Vaping linked to cancer in study
USA- Cnbc.com writes that a recent study is the first to officially link a lung cancer risk to vaping. The study looked at the impact of vaping on mice and found that the exposure to nicotine led to a greater risk of both lung cancer and bladder cancer.
The National Institutes of Health provided funding for the study. The researchers say that the mice were exposed to e-cigarette smoke which is equivalent to someone who was vaping for about 3 to 6 years. The study also found an increase in the rate of bladder cancer. The data shows that the mice’s DNA was altered by the exposure to smoke, leading to the increased risk of cancer. The implication of the study is that vaping is also dangerous to humans in the same way.
The lead researcher stated that diseases, including cancer, are likely to result from the use of e-cigarettes. It might take up to ten years before it is clear just how dangerous e-cigarettes are to humans.
The study comes after another vaping study that was published last February in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. That study indicated that vaping caused the same molecular changes to oral tissue as smoking traditional cigarettes.
The mice in the most recent study were exposed to nicotine for a span of 54 weeks, and 22.5 percent ended up with lung cancer, while 57.5 percent were found to have precancerous lesions on their bladders.
The study also exposed mice to e-cigarette smoke that did not contain nicotine. None of the mice exposed to the non-nicotine smoke-developed cancer.
The research indicates that vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking, despite the impression held by many young people that it is less damaging than traditional cigarettes.
