Association of Cigarette and Electronic Cigarette Use Patterns With Levels of Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers Among US Adults

“If you're a patient who uses combustible cigarettes and you're interested in a path toward harm reduction or cessation, we find that dual use of both products is not an effective means of reducing risk. If you are going to use e-cigarettes, you should switch completely and you should have a plan in place with your provider for ultimately attaining freedom from all products.”

“This study adds to the limited body of research we have on biologic measures in those using e-cigarettes. I believe it has an important message for individuals who may believe using e-cigarettes while continuing to smoke some combustible cigarettes reduces their risk. This commonly-seen pattern of dual use was not associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers, and thus is not likely to offer a reduction in risk in this specific area.”

“This study is among the first to use nationally representative data to examine the association of cigarette and e-cigarette use behaviors with biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Given the lag time between tobacco exposure and disease symptoms and diagnosis, identifying the association between e-cigarette use and sensitive biomarkers of subclinical cardiovascular injury is necessary for understanding the long-term effects of newer tobacco products such as e-cigarettes.”