The study, which was recently published in Nature and presented at the American Association of Cancer Research's annual meeting this week, found that bronchial cells grown in a medium exposed to e-cig vapor showed "strikingly similar" gene mutations to those grown in a medium exposed to tobacco smoke.
Further research is needed to draw clear-cut conclusions, but these similarities may be an indicator that e-cig vapor could potentially increase a user's risk of cancer, despite the fact that it's completely tobacco free and doesn't require combustion to be consumed.
"They may be safer [than tobacco], but our preliminary studies suggest that they may not be benign," said study author Avrum Spira, a genomics and lung cancer researcher at Boston University.
The next step is to conduct further experiments on the genes altered by the e-cig vapor to discern their cancer-causing potential. "These studies will determine the impact of e-cig exposure on lung carcinogenicity and provide needed scientific guidance to the FDA regarding the physiologic effects of e-cigs," Spira added.
In spite of all the uncertainty surrounding their potential health effects, the FDA has taken its sweet time in regulating e-cigs, which have risen from relative obscurity to become a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few years time. Without any federal regulation, the e-cigarette market is basically the Wild West right now. There's little if any quality control, and marketers can peddle e-cigs however they want — be it to kids, or as a smoking cessation method.
Proposed federal rules on how to regulate e-cigs are exptected to come down soon, but considering what research has shown thus far, in the meantime it's probably a good idea to approach e-cigargette use with caution and not assume it's completely safe.
From BEN Latest News: www.benlatestnews.com
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/benlatestnews
0 comments:
Post a Comment