Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Here Comes Novel Device Equally Harmful As Traditional Smoking, E-Cigarettes

Darpan News Desk, 11 Feb, 2019 09:33 PM
  • Here Comes Novel Device Equally Harmful As Traditional Smoking, E-Cigarettes

While we know about the harmful effects of traditional cigarettes and vaping, new heated tobacco devices are no less toxic to the human lung cells than ordinary cigarette smoke, said researchers, including one of Indian-origin.


The study has compared new heated tobacco devices, which heat solid tobacco instead of an e-liquid, with vaping and traditional cigarettes showing that all the three are toxic to the cells.


In addition, these newer electronic nicotine delivery devices can destroy lung tissue leading to fatal diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and pneumonia, and can increase the risk of developing asthma.


"Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, and with the introduction of e-cigarettes in the last decade, the trend of nicotine uptake is not going to slow down in the near future," said Pawan Sharma, a researcher at the University of Technology Sydney.

"The latest addition in this emerging trend is the planned and vigorous introduction of heated tobacco devices. They are commonly called next generation or heat-not-burn products. We know very little about the health effects of these new devices, so we designed this research to compare them with cigarette smoking and vaping," added Sharma.


For the study, researchers tested the effects of all three nicotine sources on two types of cells taken from the human airways: epithelial cells and smooth muscle cells.


In healthy lungs, epithelial cells act as the first line of defence to any foreign particles entering the airway while smooth muscle cells maintain the structure of the airway. However, smoking can lead to difficulty in breathing primarily by hampering the normal functions of these cells.


The team exposed the cells to different concentrations of cigarette smoke, e-cigarette vapour and vapour from a heated tobacco device, and measured whether this was damaging to cells and whether it affected the cells' normal functions.


The findings, published in ERJ Open Research, showed that cigarette smoke and heated tobacco vapour were highly toxic to the cells both at lower and higher concentrations while e-cigarette vapour demonstrated toxicity mainly at higher concentrations.


Importantly, the review of the European Respiratory Society's Tobacco Control Committee's own data on these devices has shown that, in rats, there is evidence of lung inflammation, and there is no evidence of improvement in lung inflammation and function in smokers who switch to heated tobacco, said Professor Charlotta Pisinger from the varsity.


"If the current trend continues, tobacco use will cause more than eight million deaths annually by 2030 around the world," noted Sharma.

MORE National ARTICLES

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, Semi-Driver In Humboldt Broncos Crash A Newlywed With Business Education

The lawyer for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu provided a biography for his 30-year-old client Thursday in a Melfort, Sask., court.

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, Semi-Driver In Humboldt Broncos Crash A Newlywed With Business Education

City Of Vancouver Limits Cash Payments At $10,000 To Prevent Money Laundering

City Of Vancouver Limits Cash Payments At $10,000 To Prevent Money Laundering
VANCOUVER — The City of Vancouver is no longer accepting cash payments over $10,000 in an effort to prevent money laundering.

City Of Vancouver Limits Cash Payments At $10,000 To Prevent Money Laundering

Psychiatric Hospital Fined $650,000 For Failing To Protect Its Workers In B.C.

WorkSafeBC has fined the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital almost $650,000 for failing to protect the safety of its workers.  

Psychiatric Hospital Fined $650,000 For Failing To Protect Its Workers In B.C.

Special Prosecutor Oversees Theft Case Involving B.C. MLA's Constituency Office

Special Prosecutor Oversees Theft Case Involving B.C. MLA's Constituency Office
A special prosecutor is conducting a charge assessment after the RCMP investigated allegations that money was stolen from the constituency office of a member of the British Columbia legislature.

Special Prosecutor Oversees Theft Case Involving B.C. MLA's Constituency Office

Cuba Criticizes Canada'S Diplomatic Downsize After Another Diplomat Falls Ill

Cuba Criticizes Canada'S Diplomatic Downsize After Another Diplomat Falls Ill
OTTAWA — The Cuban government is criticizing Canada's decision on Wednesday to halve its embassy staff after a 14th Canadian fell ill to an unexplained illness in Havana.    

Cuba Criticizes Canada'S Diplomatic Downsize After Another Diplomat Falls Ill

Merritt-Area Cattle Ranch Identifies Missing B.C. Cowboy As One Of Its Managers

Merritt-Area Cattle Ranch Identifies Missing B.C. Cowboy As One Of Its Managers
MERRITT, B.C. — The 32-year-old man missing in B.C.'s southern Interior area has been identified as Ben Tyner, a cowboy with the Nicola Ranch near Merritt.

Merritt-Area Cattle Ranch Identifies Missing B.C. Cowboy As One Of Its Managers