TY  - JOUR
AU  - Zamora Goicoechea, Jeffrey
AU  - Boughner, Allison
AU  - Cirion Lee, Juan José
AU  - Mahajan, Aman
AU  - Yeo, Kurt
AU  - Sproga, Maris
AU  - Patel, Tasmin
AU  - Saitta, Claudio
AU  - Russell, Christopher
AU  - Coughlan, Michael
AU  - Caponnetto, Pasquale
AU  - Polosa, Riccardo
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/3/28
TI  - A Global Health Survey of People Who Vape but Never Smoked: Protocol for the VERITAS (Vaping Effects: Real-World International Surveillance) Study
JO  - JMIR Res Protoc
SP  - e54236
VL  - 13
KW  - electronic cigarette
KW  - health effects
KW  - respiratory symptoms
KW  - survey
KW  - real-world use study
KW  - e-cigarette
KW  - e-cigarettes
KW  - smoke
KW  - smoker
KW  - smokers
KW  - smoking
KW  - vape
KW  - vaping
KW  - respiratory
KW  - pulmonary
KW  - cross-sectional
KW  - questionnaire
KW  - questionnaires
KW  - surveys
AB  - Background: There is only limited information about the health effects of regular vaping. Research on the health status of people who used to smoke faces the challenge that previous smoking may have caused unknown health effects. Only studies of people who vape but have never smoked combustible cigarettes can enable the detection of harms attributable to vaping. Large prospective studies of well-characterized electronic cigarette users with and without a history of combustible cigarette smoking are warranted to establish the long-term effects of regular vaping on respiratory health. Objective: We will conduct a global cross-sectional survey of individuals from 6 world regions. Respiratory symptoms will be assessed using a validated questionnaire—the Respiratory Symptom Experience Scale (RSES). Current vapers who are nonusers of other tobacco or nicotine products will be compared with matched controls who are nonusers of vapes and other tobacco or nicotine products. Methods: This will be a multicountry, cross-sectional internet-based survey of 750 adults aged ≥18 years who satisfy the criteria for inclusion in either a cohort of people who exclusively vape and who are nonusers of other tobacco or nicotine products (“vapers cohort”; target N=500) or a cohort of nonvapers who are also nonusers of other tobacco or nicotine products (“controls cohort”; target N=250). The primary end point of the study is the RSES score. RSES scores of people in the “vapers cohort” will be compared with those of people in the “controls cohort.” Additionally, the study will collect data to characterize patterns of vaping product use among the vapers cohort. Data collection will include information about the age initiation of using vape products, reasons for starting and continuing the use of vape products, specific types of products used, flavors and nicotine strengths of recently used products, as well as the frequency and intensity of product use in the past 30 days. Results: Participant recruitment started in April 2023, and enrollment was completed by November 2023 with 748 participants. Results will be reported in 2024. Conclusions: This will be the first study providing key insights into respiratory health effects associated with using electronic cigarettes in people who vape with no established use of combustible cigarettes or other tobacco or nicotine products. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/54236 
SN  - 1929-0748
UR  - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2024/1/e54236
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/54236
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38546715
DO  - 10.2196/54236
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/54236
ER  -