E-Cigarettes Dangerous for Lungs

Earlier Studies published in American Journal of Public health carried a study that claimed 40.2 percent of the Americans have heard of e-cigarettes and over 70 percent believe they are less harmful than regular cigarettes. The study indicates the rise of E- Cigarettes as people consider it a safe alternate to cigarettes.

But a new study presented on 2 September at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Vienna, cautions the people who have turned to E Cigarettes and project on the safety of the alternative nicotine delivery products.

The short term effect of using e cigarettes was analyzed by a team of researchers from the University of Athens in Greece.  They investigated people using e cigarettes and also people who dint suffers from health problems. They included smokers with and without existing lung conditions.

For the study the researchers included 8 people who had never smokes and 24 smokers in which 11 subjects did not suffer from any health issue and the 13 people were victims of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD) or asthma.

The subjects were asked to use an electronic cigarette for 10 minutes and based on this the researchers would measure the airway resistance using a number of tests, including a spirometry test.

According to the study, "E-cigarette caused an immediate increase in airway resistance, lasting for 10 minutes. In healthy subjects who never smoked there was a statistically significant increase in airway resistance from a mean average of 182 percent to 206 percent."

The subjects with normal spirometry they noticed an increase from mean average of 176 percent to 220 percent. Whereas there was no immediate effect to airway resistance noticed in victims of asthma.

Professor Christina Gratziou, one of the authors and Chair of the ERS Tobacco Control Committee, said: "We do not yet know whether unapproved nicotine delivery products, such as e-cigarettes, are safer than normal cigarettes, despite marketing claims that they are less harmful. This research helps us to understand how these products could be potentially harmful."

"We found an immediate rise in airway resistance in our group of participants, which suggests e-cigarettes can cause immediate harm after smoking the device. More research is needed to understand whether this harm also has lasting effects in the long-term."

"The ERS recommends following effective smoking cessation treatment guidelines based on clinical evidence which do not advocate the use of such products."