Veritas Cohort Study
Vaping and Health: A Groundbreaking Study
The Ratio
Why We Need to Study the Long-Term Health Effects of Vaping
“The long-term health effects of vaping are unknown”. This statement has sparked a lot of debate among public health experts for years. It is also one of the most important research questions about Tobacco Harm Reduction that remains unanswered.
How can we find out the truth about vaping and its impact on our health? The ideal way would be to follow a large group of e-cig users who have never smoked before for several years and see how they fare compared to non-smokers and non-vapers.
This is exactly what COEHAR is planning to do. In May 2023, the research team has launched the VERITAS Cohort Study to collect and analyze data from about 500 people in six regions of the world who has been using e-cigarettes for at least three months and have never smoked or used any other tobacco products. The study will ask them about their vaping products and habits, and how vaping affects their symptoms and well-being.
The goal is to test the hypothesis that long-term e-cig use does not cause any harm to people who vape and have never smoked tobacco. This will be the first study to specifically focus on this group of vapers and their health outcomes. The results of this pilot study will help design larger and more comprehensive studies in the future.
Goals of the study
- The main goal of the study is to find out how vaping affects your health over time, by asking you and other people who vape or don’t vape some questions about your health.
- The study will focus on things like how often you cough, how much mucus you have, how easily you get out of breath, and how your chest sounds when you breathe
- The study will also look at other aspects of your health and behavior, and check if there are any problems or risks related to vaping or not vaping.
- The study will also ask you some details about your vaping habits, such as when you started, how often you vape, what kind of vapes you use, what flavors you like, why you vape, and if you use different types of vapes.
Who can participate
You have to meet the following criteria:
- You are 18 years or older
- You live in one of the six regions of the world where the study is conducted
- You have been using e-cigarettes for at least three months and have never smoked or smoked less than 100 cigarettes in your lifetime
- You have never used e-cigarettes, smoked or used any other tobacco products
