Are e-cigarettes healthier? Research slaps in the face: causing severe inflammation of "4 organs", "2 flavors" are the most poisonous
Due to their cool appearance and easy portability, e-cigarettes have gradually replaced traditional cigarettes and become the new favorite of addicts. Many people are convinced that e-cigarettes are less harmful to the human body; some smokers have even embraced e-cigarettes in order to quit smoking. Is smoking e-cigarettes really healthier than cigarettes? A study published in “eLife” pointed out that e-cigarettes are not only associated with higher mortality, but may even cause severe inflammation of “four organs” in the body.
Is smoking e-cigarettes healthier? Research: Causes serious inflammation of the body’s “4 organs”
A research team from the University of California, USA, exposed experimental mice to electronic smoke three times a day for 60 minutes each time for 1-3 months, during which the physical changes of the mice were recorded. Preliminary research has found that daily inhalation of high doses of flavored nicotine (above 59 mg/mL) may indeed affect the immune regulatory mechanisms of human organ systems. Further observation of the mouse’s physical condition revealed significant inflammation in “four organs” in the body:
Brain. Electronic cigarettes cause an inflammatory reaction in the central nervous system of the brain, especially the “nucleus accumbens” (NAc), which dominates the reward mechanism and implicit behavior, and was found to have more severe inflammation.
Lungs. When mice inhaled smoke, the lungs were most affected. The molecules of e-cigarette smoke are smaller than those of traditional cigarettes, so they are more likely to penetrate into the lungs, increasing the chance of inflammatory reactions. In addition, e-cigarettes are more likely to make the lungs less sensitive to microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.
Heart. Bacterial pneumonia or acute lung injury is known to easily cause systemic inflammation or cardiac inflammation. Inhaling electronic cigarette smoke can cause serious damage to the lungs and increase the concentration of “pro-inflammatory cytokines” around the heart. The study pointed out that the degree of heart inflammation in experimental mice was indeed more severe than that in mice that did not inhale smoke.
Gastrointestinal tract. The study found that electronic cigarette smoke caused significant changes in the gastrointestinal environment of mice and led to a higher risk of gastrointestinal inflammation. The research team is still unable to clarify the direct connection between e-cigarettes and gastrointestinal inflammation, but infers that it may be related to poor general health caused by smoking or heart inflammation.
Are these “two flavors” of e-cigarettes the most poisonous? Is it better to stop smoking after being diagnosed with COVID-19?
Study author Dr. Laura Crotty Alexander said that even though the study was not a human experiment, after the research team adjusted the variables, the correlation between e-cigarettes and chronic inflammation in the human body still existed. She believes that chronic inflammation will develop into more harmful complications; if a smoker is diagnosed with COVID-19, the virus may intensify the inflammatory reaction after invading the lungs, increase the risk of pulmonary fibrosis and lung capacity decline, and significantly increase the rate of severe COVID-19. .
Alexander also pointed out that the inflammatory reaction caused by e-cigarettes is more related to its “taste”. Among the five flavors that the study focused on (creme brûlée, cool mint, mango, tobacco, menthol), the “cool mint” and “mango” flavors seemed to be more harmful to the health of mice. Mango-flavored smoke made mice more sensitive to symptoms of bacterial pneumonia, while mint-flavored smoke easily caused systemic inflammation.
“E-cigarettes are like “pacifiers” that can give people temporary spiritual comfort. However, in the long run, they are no less harmful to the body than cigarettes. Therefore, replacing cigarettes with e-cigarettes, or using e-cigarettes The benefits of quitting smoking are minimal when it comes to improving cardiorespiratory health,” Alexander said.
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