Posted on 01/31/2023 2:21:43 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users have greater lung inflammation than cigarette smokers and non-smokers, according to a study. This study is the first to provide evidence that vaping e-liquids with e-cigarettes creates a unique inflammatory response in the lungs that is different from cigarette smoking.
E-cigarette usage has increased dramatically in the past several years, particularly among adolescents and young adults. While many people assume that e-cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes can cause pulmonary inflammation and increase the risk of lung disease. In addition, their long-term safety has not been rigorously evaluated.
This is the first PET study to use a novel radiotracer, 18F-NOS, to compare lung inflammation between cigarette and e-cigarette users in vivo. Although PET imaging with 18F-FDG has been used in the past to investigate inflammation in smokers and vapers, its conclusions were limited.
"iNOS is an enzyme that is overexpressed in e-cigarette users and cigarette smokers and is associated with acute and chronic inflammatory diseases," said Reagan Wetherill, Ph.D. "This makes it a relevant target for molecular imaging of lung inflammation and inflammatory lung disease."
E-cigarette users showed greater pulmonary inflammation than cigarette smokers and never-smoked/vaped controls. A positive association between pulmonary and peripheral measures of inflammation was also found, suggesting that e-cigarette use may increase pulmonary inflammation.
Jacob Dubroff, MD, Ph.D., sees a growing role for using molecular imaging to understand the effects of electronic cigarettes. He notes, "These findings suggest molecular imaging may be uniquely poised to detect and measure the potential pathophysiologic harms associated with electronic cigarettes, which have been touted as a safer vehicle for nicotine compared to traditional combustible cigarettes."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed
You can believe that scat if you want to. I'll pass.
bkmk
You will notice that the report claimed NO increase in inflammation between the control group and the smokers !
Wow. FIFTEEN PEOPLE were studied ... LOL.
Only five in each group.
Lol... yep ! Bogus study.
“Although we did not see the expected increase in 18F-NOS uptake in cigarette smokers,”
Then when I got in the military (early 1980s), not only the constant cigarette smoke but the chew as well. One of my roommates always had a lid of Skoal and would spit into an empty beer can.
Well one time, we were hanging out in the room one night, listening to Marshall Tucker Band and Joe Walsh, when I went to take a sip of my beer. Only it was his spittoon. I took a full swallow before I realized what I had done.
Even to this day, I gag in my mouth thinking about it.
So no tobacco for me.
I’m grateful to the inventor of e-cigarettes, if not for them I would still be smoking.
I seldom vape anymore and if I do—it’s without nicotine.
I never had an issue one with it, had/have good lung CT’s.
Of course I never tried to put all manner of weird stuff in my vape liquid and my husband mixed ours.
Elementary, My Dear Watson.
When ‘vaping’ first came about, I was dubious, but a non-smoker by that time. Thus I was dismissive.
Then my wife switched from cancer sticks to vaping overnight. Many long nights of research followed.
Conclusion: As with everything else, in moderation and as a therapeutic - primarily for breaking a nicotine habit - vaping is safe (assuming the ingredients are PG and without additives. The ‘juices’ ARE unregulated).
The problem is that smoking is as much a physical & emotional addiction as it is a chemical addiction. The same applies to vaping for most users, my wife included who, by the way, happens to be in denial about her respiratory problems (my $$ is on the vaping).
People should only vape to escape the cancer sticks (they work) and then dump the vaping which, by the way, isn’t much less expensive than cancer sticks when all costs are summed together. And who knows the long-term risks of the physical damage to the lungs which - in this post-covid medical environment - is presumably speculative and suspect.
We can only hope there’s adequate funding for further research of an unbiased nature.
I bought a vape a few years ago to help me quit cigarettes. Turns out I didn’t care for the vape so I ended up quitting cigarettes pretty much cold turkey on a taper-down method. I threw the vape and cartridges away.
I agree with you and your approach.
Good for you!
;-)
bump for later
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