Biomarkers of Exposure Among "Dual Users" of Tobacco Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes in Canada

Introduction: "Dual use" refers to the concurrent use of tobacco cigarettes (smoking) and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes; vaping). Although dual use is common among e-cigarette users, there is little evidence regarding biomarkers of exposure among dual users and how these change under different conditions of product use.

Methods: A nonblinded within-subjects crossover experiment was conducted with adult daily dual users (n = 48) in Ontario, Canada. Participants completed three consecutive 7-day periods in which the use of tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes was experimentally manipulated, resulting in four study conditions: Dual use, Tobacco cigarette use, E-cigarette use, and No product use. Repeated measures models were used to examine changes in product use and biomarkers of exposure.

Results: Compared to dual use, cotinine remained stable when participants exclusively smoked (p = .524), but significantly decreased when they exclusively vaped (p = .027), despite significant increases in e-cigarette consumption (p = .001). Levels of biomarkers of exposure to toxicants, including carbon monoxide (CO), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HOP), and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), were significantly lower when participants exclusively vaped than when they engaged in dual use (CO = -41%, p < .001; 1-HOP = -31%, p = .025; NNAL = -30%, p = .017). Similar findings were observed among participants abstaining from both products as compared to dual use (CO: -26%, p < .001; 1-HOP = -14% [ns]; NNAL = -35%, p = .016). In contrast, levels of biomarkers of exposure increased when participants exclusively smoked as compared to dual use (CO = +21%, p = .029; 1-HOP = +23%, p = .048; NNAL = +8% [ns]).

Conclusions: Although dual use may reduce exposure to tobacco smoke constituents to some extent, abstaining from smoking is the most effective way to reduce such exposure.

Implications: Public health authorities should clearly communicate the relative risk of e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes to the general public, focusing on two salient points: (1) e-cigarettes are not harmless, but they are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes; and (2) using e-cigarettes while smoking may not necessarily reduce health risks; therefore, consumers should stop smoking completely to maximize potential health benefits.