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Asthma, bronchitis, COPD: e-cigarettes increase risk of lung diseases

2019-12-17T19:44:00.420Z


Vaping e-cigarettes is more likely to affect the lungs. This is shown by a study with thousands of participants. Conventional cigarettes are many times more dangerous.



E-cigarettes are still so new that large, long-term studies in real life were missing. A current study is now closing this gap to some extent. For the analysis, US researchers interviewed thousands of people - including vapers, tobacco smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers - over a two-year period about lung problems. The result: e-cigarette users also have an increased risk of chronic lung diseases such as COPD, asthma and bronchitis.

Data from more than 19,000 people who initially had no lung disease were included in the study. Within two years, around 1100 of the participants developed indications of one of the following three diseases:

  • COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), in which the airways narrow and there is coughing, increased sputum and shortness of breath.
  • Asthma , a seizure-like inflammatory respiratory disease. There is often wheezing, coughing and chest tightness.
  • Chronic bronchitis , in which the respiratory tract becomes permanently inflamed.

The probability of falling ill within the two years was 30 percent higher for vapers than for abstinent people, as the scientists report in the journal "American Journal of Preventive Medicine". The likelihood of tobacco smokers was about 150 percent higher, more than twice as high as that of a non-smoker.

Most harmful combination: vaping and smoking

"A consistent switch from normal cigarettes to e-cigarettes can reduce the risk of lung diseases. However, hardly anyone does it," says study leader Stanton Glantz from the University of California in San Francisco, according to a message.

Most smokers who switched to e-cigarettes during the study period continued to smoke tobacco. According to the researchers, simultaneous consumption is particularly dangerous. The risk of lung diseases is 230 percent higher than that of abstinent people. However, e-cigarettes are also much less regulated in the United States than in Germany.

The researchers also point out weaknesses in the study in their investigation. For example, diseases could have developed over years before the first symptoms appeared. In addition, it was not possible to record exactly how often e-cigarette consumers vaped. For the first time, however, people were interviewed who were not considered lung diseases at the start of the study, the researchers write.

"The first study in normal life"

"We knew from laboratory studies that e-cigarettes are hazardous to health, but now we have the first study to observe this in the normal life of smokers for years," says Robert Loddenkemper, e-cigarette expert at the German Society for Pneumology and respiratory medicine.

It took decades for tobacco cigarettes to be scientifically proven that smoking can be fatal. "And now we can see that the combination with ingredients from the e-cigarette, for example in the liquid or in the flavors, significantly increases the health risk," says Loddenkemper, who was not involved in the study.

Katrin Schaller from the DKFZ recommends e-cigarettes with reservations: "To stop, smokers should use the approved and proven effective aids as a first option, especially behavioral therapy, ideally combined with nicotine replacement products."

If that doesn't work, smokers could try e-cigarettes. However, you should definitely switch completely to e-cigarettes, as every cigarette that is smoked is harmful. "Because of the currently unknown potential long-term health consequences of e-cigarette consumption, they should plan to stop using e-cigarette in the long term."

No connection to deaths in the United States

E-cigarette users inhale the vapor of a nicotine-containing liquid that is heated. According to the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), e-cigarettes are very likely to be significantly less harmful compared to tobacco cigarettes. Because certain harmful ingredients are not or only to a lesser extent.

However, there are also harmful substances that are present to a greater extent in e-cigarettes, writes the team led by Glantz with reference to earlier studies. Animal experiments had also shown that the ingredients of e-cigarettes could suppress parts of the immune system.

The study is unrelated to acute lung disease in the United States. According to the US health agency CDC, 52 people had died there after using e-cigarettes by December 10, 2409 were treated in the hospital. The cause is believed to be an oil extracted from vitamin E that is not used in Europe.

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2019-12-17

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