New studies have emerged which point out that e cigarettes actually serve to accelerate the mutation process of cells. This is in stark contrast to what was previously known about vaping. It was famously touted as the 'less' dangerous alternative to cigarettes. The research was carried by a team from New York University which exposed human cells and mice to smoke from e cigarettes.
The team exposed cells extracted from human bladder and lung to e cigarette vapor. The mindset of the researchers was the same as the rest of us - that vaping does not promote carcinogenic byproducts of tobacco. Their findings shocked us.
The New York University team has warned that their findings will completely disrupt what has been commonly understood about vaping in general. That nicotine in all forms is not safer than smoking from a traditional cigarette. It could be more harmful.
The FDA rejected Philip Morris's iQOS vaping product, claiming that it is definitely not healthier than tobacco. This adds a blow to the 'safe' and 'hip' image of vaping because so many youngsters are adopting it in droves.
Irfan Rahman, a researcher and toxicologist at the University of Rochester in New York investigated what vapors can do to mouth cells. His findings showed that vapors inflammate mouth cells in ways that could destroy our gums.
This can eventually lead to the destruction of tissues which hold the teeth in place. Inevitably leading to tooth loss. In fact, vapors from electronic cigarettes make it all the more harder for lung cells to repair the damage done to them.
People as young as 12 and 13 are now beginning to vape because it apparently makes them believe that it poses no risk to their health just because it doesn't contain tobacco. But that is a far fetched ideal.
The past few months haven't been very kind to the vaping community in general, as research has found that vaping can actually pose new risks to the body which never existed before. They essentially mess up with the body's immunity.
If vaping is a safe alternative to smoking, why do symptoms such as Smoker's cough and bloody sores show up on the mouth of teen vapers? If it really is as safe as manufacturers claim, these symptoms should never occur.
There are a variety of harmful substances in e cigarettes and can significantly reduce the life span of teens. It's a risk they shouldn't have to experiment with at such a young age. But the warnings fall on deaf ears.
The ability of our cells to repair themselves after infections, injury and exposure to foreign substances decreases over time. Our bodies have special cells called fibroblasts which repair damaged and injured tissues, but the mitochondria contained within get destroyed when exposed to vaping.
McConnel from USC surveyed 2000 students in Los Angeles about their vaping habits and found that they were twice as likely to have chronic bronchitis as kids who had never vaped before. A person is said to have chronic bronchitis if they cough consistently for three months.
McConnel's team showed that vapers exhibited the same lung symptoms as cigarette smokers. It is disturbing that the trend in vaping is going to increase with time. E cigs grew at a rate of 900 percent between 2011 to 2015.
Researchers the University of North Carolina reviewed 40 studies on flavored tobacco e cigs. They found that younger people found these products more appealing and preferred candy and fruity flavored products. But they are still harmful because of the heat generated by e cigs.
Apart from tobacco and nicotine, scientists have found a large number of harmful chemicals in e cig vapors. These can cause cancer. Among the chemicals include formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. They can all turn even more harmful when heated by the hot coil in e cigs.
No doubt vaping is seen as the new 'cool' way of smoking. But research has time and time again pointed out that it can be incredibly harmful and damage our bodies irreversibly. Young teenagers are advised to stay away from these devices.