E-cigarettes double the risk of bronchitis in teenagers

Teenagers who use e-cigarettes are far more likely to get bronchitis, a study has found. Those who vape have a 71 per cent higher risk of the condition, which risks damaging the lungs, than schoolchildren who have never had a puff.

The risk is thought to come in part from diacetyl, a chemical used to create e-cigarette flavourings like caramel and butterscotch, and blamed for an incurable condition called 'popcorn lung'.

But the aerosol puffed out of electronic cigarettes also includes glycerol vapour, nicotine and other irritants known to cause breathing problems.

Researchers at the University of Southern California analysed study responses from more than 2,000 older teenagers, asking for symptoms of chronic bronchitis, such as a daily cough for three months straight.

They found those who currently used e-cigarettes were 85 per cent more likely to have had the lung infection – or 71 per cent when those who smoked regular cigarettes or were exposed to tobacco smoke were taken into account.

Regardless how damp their homes were, or if they had pets which could trigger a lung infection, the risk was far higher for vapers.

Alarmingly, teenagers who had used e-cigarettes previously but not currently were still 41 per cent more likely to self-report symptoms of bronchitis.

Dr Rob McConnell, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, within the University of Southern California, said: 'E-cigarettes are known to deliver chemicals toxic to the lungs, including oxidant metals, glycerol vapour, diketone flavouring compounds and nicotine.

'However, there has been little study of the chronic health effects of e-cigarettes.

'The Children's Health Study provided an opportunity to examine bronchitic symptoms common among smokers to see if the risk was also increased in users of e-cigarettes.'

It comes a week after a separate report by US researchers found toxic formaldehyde, which can cause cancer, in e-cigarette flavourings.

Last year scientists who tested more than 50 types of the devices found they contained diacetyl, which used to give popcorn its buttery flavour and caused popcorn factory workers to develop an incurable condition scarring their lungs.

Whether e-cigarettes caused the greater risk of bronchitis in teenagers cannot be confirmed for sure.

But the condition is known to be triggered by breathing in irritant substances such as smog and the chemicals in household cleaning products.

The latest research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, is authoritative because it adjusts findings based on cigarette smoke to ensure the effect of only e-cigarette vapour is shown in the results.

But it is based on self-reported questionnaires of bronchitis symptoms.

Under-18s are banned from buying e-cigarettes in the UK, although many manage still to get them.

Dr McConnell said: 'Our results suggest that these regulations and an environment that discourages the initiation of any tobacco product may reduce the burden of chronic respiratory symptoms in youth. However, because e-cigarettes are relatively new, additional study is needed to fully understand their long-term effects.'

Source: Daily Mail

(Dhaka times/21 November/SUL)