This is a new pilot study funded by the Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Addiction which warns us today that the use of the e-cigarette with a low dose of nicotine would not be the best choice to start a smoking cessation.
MORE CONSUMPTION OF E-LIQUID AND FORMALDEHYDE?
This time it is a behavioral study that is proposed by the Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Addiction. When a smoker wants to get into the world of vaping, the question is often the same: What should I take as nicotine levels? If a few years ago, the initial nicotine level of a first-time vapoteur was often 19,6 mg / mL, this has changed a lot and more and more beginners are learning to e- cigarette with e-liquids at 6 mg or even 3 mg / mL.
For this new pilot study, the researchers followed 20 regular vapers for a month, recording every detail of their consumption thanks to “connected” e-cigarettes. Thus, they highlighted the existence of a compensatory behavior: vapers using e-liquids with a low nicotine content (6 mg / mL) tended to compensate for the lower nicotine intake by vaping more often, and with longer and more intense puffs than the others (18 mg / mL).
Compensatory behavior has been known for a long time. They are, for example, common with so-called "light" cigarettes, which contributes to making them at least as harmful as normal cigarettes. If with the e-cigarette we go a little outside this framework, this behavior is not neutral either: the researchers detected more formaldehyde (an irritant and potentially carcinogenic compound) in the urine of the group using e-liquids to low in nicotine.
START WITH A LOW DOSE OF NICOTINE: AN ERROR?
« Some vapers might think it's best to start with a low nicotine dosage, but they need to know that a lower 
concentration risk to drive them to consume more e-liquid“, Explains the Dr. Lynne Dawkins, first author of the study, in a Cancer Research UK release. " This has a financial cost, but possibly a health cost. The result of this pilot study will still have to be confirmed by larger studies.
Nicotine is not a problem in itself: it causes a strong dependence but its toxicity is very low (except for the fetus, in pregnant women). In case of strong tobacco dependence, it is better to opt for a sufficient dosage of nicotine, rather than compensate for its lack of nicotine by misusing the e-cigarette. Because there is another risk in the fact of using e-liquids under-dosed in nicotine, it is the state of withdrawal that can lead once again to smoking.
Source : Onlinelibrary / Why Doctor
