Several of the chemicals used in flavored e-cigarettes have been suspected as culprits over the years. Serious and irreversible lung damage And new research suggests that one ‘vape juice’ flavor is particularly detrimental.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have linked the addition of mint flavor to e-liquids to the production of more vapor particles and reduced lung function in smokers. reported in the study It was published in the medical journal Respiratory Research on April 10.
“Many people, especially young people, mistakenly believe that e-cigarettes are safe, but even nicotine-free e-cigarette mixtures contain many compounds that can potentially damage the lungs. “Medical, media release. “Just because something is safe to consume as food does not mean it is safe to inhale.”
Benham and his team used a biologically-inspired robotic system that mimics the way humans smoke from vape pens and e-cigarettes to mix commercial e-cigarette liquids containing menthol with menthol-free juice. showed that it produced more toxic particulates in comparison.
The team also analyzed patient records from a cohort of e-cigarette smokers and found that menthol vapor was associated with non-menthol smokers and non-menthol smokers, regardless of age, sex, race, years of smoking, or whether they used nicotine or cannabis. It revealed that the breathing was shallow and the lung function was inferior. – Including vaping products.
Menthol is a flavor additive with a mint-like taste and smell that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says reduces the irritation and discomfort caused by smoking and increases the appeal of smoking among youth and young adults. also interacts with nicotine in the brain to increase nicotine’s addictive effects, making it harder for menthol smokers to quit. rice field. stop using menthol For products such as tobacco and cigars.
But according to Benham and his co-authors, the e-cigarette market is growing too quickly for regulators to keep up.
This is because traditional toxicity studies involving animals or live cells cultured in Petri dishes can take months to generate high-quality, clinically relevant data. According to this study, testing the safety of aerosolized products (also known as vape pens or e-cigarettes) could be useful, even though respiratory anatomy is very different from ours. Testing is usually done using mice and rats, which further complicates things.
Benham and his team have developed an e-cigarette robot that mimics the temperature, humidity, puff volume and duration of a human smoker. It can also simulate healthy and diseased breathing patterns and reliably predict pulmonary toxicity associated with e-cigarettes.
The team hopes the study will show how their device can improve preclinical studies examining how vape liquids and additives combine to produce different health benefits. But for the most part, they want to show that e-cigarettes aren’t the harmless alternative to the cigarettes that clever marketing has them portrayed.
“The main message we want to send is to people who have never smoked, especially young people,” Benham said. It may be a better and safer option, but it’s important to fully understand the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes before trying them.”
A growing research institute
Flavored e-cigarette products are on the market in Canada Since at least 2004, in the United States Since the late 1990s, an increasing number of studies have revealed how the chemicals they contain damage the lungs.
A study published in May 2022 by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital was the first to examine chronic disease by microscopically examining lung tissue from a small number of e-cigarette users.that study found fibrosis and damage of small airways, Similar to chemical inhalation injuries typically seen in soldiers returning from overseas conflicts who inhaled mustard gas or similar types of toxic gases.
“We also observed a partial, but not complete, reversal of the condition over one to four years when patients quit e-cigarettes because of residual scarring in lung tissue,” said the lead author. said Dr. Lida Hariri, a physician researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital. she said in a hospital media release.
The study was published May 13 in the medical journal NEJM Evidence. one of several in recent years raise an alarm Adverse effects of e-cigarettes on lung tissue blood vessel and brain.
