What does vaping really do to lungs?
Vaping is touted as a lesser of two evils for smokers trying to quit — but a Kiwi scientist says there’s much about e-cigarettes’ long-term effects that we still don’t know.
The University of Auckland’s Dr Kelly Burrowes has now launched the most advanced study of its kind in the world, using human trials and state-of-the-art 3D computer models to get a precise look at what vaping does to lungs.
Worldwide sales of e-cigarettes have boomed around the globe over the past decade, and an estimated three in 100 Kiwis use them at least once a day.
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 reach New Zealand’s
Smokefree 2025 targets, regulators and healthcare providers needed to know the devices reduced harm caused by smoking — and didn’t just pose further risks.