Electronic cigarettes harm health as well as ordinary cigarettes

"Liquid can be sucked by steam (aerosol)"Electronic cigaretteThere are various flavors, and it is popular as a part of luxury goods instead of cigarettes. A scientific investigation of aerosol aspirated with electronic cigarette that can also add nicotine has resulted in a research report that substances with the same potential as DNA damage are contained in tobacco.

Automated 3-D Printed Arrays to Evaluate Genotoxic Chemistry: E-Cigarettes and Water Samples - ACS Sensors (ACS Publications)
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acssensors.7b00118

E-cigarettes 'Potentially as Harmful as Tobacco Cigarettes' - UConn Today
http://today.uconn.edu/2017/06/e-cigarettes-potentially-harmful-tobacco-cigarettes/

Karteek Kadimisetty et al. 'S research team at Connecticut University et al. Investigated whether the chemicals contained in the liquid aspirated with electronic cigarettes do not adversely affect health. In the survey, we aimed at three carcinogenic chemicals known as "substances that can cause DNA damage", rather than examining every chemical contained in the electronic tobacco liquid We are investigating whether carcinogenic substances are detected.

In order to judge the genetic hazard of environmental samples, it is necessary to use dedicated equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars (several million yen). So, Kadimisetty and his colleagues used a 3D printer to output very fine micro arrays (microwells) as a method to replace the time and cost of conventional methods, including a specific human enzyme In addition, we measured the strength of genetic toxicity by adsorbing the sample liquid. In this method, if there is a possibility of reacting with a human enzyme to cause DNA damageElectrochemiluminescence (ECL)The intensity of the light is measured, the relative intensity causing DNA damage within just 5 minutes can be examined, the cost of manufacturing the microwell is 1 dollar (about 110 yen), low cost and rapid verification It is realized.


In the experiment, evaluation was carried out based on the criterion that it corresponds to smoking for one cigarette in 20 suctions of electronic cigarettes (20 puffs), samples were collected at 20 puffs, 60 puffs, 100 puffs. The result of the experiment is that the possibility of DNA damage increases as the number of aspiration increases, and it turned out that the electronic cigarette could cause DNA damage as much as tobacco.

A graph showing the relative intensity of issuance that causes DNA damage when green (EC) sucks nicotine-containing flavors with electronic cigarettes when orange (nf-TC) smokes without filtering . It can be seen that the electronic cigarette with nicotine has the inferior effect to the normal cigarette.


Kadimisetty, who led the research, said, "Since we did not expect that the degree of DNA damage caused by electronic tobacco is comparable to that of tobacco, we were shocked from the results, diluted the sample and tried the experiment again However, there is still a tendency to damage DNA, something contained in electronic cigarette was causing DNA damage. "


In this experiment, only three known carcinogens were investigated, but it is pointed out that electronic cigarettes contain hundreds of chemical substances that can damage health. It seems to be said that it is incorrect to think that "It is an electronic tobacco so there is no health hazard like ordinary cigarette".