Electronic cigarette: do not trivialize its use

Electronic cigarettes contain liquid and a rechargeable battery, but may also contain nicotine and chemicals. Often used to get rid of a tobacco addiction, in other words for a short time, they would not be without effects on health, in the event of long-term use.

According to an American study recently published in the journal American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicinethe electronic cigarette would increase the risk of respiratory disorders in young adults.

Respiratory problems in 12 months

The American researchers based their analyzes on the PATH study – Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health – conducted between 2014 and 2019. They chose to follow young adults aged 18 to 24, who used electronic cigarettes and had no no illness or respiratory problems. Their consumption of combustible cigarettes and other tobacco products was taken into account.

The young people developed respiratory problems twelve months after starting the electronic cigarette. Those who previously used e-cigarettes have been shown to be more likely to suffer from respiratory problems and wheeze. As for the young people who were still using their electronic cigarette during the study, they had a high risk of developing any respiratory symptoms.

According to the study, the risks were exactly the same in young people who had ever smoked combustible cigarettes as in those who had never done so.

Risks of addiction

Beyond respiratory disorders, there is a real risk of developing an addiction for young people. It has been pointed out on several occasions, in particular by WHOthat adolescents who started using an electronic cigarette were more likely to become smokers of “conventional” cigarettes.

Since they can contain nicotine, e-cigarettes are likely to become addictive in their users, much more quickly in teenagers than in adults. They can also disrupt the neurological development of young people.

The electronic cigarette, a weaning aid

Other organizations, however, want to be more reassuring. Thereby, the National Cancer Institute sees the electronic cigarette as an effective weaning tool, especially among pregnant women.

In addition, Public Health France recalls that the components found in the vapor of an electronic cigarette (propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavorings, nicotine, etc.) and substances that are carcinogenic or responsible for cardiovascular diseases are present at “rates well below the values ​​known to be toxic or carcinogenic; even under the most extreme conditions of use of the electronic cigarette”.

This is also the opinion of Fabienne El-Khoury, researcher in social epidemiology at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). “We have more hindsight and work carried out by scientists who are less oriented by lobbies. We can not say that it is innocuous for health. But many studies show that e-cigarette liquids are much less toxic than a cigarette. We do not find the 4,000 chemical substances and the fifty or so carcinogenic molecules”, she said in the columns of the daily The Parisian.

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