Is smoking e-cigarettes as harmful to lungs as smoking standard tobacco cigarettes? According to new data, it might actually be worse.
In terms of pulmonary inflammation, the new study indicates that individuals who opt for e-cigarettes or vapes display greater pulmonary inflammation on imaging in comparison to cigarette smokers and nonsmokers.
The findings were published Jan. 19 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
The use of e-cigarettes has increased significantly in recent years, mostly due to the fact that many consumers believe them to be a safer option than traditional cigarettes. But authors of the new study caution that even though e-cigarettes could be considered the safer alternative based on certain measures, they also have inherent risks.
“Electronic cigarette (EC) use has increased dramatically, particularly among adolescents and young adults, which, like cigarette use, can cause pulmonary inflammation and increase the risk of lung disease,” the study’s first author Reagan Wetherill, PhD, with the Department of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine, and colleagues noted.
Experts used data derived from the PET scans of 15 study participants—5 EC users, 5 cigarette smokers and 5 nonsmokers—to assess how vaping affects the pulmonary health of users.
A radiotracer (F-18 NOS) that binds to nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was used during the scans to quantify patients’ pulmonary inflammation.
Increased binding between the radiotracer and iNOS signals greater levels of inflammation, which is exactly what experts observed on the e-cigarette users’ exams. EC users’ inflammation was greater than that of both cigarette smokers and nonsmokers.
There was also a correlation between EC users’ inflammation and the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α concentrations in their blood, which is a marker of lung tissue injury.
“We found preliminary evidence EC users had greater pulmonary inflammation than cigarette smokers and never smoke/vape controls, with a positive association between pulmonary and peripheral measures of inflammation,” the authors explained.
The authors suggested PET imaging could be used in the future as a noninvasive way to further investigate the impact of long-term e-cigarette use on the lungs.
The study abstract is available here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.