How does vaping affect the lungs?

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