E-cigarettes can damage the lungs

Electronic cigarettes continue to be marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes containing tobacco.

A study, presented at the European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) Annual Congress in Vienna, has added new evidence to the debate over the safety of alternative nicotine-delivery products. Electronic, or e-cigarettes deliver nicotine through a vapour, rather than smoke. There is no combustion involved but the nicotine used is still derived from tobacco.

There has been much debate over the safety and efficiency of the products, but little scientific evidence to support either claim.

Researchers from the University of Athens in Greece looked at the short-term effects of e-cigarettes on different different groups, including smokers (some with normal lung function and others with either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma), and people who had never smoked.

After each person used an e-cigarette for 10 minutes, researchers measured airway resistance using a number of tests, including a spirometry test that measures the amount and speed of inhalation and exhalation.

The results showed that the e-cigarette caused an immediate increase in airway resistance in all groups. In healthy subjects that have never smoked there was a statistically significant increase in airway resistance from a mean average of 182 percent to 206 percent.

In smokers with normal spirometry there was a statistically significant increase from a mean average of 176 percent to 220 percent.

“We do not yet know whether unapproved nicotine delivery products, such as e-cigarettes, are safer than normal cigarettes, despite marketing claims that they are less harmful. This research helps us to understand how these products could be potentially harmful,’€ said Professor Christina Gratziou, one of the authors and chair of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Tobacco Control Committee.

“We found an immediate rise in airway resistance in our group of participants, which suggests e-cigarettes can cause immediate harm after smoking the device. More research is needed to understand whether this harm also has lasting effects in the long-term.’€

Source: EurekAlert!

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  • healthe

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