A recent study has shown that e-cigarette smokers have more lung inflammation as compared to those who smoked tobacco.
E-cigarettes is an electronic device that uses a battery and contains a solution of nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals that are shaped in the form of a cigarette, cigar or pen and does not contain tobacco. These help smokers stop tobacco smoking.
The study have experimented at the effects of the vapour on immune cells in vitro (in a dish). These experiments show that immune cells that are normally involved in inflammation don’t function as they should, which might cause damage to the lungs.
It has been found that when macrophages and immune cells are exposed to e-cigarettes it causes more inflammation.
The study examined lung inflammation in people who have vaped, smokers and non-smokers.
Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to examine the participants’ lungs.
The study includes “tracer molecules” and is used usually in cancer diagnosis. The tracer targeted an enzyme called inducible nitric oxide synthase or iNOS, which is involved in the production of nitric oxide in the body.
The participants included in the study, inhale the tracer, which binds to the enzyme and was detected by the radioactivity. The images can be compared to determine how much tracer has bound in the lungs of smokers, vapers and non-smokers.
The study showed result of higher levels of iNOS in e-cigarette smokers compared with both non-smokers and cigarette smokers.
The data of the people getting the chances of smoking-related diseases like COPD and cancer as compared to e-cigarette smokers are lower.