Does electronic cigarette smoking lead to osteoporosis? The American Commission on science and health refuted the rumor

Does electronic cigarette smoking lead to osteoporosis? The American Commission on science and health refuted the rumor

Recently, a report entitled "smoking e-cigarettes or leading to osteoporosis" has aroused widespread concern. However, it is worth noting that this research from the United States has been refuted by the American Council on science and health (hereinafter referred to as "ACSH"): "the research is confusing, and any conclusion drawn from it is wrong."

Figure: can e-cigarettes cause bone damage? Yes or no, a puzzling study, published on the official website of ACSH

It turns out that all the problems lie in the definition. The study defined e-cigarette users as "having used e-cigarettes at least once in the past 30 days". In other words, both heavy users who use e-cigarettes every day and those who have only tried e-cigarettes once in 30 days and have never used e-cigarettes again are called e-cigarette users. Does this include "e-cigarette users" who smoke cigarettes in the first 29 days and start using e-cigarettes on the last day? Should they blame cigarettes or electronic cigarettes for their easy fracture?

"The definition as the research premise is not tenable, and the conclusion is naturally meaningless," said Cameron English, director of ACSH life science and author of the article.

Let's look at the specific research content. The study, published in the American Open Journal of medicine, said that a survey of more than 5500 adult e-cigarette users found that the use of e-cigarettes was associated with a high prevalence of brittle fractures. The conclusion looks terrible, but the logic is full of loopholes: the prevalence of brittle fracture of e-cigarette users is higher = e-cigarette users are more likely to fracture = e-cigarette users have osteoporosis = e-cigarette causes users' osteoporosis - a typical landslide fallacy.

Is the high prevalence of fractures due to users' dangerous work? In addition to using electronic cigarettes, do fracture patients have other common habits? Do users have a history of fractures before using e-cigarettes? Every equal sign in research logic can be marked with a question mark.

What is more fatal is that some of the conclusions of the study are also contrary to the internationally confirmed authoritative scientific conclusions.

Cameron English said he noticed the study because it said that "the prevalence of dual users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is higher than that of smokers". As early as 2015, the British Ministry of public health confirmed that e-cigarettes can reduce the harm of cigarettes by 95%. Users abandon cigarettes with greater harm. How can the prevalence be higher?

He went to study the study and found that it was completely contradictory. The data show that the prevalence of brittle fracture of users before e-cigarette is higher than that of current users. According to the research conclusion (e-cigarette is a pathogenic factor), stopping e-cigarette should not be easy to fracture.

Figure: the research data show that the prevalence of former users who stop using e-cigarettes is higher than that of current users

In fact, the research author has stated the limitations of the conclusion, including not distinguishing the e-cigarette brands and use time used by the respondents, and making more specific comparative analysis. However, both domestic and foreign media only focus on the sensational conclusion that "e-cigarette leads to osteoporosis".

"The researcher once said that 'the potential impact of our findings on public health is convincing'. With all due respect, any conclusion drawn from this study is wrong. Even if the use of e-cigarettes can lead to osteoporosis, we need to prove it through more scientific research. If this situation exists," Cameron English said.