Are vapers safer than regular cigarettes?
E-cigarettes can cause a pathological immune response in the lungs
Ksenia Malysheva, Naked Science
"Comparing electronic cigarettes with conventional ones is like comparing apples with oranges," he says Mehmet Kesimer, a physiologist at the University of North Carolina and one of the authors of a study on the effects of e-cigarettes on lung health.
For the first time, Kesimer and his colleagues compared tissue samples of the respiratory tract of electronic and conventional cigarette smokers and came to the conclusion that electronic devices are no less harmful than their traditional counterparts. "The only thing is that the consequences of smoking e–cigarettes have not been sufficiently investigated yet," explains the medic.
In the lung and respiratory tract tissue samples of 15 e–cigarette smokers, there were more than usual proteins indicating the presence of neutrophil granulocytes - a type of leukocytes, cells that protect the body from bacterial and fungal infections. Neutrophils themselves are useful, but their excess can contribute to the development of focal inflammatory processes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A number of proteins, the content of which in e-cigarette smokers exceeded the norm, are synthesized during the death of endothelial cells; the authors of the study note that their origin needs to be clarified. Excess may indicate the development of immunopathological inflammation – lupus, vasculitis or psoriasis.
The researchers also found signs of pathologies common to smokers of electronic and conventional cigarettes: markers of cell damage as a result of excessive oxidation, excessive mucus secretion characteristic of chronic bronchitis and asthma.
The authors of the article published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine note that 5 out of 15 e-cigarette lovers admitted that they sometimes smoke regular cigarettes, another 12 smoked regular cigarettes before switching to electronic ones. Nevertheless, the results of this small study should not be neglected, insists Kesimer: we know too little about the dangers of e-cigarettes, but considering them safe for health due to lack of data is a big mistake.
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