustible cigarettes. Professor Benowitz also discusses the need to look at the different types of e-cigarettes, there are many different products and toxicity will vary between the different e-cigarette devices. Jamie and Nicola discuss recent work comparing biomarkers of harm. Exclusive e-cigarette use was associated with lower levels of biomarkers of harm than exclusive use of combustible tobacco, or use of a combination of combustible tobacco. This work was funded by the Oxford University Public Policy Challenge Fund and Cancer Research UK. Jamie and Nicola also bring us up to date with the literature search conducted on May 1st 2022. The May search found 2 new studies, 3 new ongoing studies and 2 records linked to previously identified studies. We will include the studies we have found in future updates of the Cochrane review. For more information on the full Cochrane review updated in September 2021 see: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub6 or our webpage https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/research/electronic-cigarettes-for-smoking-cessation-cochrane-living-systematic-review-1