Even short-term vaping can cause inflammation: Study

New York, IANS: E-cigarette use has risen at concerning levels among both smokers and non-smokers and now researchers from Ohio State University have found that even short-term vaping could cause cellular inflammation in never-smoker adults.

Using a procedure called bronchoscopy to test for inflammation and smoking-related effects, researchers reported a measurable increase in inflammation after four weeks of e-cigarette use without nicotine or flavours. The study suggested that even short-term usage could result in inflammatory changes at a cellular level.

"Through the randomized clinical trial of healthy never-smokers over a month, we found that an increase in urinary propylene glycol, a marker of inhalation-e-cig intake, was significantly correlated with the increased inflammatory response in the lung," said the study's first author Min-Ae Song from Ohio State University.

For the study, researchers recruited 30 healthy, non-smoking volunteers to directly assess the impact of tobacco and e-cig use on the lungs through bronchoscopy, an outpatient test in which a doctor inserts a thin tube through the nose or mouth to view the airways.

A small sample of lung cells was collected from fluid in the lungs. Participants were randomized to a four-week intervention with e-cigs containing only 50 percent propylene glycol (PG) or 50 percent vegetable glycerine (VG) without nicotine or flavors.

Results from these tests were then compared to a separate control group of never-smokers. Researchers did not see levels of inflammation higher than the controls, but there was an increase in inflammation among the users who inhaled more of the e-cigarette.

With the recent reports of lung disease and deaths associated with vaping, the effects of vaping nicotine and marijuana oils make this research more critical, said the researchers.