What does vaping really do to lungs?
Vaping is touted as a lesser of two evils for smokers trying to quit— but akiwi scientist says there’smuch about e-cigarettes’ long-term effects thatwestill don’t know.
The University of Auckland’s Dr Kelly Burrowes hasnowlaunched themostadvanced study of its kind in the world, usinghumantrials and state-of-the-art3dcomputer models to get aprecise look at what vaping does to lungs.
Worldwide sales of e-cigarettes haveboomedaround the globe over the past decade, and an estimated three in 100 Kiwis usethem at least once aday.
The Ministry of Health’s
Vaping Facts website advises e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking— but points out they haven’t been around long enough for the long-term effects to be known.
Burrowes said that, given they’re being promoted here as a tool to reachnewzealand’s Smokefree2025 targets, regulators and healthcare providers needed toknowthe devices reducedharm caused by smoking— and didn’t just pose further risks.