The earth shattering news is out now thanks to super scientists at Karolinska Institute in Sweden. We should all switch back to cigarettes according to hysterical media worldwide.
(not Dr. Magnus Lundback)
Dr. Magnus Lundbäck, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in the Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital seems to have made n monumental discovery that could destroy e-cigarettes and the vaping industry as we know it.
In a study of 15 volunteers (who have never vaped but smoke infrequently), Dr. Lundbäck supplied all participants with e-cigarettes, some with nicotine and a control group without nicotine.
The results found that with 30 minutes the group that used devices containing nicotine, the participants had an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and increased arterial stiffness. The group who received the stimulant returned to baseline after the stimulant wore off. The control surprisingly didn't have an stimulant related effects from vaping e-liquid with no nicotine content.
In other words, the blood vessels constricted and the heart rate increased when the circulatory system was stimulated.
A shocking discovery! A stimulant such as nicotine actually serves its purpose when in an e-cigarette.
This research was presented on Monday to the European Respiratory Society International Congress. Other 'researchers' were surely surprised at this new information regarding the effect of nicotine upon the human body.
No word on whether Dr. Magnus Lundback is going to continue his win streak by studying the effects of caffeine when in coffee versus decaf.
Scaremongering about vaping on display from online publications
Stories about this exercise in the corruption of science and academic publishing were found in a shockingly large number of online publications (it will take time for this to show up in actual print) including the Guardian, the Birmingham Mail published on MSN.com, Men's Fitness and many others.
When looking at stories about this study it was shocking (not really since society expects media incompetence) to see the number of stories that have the exact same paragraphs cited above that were found in the Guardian, with and without citation.
What was not as shocking is seeing the same boring, hyperbolic take on this study without any writer actually thinking about the conclusion of this study or of the desired narrative of the publisher of the study.
At least it was not another story about a Florida man with a mech mod in his pocket have the battery vent (or a more exciting thermal runaway).
The following is from the Guardian but most stories on this study were pulled fairly directly from a press release that can be found at EurekaAlert.
From the Guardian UK:
Dr Magnus Lundback of the Karolinska Institute, a medical university in Stockholm, said: “The number of e-cigarette users has increased dramatically in the last few years. E-cigarettes are regarded by the general public as almost harmless.
“The industry markets their product as a way to reduce harm and to help people to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, the safety of e-cigarettes is debated, and a growing body of evidence is suggesting several adverse health effects.
“The results are preliminary, but in this study we found there was a significant increase in heart rate and blood pressure in the volunteers who were exposed to e-cigarettes containing nicotine. Arterial stiffness increased around three-fold in those who were exposed to nicotine-containing e-cigarettes compared with the nicotine-free group.”
While the effects seen in the tests were temporary, Lundback said that chronic exposure to e-cigarettes with nicotine could have permanent effects.
“The number of e-cigarette users has increased dramatically in the last few years. E-cigarettes are regarded by the general public as almost harmless. The industry markets their product as a way to reduce harm and to help people to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, the safety of e-cigarettes is debated, and a growing body of evidence is suggesting several adverse health effects.
Ah, O.K. Dr. Lundback doesn't seem to like people saying that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking traditional tobacco.
On face value from Dr. Lundback's statements and the fact that this study actually took place, perhaps he doesn't believe that nicotine would stimulate the circulatory system when found in cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.
Another motivation could be that Dr. Lundback doesn't like vaping and saw this as an opportunity to try to get some serious media attention. Does having one's name published in the news mean much when it is attached to weak research?
Do 'research scientists' have to publish a certain number of studies per year to retain their position on staff? Quantity over quality seems to be the name of the game these days in academia.
Since the headlines and Dr. Lundback's quotations (as well as 'research study'), were only targeting nicotine in e-cigarettes in vaping and not traditional tobacco, a suspicious individual might draw other conclusions as to motivations. Was this 'study' sponsered by an individual or group outside of the university, possibly connected to the tobacco industry in some way?