ELECTRONIC cigarettes with flavoured liquids could help with weight control, according to a commentary co-authored by New Zealand researchers.

The article, titled ‘Could vaping be a new weapon in the battle of the bulge?’ was published today in Nicotine and Tobacco Research and outlined current scientific knowledge of the effect of vaping on weight control.

The researchers — including two Massey University academics — said that while research was needed to determine the link, there could prove to be significant gains for public health.

“Vaping’s use of e-liquids with food flavours, along with the mouth-feel and aroma of the vapour and the hand-to-mouth actions of vaping, could play a role in helping people eat less,” Associate Professor Marewa Glover said.

“Obesity is set to overtake smoking as the leading preventable cause of disease and early death in several countries. If there is a chance that flavoured vaping could help even a small proportion of people reduce the diabetes, cardiovascular and cancer risks associated with excess weight, the population health gains would be significant.”

If true, vaping could be particularly beneficial for people who are battling weight gain as they quit smoking.

As Professor Susan Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health at the University of Oxford points out, “many people who quit smoking gain weight with an average increase of 4.7kg in the first 12 months of abstinence, and nearly 1 in 8 people gain more than 10kg”.

Professor Theresa Marteau, Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge, said “the appetite suppressing effects of nicotine are well known, as implied some decades ago in an advert for a popular American brand of cigarettes: ‘Reach for a Lucky instead of a Sweet’.

“The commentary from Glover and colleagues outlines some plausible reasons why vaping with food-flavoured e-liquids might help ex-smokers avoid weight gain. This is an idea echoed in the marketing of a brand of milk chocolate flavoured e-liquids described as having 50 servings and no calories.

“Vaping could be ‘The New Weapon in the Battle of the Bulge’ and the many dangers of obesity mean it’s worth examining, but we must also make sure that e-cigarettes don’t become a kind of snake oil, distracting ex-smokers from other established and effective weight loss interventions. “Also of concern is the attraction of non-smoking girls and young women to food-flavoured e-cigarettes in the hope of weight control. E-cigarettes might have potential to reduce obesity in some, but they are not a panacea for the population and we will need much more detailed research to know if they can ever be used effectively and safely”.

While the potential link between vaping and weight loss may be music to the ears of people looking to drop a few kilos, the health issues associated with vaping are still being investigated.

A study released in August stated that vaping could be as bad for the heart as smoking cigarettes. Trials found that a typical session using a device caused similar effects to the main heart artery as smoking a cigarette.

A trio of toxicologists also claim that vaping is far from benign — at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting earlier this year they argued that vaping changes the activity of cells in the nose, and the long term implications of this are not yet clear.

As ProfessorMarteau points out: “In the absence of direct evidence about the impact on weight of vaping with food-flavoured e-liquids, caution is warranted over any suggestions of their weight loss properties.

“Studies are now needed to assess their potential for harm as well as good.”