A study shows e-cigarettes cause changes in lung cells and proteins, even at low exposure levels.
New research published in The FASEB Journal indicates that e-cigarettes can cause cellular and molecular changes in the lungs. Specifically, prolonged inhalation of e-cigarette aerosols by mice caused changes in the animals’ pulmonary immune cell composition and altered gene and protein levels in the lungs.
Investigators found that even low exposure to aerosols from JUUL—a brand of e-cigarettes popular with youth and young adults—had significant impacts.
“The health consequences of vaping are not known. Our results show that inhalation of the vapor generated by a popular brand of e-cigarette causes widespread changes inside the lungs, data that further highlight that these products are not inert and may lead to lung damage if used long term,” said corresponding author Carolyn J. Baglole, PhD, of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec.
Reference: “Chronic low-level JUUL aerosol exposure causes pulmonary immunologic, transcriptomic, and proteomic changes” by Terek Been, Bayan Alakhtar, Hussein Traboulsi, Thupten Tsering, Alexandra Bartolomucci, Nicole Heimbach, Sofia Paoli, Julia Burnier, Koren K. Mann, David H. Eidelman and Carolyn J. Baglole, 25 January 2023, The FASEB Journal.
DOI: 10.1096/fj.202201392R
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1 Comment
Did we learn nothing from saccharin? The cancer caused by insane amounts of saccharin fed to mice doesn’t apply to humans AT ALL. There is zero evidence it causes harm to humans. Even Canada allows saccharin again since around 2014.
Mice and humans aren’t the same creature and trying to infer something from a mouse being dosed with amounts equal or even more than humans doesn’t equate to trustworthy information. It may or may not apply or the numbers could be very different. How about a study on humans rather than mice? Cigarettes versus vaping? Isn’t the latter what people really want to know, if they’re healthier than cigarettes for those that can’t kick the habit?