<div>E-cigarettes compromise the immune system in the lungs and generate some of the same potentially dangerous chemicals found in traditional nicotine cigarettes, says a team of researchers including an Indian-origin scientist.<br /><br />"Our findings suggest that e-cigarettes are not neutral in terms of the effects on the lungs," said senior author Shyam Biswal, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US.<br /><br />E-cigarettes are an emerging public health concern, as they gain popularity among current and former smokers as well as those who have never smoked, including teenagers.<br /><br />The perception that e-cigarettes pose little health risk is so entrenched that some smokers, including those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, the researchers noted.<br /><br />"We have observed that they increase the susceptibility to respiratory infections in the mouse models," Biswal noted.<br /><br />For the study, researchers divided the mice into two groups: one was exposed to e-cigarette vapour in an inhalation chamber in amounts that approximated actual human e-cigarette inhalation for two weeks, while the other group was just exposed to air.<br /><br />The mice exposed to e-cigarette vapour were significantly more likely to develop compromised immune responses to both the viral and the bacterial infections, the researchers found.<br /><br />As part of their study, the researchers also determined that e-cigarette vapour contains "free radicals," known toxins found in cigarette smoke and air pollution.<br /><br />Free radicals are highly reactive agents that can damage DNA or other molecules within cells, resulting in cell death.The findings appeared in the journal PLOS ONE.</div>
<div>E-cigarettes compromise the immune system in the lungs and generate some of the same potentially dangerous chemicals found in traditional nicotine cigarettes, says a team of researchers including an Indian-origin scientist.<br /><br />"Our findings suggest that e-cigarettes are not neutral in terms of the effects on the lungs," said senior author Shyam Biswal, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US.<br /><br />E-cigarettes are an emerging public health concern, as they gain popularity among current and former smokers as well as those who have never smoked, including teenagers.<br /><br />The perception that e-cigarettes pose little health risk is so entrenched that some smokers, including those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, the researchers noted.<br /><br />"We have observed that they increase the susceptibility to respiratory infections in the mouse models," Biswal noted.<br /><br />For the study, researchers divided the mice into two groups: one was exposed to e-cigarette vapour in an inhalation chamber in amounts that approximated actual human e-cigarette inhalation for two weeks, while the other group was just exposed to air.<br /><br />The mice exposed to e-cigarette vapour were significantly more likely to develop compromised immune responses to both the viral and the bacterial infections, the researchers found.<br /><br />As part of their study, the researchers also determined that e-cigarette vapour contains "free radicals," known toxins found in cigarette smoke and air pollution.<br /><br />Free radicals are highly reactive agents that can damage DNA or other molecules within cells, resulting in cell death.The findings appeared in the journal PLOS ONE.</div>