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Regular exposure to e-cigarette vapours disrupts the protective layer in the lungs, according to a study using lab mice that comes amid a U.S. investigation into 215 human cases of severe respiratory problems possibly linked to vaping.
Public health authorities say e-cigarettes are likely safer than smoking tobacco but little is known about the long-term risks of vaping.
As more teens and young adults take up vaping, researchers have expressed concerns about potential damage to the lungs and heart, as well as the risk of burns and seizures.
Against that backdrop, Dr. Farrah Kheradmand, a pulmonologist and professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who has studied the effects of cigarette smoke for years, set out to discover whether vaping causes emphysema in lab mice.
Mice are obviously very different from people, but it’s assumed that what happens in their lung cells also occurs in other mammals, including us.
Graduate students in Kheradmand’s lab compared the effects of exposing mice to e-cigarette vapours and tobacco smoke for four months. That’s the equivalent of starting smoking as a teen and sticking with the habit until about age 49.
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I tried vaping a few years ago when I was trying to quit smoking. It helped with the nicotine cravings and gave me something to do with my hands, so for that it was good. After a couple of weeks I started noticing my breathing felt labored and was similar to when you are trying to recover from the flu or when you spend too much time in a sauna. I went back to smoking…it felt much easier on the lungs. Since then, e-cigs have turned into these monstrously large devices that pump out more vapor than the smoke machines at a rock concert and I have often wondered how people can stand it for long. I finally quit smoking about 2 yrs ago the old fashioned way…cold turkey, but it took tumors in my bladder and an incredibly painful surgical recovery to finally motivate me enough to get it done. If you’re thinking about vaping as a safe and easy way to quit smoking, just remember what your mom probably told you “If it sounds too good to be true….”