Teen vaping has been on the rise, with reports of rapidly increasing use across North America. While some consider vapes to be a useful tool for smoking cessation, new research from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) supports a growing public health concern about potential adverse health consequences. Researchers found that inhaling e-cigarettes can cause cellular and molecular changes that could have potentially damaging effects on the lungs down the road. They exposed mice to the equivalent of 60 puffs of a mango-flavored Juul (a brand of e-cigarettes popular with youth and young adults) per day for four weeks. They found that even low exposure to aerosols from the Juul had significant impacts. “Our results show that inhalation of the vapor generated by a popular brand of e-cigarette causes widespread changes inside the lungs, data that further highlights that these products are not inert and may lead to lung damage if used long term,” said co-author Carolyn J. Baglole.
carolyn.baglole [at] mcgill.ca (English)
