Smoking e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, is a growing trend among young people. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, 13.5 percent of middle school students, 37.7 percent of high school students and 35.8 percent of young adults (18-24 years old) have used e-cigarettes at some point. Vaping is generally thought to be a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes. But new research says that vaping isn’t as safe as people think. In fact, vaping may have permanent effects on DNA and lead to an increased risk for cancer.
(Source: blacknote.com)
"E-cigarettes are a popular trend, but the long-term health effects are unknown," says Romel Dator, Ph.D., who is presenting the work, "We want to characterize the chemicals that vapers are exposed to, as well as any DNA damage they may cause."
"It's clear that more carcinogens arise from the combustion of tobacco in regular cigarettes than from the vapor of e-cigarettes," said Silvia Balbo, Ph.D., the project's lead investigator, who is at the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. "However, we don't really know the impact of inhaling the combination of compounds produced by this device. Just because the threats are different doesn't mean that e-cigarettes are completely safe."
To test the effects vaping has on DNA and general health, the researchers studied the saliva of five e-cigarette users 15 minutes before and after they vaped. Using a mass spectrometry-based method, the samples were analyzed for any DNA changes after vaping.
After the DNA was studied, the researchers found the levels of three damaging compounds, formaldehyde, acrolein and methylglyoxal, were increased after vaping. These three compounds could lead to the development of cancer with continued e-cigarette use. Four out of the five tested users’ saliva showed DNA damage related to acrolein exposure when compared to non-e-cigarette users. This damage is called DNA adduct. DNA adduct occurs when one or more toxic chemicals react with a person’s DNA. Cancer could develop when DNA doesn’t repair the damage from vape use.
The research team is planning on conducting a larger study that includes a larger group of participants and will also compare the effects of vaping to the effects of smoking a cigarette.
"Comparing e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes is really like comparing apples and oranges. The exposures are completely different," Balbo said. "We still don't know exactly what these e-cigarette devices are doing and what kinds of effects they may have on health, but our findings suggest that a closer look is warranted."
This research was presented at the National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
