People who smoke e-cigarettes have an increased risk of developing pneumonia, a new study warns.
After collecting data from 17 vapers, researchers found that bacteria that cause the lung infection stick to cells lining their airways more easily than they do in non-e-cigarette users.
Traditional cigarettes have long been linked to an increased risk of pneumonia, but it has been less clear whether e-cigarettes might have the same effect.
The study, conducted by researchers from the Queen Mary University of London, provides more insight to the harmful effects vaping can have on lungs.
Researchers found e-cigarettes may help pneumonia-causing bacteria invade airways
Pneumonia, an infection of the lungs that can cause mild to severe illness in people of all ages, kills about 50,000 people each year in the US.
For the study, researchers led by Dr Jonathan Grigg, a professor of pediatric respiratory and environmental medicine, asked 17 people who vaped regularly to smoke an e-cigarette in the lab.
They found that vaping increased levels of a molecule produced by airway-lining cells, called platelet-activating factor receptor (PAFR) – a substance that makes pneumonia-causing bacteria stick to airways.
When researchers compared participant’s PAFR levels before and after the vaping session, they found a three-fold increase in these molecules an hour after they vaped.
Then, the researchers exposed mice to e-cigarette vapor and found higher PAFR production in the rodents that inhaled the fumes.
PAFR levels surged in human nose lining cells in culture dishes exposed to e-liquids with nicotine and in cells exposed to nicotine-free vapor. This lead to an increase in pneumonia-causing bacteria adhering to the those cells.
‘The take-home message is that it is over-optimistic to assume that all of the adverse effects of cigarette smoking are reduced by switching to vaping,’ said Dr Grigg.
‘It also raises the question that, even if we have not proved that vaping increases the risk of pneumonia, for young people taking up vaping for the first time, a precautionary approach would suggest that the risk should be assumed to exist until proved otherwise,’ he added.
This isn’t the first study to reveal vaping can negatively impact the lungs.
A 2017 study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found e-cigarettes can trigger immune responses in the lung that can contribute to inflammatory lung diseases.
Previous studies have also linked e-cigarettes to adverse health effects.
Research published earlier this year by scientists at the University of Rochester found that vaping flavors are toxic to white blood cells and can increase the risk of developing life-threatening diseases.
A 2018 study conducted by researchers at New York University revealed e-cigarettes can cause DNA mutations that can lead to cancer.
Researchers of the current study said that even though their results must be verified in larger human trials, the findings still suggest that e-cigarettes aren’t risk-free and shouldn’t necessarily be considered a safe way for people to try to curb use of traditional cigarettes, the researchers conclude in the European Respiratory Journal.
When it comes to pneumonia, researchers said nicotine patches or gum may be a safer option for smoking cessation.