Researchers examining the health effects of electronic cigarettes have found that the vapor produced by a particular commercial brand’s e-cigarettes contains free radicals and in the case of mice, the vapor damages the immune system and impairs the lungs’ ability to fight off viral and bacterial infections, according to a new study.
published in the journal PLOS One which examined the effects of Njoy’s e-cigs on mice.
The research team at Johns Hopkins University behind the study, which was published in the journal PLOS One, exposed mice to vapor produced by Njoy’s e-cigs for a couple of weeks while attempting to simulate the same level of nicotine found in human smokers. Some of the mice were exposed to pneumonia, others the flu, and others were left in fresh air. Those exposed to pneumonia had more difficulty fighting back, as the bacteria had an easier time multiplying and in the case of exposure to the flu, some of the mice lost weight while others died.
The study found that electronic cigarette vapor contains 7×1011 free radicals per puff.
Assistant scientist at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the paper’s lead author, Thomas Sussan, was quoted by The Verge as having said that the team observed the e-cig vapor inhaling mice “got sicker” when exposed to disease.
We saw that they got sicker […] They had more of the virus in their lungs, they had more inflammation in their lungs, [and] they were more susceptible to death.
Researchers noted in the study that e-cigs have experienced sharp increases in popularity due in part to aggressive marketing and a perception that they’re “healthy alternatives” to smoking cigarettes, however, the study’s authors note that despite this perception, studies on the health effects in humans are extremely limited and in vivo animal models haven not been created.
The study’s authors concluded in summary that electronic cigarettes as an alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes “must be rigorously tested in users for their effects on immune response and susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections.”
Late last year, Immortal News reported on the first recorded e-cig death of a child after the toddler ingested liquid nicotine.
What do you think, are electronic cigarettes the lesser of two evils or are they just as detrimental to human health, if not worse?
