Reacción a "Reactions: e-cigarettes may cause epigenetic changes associated with cancer even in the short term"

Over the last few years, new tobacco or nicotine presentations such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products or nicotine sachets for oral use have been introduced in our environment. The use of these new products does not require them to be subjected to temperatures as high as those produced by smoking a conventional cigarette and are therefore often advertised with the promise of generating non-combustion emissions, containing mainly harmless substances such as water vapour, or posing up to 95% less health risk compared to conventional tobacco use.

The recently published study assessed different epigenetic changes in samples from the mouth, cervix and blood of people who had reported a previous history of using smoked tobacco, e-cigarettes or oral tobacco products such as snus. The authors found a higher frequency of DNA alterations associated with the development of different forms of cancer in samples from smokers, which were attenuated in samples from those who had quit smoking. Epigenetic changes were also found in samples from non-smokers who had used e-cigarettes or oral tobacco products, suggesting that continued use of these products has some of the carcinogenic effects of tobacco on DNA.   

Although further research is needed to complement the results of this observational study, these new findings show possible carcinogenic effects of e-cigarettes and complement a recent review that showed that continued use is associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease similar to that caused by conventional cigarettes, and a substantial increase in respiratory and oral pathologies somewhat less than that seen among those who exclusively smoke tobacco. The health harms associated with dual use of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes have also been shown to be even greater than those caused by the use of each of these products separately.  

The accumulated evidence on the health effects of the use of e-cigarettes justifies the convenience of reinforcing the control of their advertising, sale and consumption, in order to protect young people and adolescents, their main users. E-cigarettes are not a safe tool to quit smoking or reduce the risks of tobacco use.