E-cigarettes weaken the immune system

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The vapor from e-cigarettes may weaken the defenses of the respiratory tract more than regular cigarettes. At least e-cigarettes change a lot more of the corresponding genes. However, that doesn't mean they are as dangerous as regular cigarettes.

Scholars argue about the benefits and risks of e-cigarettes. Some praise it as a less risky jump-off aid from tobacco products, others warn of as yet unknown long-term consequences.

Reduced gene activity

At least one US study suggests that vaping could be less harmless than many users believe. The team led by Ilona Jaspers from the University of North Carolina found that tobacco smokers had reduced activity in 53 genes that are important for the immune defense in the cells of the nasal mucous membrane. This was also the case with e-cigarette users - but the changes were much more pronounced. In addition, there were another 500 immune genes, which were also changed in the e-cigarette vaporizers.

Higher risk of respiratory infections

All of this suggests that the risk of infection and inflammation for e-cigarette users could be even higher than that of tobacco smokers. In fact, it has long been observed that smokers are generally more likely to develop upper respiratory infections.

“I was really surprised by the results,” says Jaspers, who compared the gene activity of 13 non-smokers, 14 cigarette smokers and 12 e-cigarette users for the experiment. “But we don't yet know what long-term effects e-cigarettes have on health. I suspect that it will not be the same as that of cigarettes. "

Long-term consequences still unclear

In particular, whether and if so, how the use of steaming sticks influences the risk of typical smoking diseases such as cancer and COPD is still completely open. But there is great hope that they are far less risky in this regard than the classic cigarette.

These diseases develop over the course of many years - but e-cigarettes have only been available in the United States for a decade, for example. It will be some time before there is enough data to give a long-term assessment.

In Germany, e-cigarettes are still a long way from replacing the tobacco smoldering sticks. In a survey, 16 percent of smokers state that they have tried them but do not want to continue using them. This is 3.4 percent of ex-smokers and 0.6 percent of never-smokers. Only 0.5 percent of tobacco smokers vape e-cigarettes every day, 0.2 percent of ex-smokers and 0.02 percent of never-smokers. (cf)

Source: Elizabeth Martin et al .: E-cigarette use results in suppression of immune and inflammatory-response genes in nasal epithelial cells similar to cigarette smoke. American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 2016; ajoppel.00170.2016 DOI: 10.1152 / ajoppel.00170.2016

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