In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the consumption of electronic cigarettes. In the UK, it has risen several times over the five-year period from 2012 to 2017. Many users were previously traditional smokers who believed that e-cigarettes were a healthier option and switched to them. However, there is also a small group of people who have never smoked traditional cigarettes but use e-cigarettes because they are believed to be low-risk. Is it possible that, like how Richard Doll spent decades tracking smoking doctors to establish the harmful effects of smoking on health, e-cigarettes are a relatively new phenomenon and we simply do not have enough data to know what the health risks are? This is largely the viewpoint of Laura Crotty-Alexander from the University of California, San Diego.
In terms of whether the aerosol mixture from e-cigarettes is safer than traditional tobacco smoke, it appears that it may have less of an impact on health, but it does have its own unique effects, according to Laura.
Chris - This may be different, in fact, they may manifest in different parts of the body, if they are different chemicals, then what is in cigarettes.
Laura stated that cigarette smoke contains approximately 7,000 chemicals and its use can harm the entire body from the lips to the gastrointestinal system, skin, and brain. She added that they are trying to determine whether aerosol from e-cigarettes will also affect all these different organs throughout the body.
Chris, how did you do it?
Laura: "We utilized a mouse model. We placed mice in a small wedge-shaped container in which they could move around. We then administered electronic cigarette aerosol to them, which we purchased from a conventional website, and periodically supplied them with air. They inhale the electronic cigarette aerosol for 30 minutes, three times a day.
Chris questioned whether the dosage of mouse poison is equivalent to the human proportion or if the mice are affected more due to receiving a higher dosage. This is because it is evident that mice have a much higher respiratory rate compared to humans.
Laura said that they have made great efforts to design mouse models that simulate human use. That's why they conduct multiple daily experiments on mice, since many people use electronic cigarettes all day. When we take a puff of an e-cigarette, we are actually in a large room where the vapor spreads. That's why they used 16 mice.
Chris - How do you balance the intake of different areas of your body?
Laura said that they use specialized tools to observe gene expression or protein levels, and even consider organ function. Therefore, they are using these different measures to try to determine if inhaling these electronic cigarette aerosols over several months will cause changes in these organs.
Chris, what happens when you do this? Have you noticed any systemic effects?
Laura stated that she was surprised to find that there were significant changes in the brains of mice exposed to the Juul mint and Juul mango flavors, both of which were popular at the start of their research. These aerosols were found to cause brain inflammation, which is alarming since the brain is a protected compartment. It is concerning that inhaling e-cigarette aerosols for one month led to noticeable levels of inflammation in the parts of the brain responsible for controlling emotions, behavior, and memory.
Chris asked, "Are you saying that this is an influence beyond nicotine addiction, due to its taste?
According to Laura, there are two types of flavors that can have similar effects on the brain - nicotine and other substances in e-liquids. However, when it comes to the heart, mint flavor was found to cause inflammation while mango flavor did not. This comparison suggests that mint flavor may have a specific impact on the heart, rather than other components.
Chris said, "Let's discuss later what impact this may have, but let's consider the facts - how does it compare to just smoking traditional cigarettes for rats?
Laura said that if she were to review historical data, she would say that the impact of neurology is either equal to or greater than traditional tobacco. Additionally, the effects are different.
Chris said that there is a belief that chronic inflammation may be connected to the progression of certain degenerative diseases in the nervous system, as well as other organ degeneration. He asked whether this indicates that vaping electronic cigarettes may speed up the aging process of the brain and cause early onset of nerve system degeneration.
Laura said she completely agrees with this viewpoint. Furthermore, changes in these parts of the brain suggest that individuals who use e-cigarettes may experience more anxiety and depression, and may have some kind of permanent shift in their behavior patterns.
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