Electronic cigarettes, more publicized as a safer replacement of cigarettes, damage the lungs, finds a study.
Electronic or e-cigarettes are a bit different from the regular cigarette as it delivers nicotine through a vapour, and no smoke required. Even it works without combustion the nicotine is still derived from tobacco. But there are no sufficient scientific evidences to support the claims regarding its safety or efficiency.
Researchers from the University of Athens, Greece, conducted this study to know the short-term effects of using e-cigarettes on different people, including people without any known health problems and smokers with and without existing lung conditions.
To conduct this study more effectively, the researchers included a group of people who had never smoked and 24 smokers, 11 with normal lung function and 13 people with either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, an Athens university statement explains.
As a part of the study, each person used an electronic cigarette for 10 minutes. The researchers then examined their airway resistance using a number of tests that includes a spirometry test.
The results revealed that for all people included in the study, the e-cigarette users showed an immediate increase in airway resistance, lasting for 10 minutes. In the people who never smoked the researchers found a statistically significant increase in airway resistance from a mean average of 182 percent to 206 percent.
Christina Gratziou, professor and study author from Athens, stated: "We do not yet know whether unapproved nicotine delivery products, such as e-cigarettes, are safer than normal cigarettes, despite marketing claims that they are less harmful. This research helps us to understand how these products could be potentially harmful.
"We found an immediate rise in airway resistance in our group of participants, which suggests e-cigarettes can cause immediate harm after smoking the device. More research is needed to understand whether this harm also has lasting effects in the long-term," Gratziou has been quoted as saying.
The results of the study were presented on Sunday at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Vienna, Austria.
--with IANS inputs
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