New Study Links Vaping After Smoking to Higher Risk of Eye Disease
A major new study from South Korea suggests that switching from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes or other smokeless nicotine products may not be a harmless alternative for your eyesight.
The Study
A nationwide study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology analyzed health data from 179,273 adults in South Korea. All participants had smoked traditional cigarettes between 2011-2012 and had quit by 2018-2019.
Researchers from Korea University College of Medicine matched 32,316 participants into two distinct groups for comparison:
- Complete quitters: Those who stopped using all nicotine products.
- Switchers: Those who transitioned to smokeless nicotine products, such as vapes.
Participants were followed for an average of 4.6 years to track the development of major eye conditions, including cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and focus-related disorders.
Key Results
Over the tracking period, 6,328 major eye disease events were recorded. The data revealed a clear hierarchy of risk:
- Complete quitters had the lowest disease rate: 41.1 cases per 1,000 person-years.
- Switchers had a higher rate: 44 cases per 1,000 person-years.
Switching to smokeless products was associated with a 7% increased risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting completely.
The risks were even more pronounced for specific conditions. Switchers faced:
- A 24% higher risk of diabetic retinopathy.
- A 7% higher risk of refractive and accommodation disorders (focus-related problems).
Limitations
The researchers caution that the study cannot prove causation, as it relied on retrospective health insurance data. Additionally, self-reported smoking and vaping habits may be subject to underreporting or memory errors.
The Bottom Line
According to the study's authors, the findings challenge the assumption that substituting noncombustible nicotine products for cigarettes is visually harmless.