Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Vaping ‘as bad as cigarettes for lung infections’
QUB warns of ‘knowledge gap’ over disease risk
A STUDY has concluded vaping may carry the same risk of lung infection as cigarette smoke.
Research by Queen’s University Belfast showed bacteria became more harmful and caused increased inflammation when exposed to e-cigarettes.
Published today in Respiratory Research, the three-year study found exposure to both cigarette smoke extract and e-cigarette vapour increased the risk of diseases such as COPD and asthma.
It also discovered changes in bacteria exposed to e-cigarette vapour were similar to, and in some cases exceeded, those observed following cigarette smoke, suggesting there is little difference between the two.
Dr Deirdre Gilpin, researcher and lecturer from the School of Pharmacy at Queen’s and lead author of the research, said there is a knowledge gap about whether vaping is harmful, or less harmful, than smoking tobacco.
She added: “Bacteria have long been associated with the development of lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia where smoking plays a role.
“Our study is the first of its kind which aimed to compare the effect of cigarette smoke and e-cigarette vapour on key lung bacteria.
IMPLICATIONS
“The study compared the effect of exposure to cigarette smoke extract and e-cigarette vapour on levels of inflammation and the virulence of bacteria commonly associated with lung disease.
“And it shows us that vaping may carry the same risk as cigarette smoke in increasing the susceptibility to bacterial infection.”
Prof Jose Bengoechea, director of the Wellcome-wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine and co-author, said: “This is a study with phenomenal public health implications.
“Worryingly, e-cigarette vapour as well as cigarette smoke increase the harmful potential of already dangerous infections, in addition to the well-known detrimental effect on lung function.
“At the very least this work should open a frank debate on vaping safety.”
According to the World Health Organisation, there has been a small but steady decrease in the estimated number of smokers globally, to just over one billion. However, the number of vapers has been increasing rapidly – from around seven million in 2011 to 41 million last year.