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Sending one person a copy of an e-book one owns is not the exactly the same as lending them a paper book. Nor is it the same as putting it on a P2P network. The closest analogy I can think of is the practice of taping a record and giving the tape to a friend. (I know there are more recent examples but that one seems to best exemplify the mindset involved in sending an e-book to a friend.)
That pattern of behavior does build sales in that it introduces people to new creators and they then go out and purchase further products from that creator. Not in every case, but often enough that it's a reasonable expectation that it can produce further revenue through legitimate sales in future.
While I have no evidence to support this: I believe it's more likely that such a file transfer will convert to a future sale (whether e-book or p-book) than P2P use.
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