ReviewBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2019
What are the respiratory effects of e-cigarettes?
Review in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT06297005 (The Impact of E-cigarettes During Pregnancy on Childhood Health Outcomes), which is not on this map. Cited by 270 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Impact of E-cigarettes During Pregnancy on Childhood Health Outcomes (ECHO) Study.
Who cites it
270 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 500 citations in OpenAlex.
- How primary care addresses vaping in the youth: a systematic literature review.BMC primary care · 2026Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes and cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE).BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Systematic review of lung function assessment among youth and young adults e-cigarette users: Current tools and emerging methods.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) Guidance for the Management of Electronic Cigarette Use (Vaping) in Adolescents and Adults.Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · 2025Guideline
- The Effects of Thirdhand Vape Residue from Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Vapes on Cells: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Predictors of Vaping Cessation Among Young People.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Pooled it
- Global prevalence of E-cigarette use among students: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Population-Based Disease Odds for E-Cigarettes and Dual Use versus Cigarettes.NEJM evidence · 2024Pooled it
- Review of quantitative and functional lung imaging evidence of vaping-related lung injury.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Motivational support intervention to reduce smoking and increase physical activity in smokers not ready to quit: the TARS RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Health Effects of Electronic Cigarettes: An Umbrella Review and Methodological Considerations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- E-cigarette use and adverse respiratory symptoms among adolescents and Young adults in the United States.Preventive medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Prevalence of electronic nicotine delivery systems and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Public health · 2021Pooled it
- Smoking is associated with worse outcomes of COVID-19 particularly among younger adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The effect of nicotine delivery system on blood protease levels: a randomized crossover study.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Varenicline and counseling for vaping cessation: a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial.BMC medicine · 2023Trial
- Identifying Promising Themes for Adolescent Vaping Warnings: A National Experiment.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022Trial
- A Preconception Cohort Study of Nicotine Vaping and Incidence of Spontaneous Abortion.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2026).British journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
210 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are alternative, non-combustible tobacco products that generate an inhalable aerosol containing nicotine, flavors, propylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin. Vaping is now a multibillion dollar industry that appeals to current smokers, former smokers, and young people who have never smoked. E-cigarettes reached the market without either extensive preclinical toxicology testing or long term safety trials that would be required of conventional therapeutics or medical devices. Their effectiveness as a smoking cessation intervention, their impact at a population level, and whether they are less harmful than combustible tobacco products are highly controversial. Here, we review the evidence on the effects of e-cigarettes on respiratory health. Studies show measurable adverse biologic effects on organ and cellular health in humans, in animals, and in vitro. The effects of e-cigarettes have similarities to and important differences from those of cigarettes. Decades of chronic smoking are needed for development of lung diseases such as lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, so the population effects of e-cigarette use may not be apparent until the middle of this century. We conclude that current knowledge of these effects is insufficient to determine whether the respiratory health effects of e-cigarette are less than those of combustible tobacco products.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.