Canadian Study Finds Changes in Lungs Due to Electronic Cigarettes

A study conducted by Canadian scientists has concluded that electronic cigarettes can cause cellular and molecular changes in the lungs. The team – from McGill university in Montreal – found that even low exposure to aerosols caused “significant effects” on mice.

The research was published in The FASEB journal and showed that aerosol from the JUUL brand of e-cigarettes – very popular among youth and young adults – had a “widespread” impact on the animals’ lungs.

The mice, aged between 8 and 12 weeks, were exposed daily for four weeks to air with the cigarettes containing 59 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter.

The results showed significant increases in neutrophil and lymphocyte populations in lung lavage and changes in cytokine mRNA expression. Numerous other changes were observed in the biochemical pathways as well.

Study coordinator Carolyn Bagloe emphasizes that these findings show that the products cannot be considered inert and can lead to lung damage with long-term use.