Ditching the smokes for e-cigs reduces toxicants expelled in your urine

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-02-11 03:00

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US scientists say transitioning from cigarettes to e-cigarettes reduces the toxicants found in people's urine, but only if smokers ditch the cigarettes completely. They recruited 3,211 people, 21.9 per cent of whom only smoked traditional cigarettes, 42.8 per cent of whom only vaped e-cigs, and 62.1 per cent of who both smoked and vaped (dual users). They found a significant reduction in urine concentrations of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds when users switched from exclusive cigarette to exclusive e-cigarette use, with a 92 per cent decrease in one nasty TSNA called 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL). A similar range of toxicants also decreased when dual users transitioned to exclusive e-cigarette use. But switching from exclusive cigarette use to dual-use did not decrease toxicants, the authors say.