--- title: "Scientists Retract Study Claiming Vapes Cause Heart Attacks" description: "The editors of the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) retracted a study that claims vaping increased the chance of heart attacks." date: "2020-02-20" modified: "2020-02-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-retract-study-claiming-vaping-heart-attacks" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "e-cigarettes" - "heart attack" - "vape" - "vaping" --- # Scientists Retract Study Claiming Vapes Cause Heart Attacks ![The editors of the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) retracted a study that claims vaping increased the chance of heart attacks.]() *\Image: Scientific Animations/Victor Tangermann\* In an [official statement](), the editors of the *Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA)* explained why they retracted a study claiming that e-cigarettes increase the likelihood of having a heart attack. The [now-retracted study]() by two University of California at San Francisco researchers, published in *JAHA* last year, claimed they had found an "association between e‐cigarette use and having had a myocardial infarction." They concluded that the "effect of e‐cigarettes are similar as conventional cigarette and dual use of e‐cigarettes and conventional cigarettes at the same time is risker \[sic\] than using either product alone." The study received loads of mainstream coverage, from [*CNN* ]()to[ *USA Today*](), as [*Vice* points out](). But tobacco control expert Brad Rodu, from the University of Louisville, discovered that the study had a major fault: Many of those analyzed for the study were also current or former smokers, as *Vice* reports. That reality likely skewed their findings, according to Rodu — an argument later backed up by several senior researchers in [an open letter](), in which they argued that a conclusion that's "not supported by underlying data" could "mislead practitioners and policymakers." "A retraction is not a trivial matter," Rodu told *Vice*. "It's a significant action. Saying it was a mistake is too weak." On Twitter, though, paper author Stanton Glanz [shot back](), claiming that JAHA had given in to "pressure from e-cig interests." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()