Study: Vaping Causes More Inflammation in the Lungs Than Regular Cigarettes

LOS ANGELES – According to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania, people who smoke vapes are more at risk of pneumonia than if they smoke regular cigarettes.

According to a study published Jan. 1 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers found significantly more inflammation in the lungs in people who used e-cigarettes than in people who smoke regular cigarettes and non-smokers.

“We find evidence that [e-cigarette] consumption causes a unique inflammatory response in the lungs,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Researchers say vaping users face a unique set of risk factors that distinguish them from regular cigarette smokers. The authors of the study warn that vaping, in particular, can “cause inflammation of the lungs and increase the risk of lung disease.”

This is the first study of its kind to provide evidence that e-liquids create a unique and harmful response in the body that is not as noticeable in regular cigarette smokers.

Shouldn’t vaping be better than cigarettes?

E-cigarettes first appeared in the US over a decade ago with the promise of providing smokers with a less harmful alternative. The devices convert the nicotine solution into vapor that is inhaled, bypassing many of the toxic chemicals produced when tobacco is burned.

But studies have reached conflicting results as to whether they actually help quit smoking. And the FDA’s efforts to rule on vaping products and their claims have been repeatedly slowed down by industry lobbying and competing political interests.

The vaping market has grown to hundreds of companies selling many devices and nicotine solutions in various flavors and strengths.

Vaping took on new urgency in 2018, when Juul’s high-nicotine, fruit-flavoured cartridges quickly became a nationwide craze among middle and high school students. The company is facing multiple federal and state investigations into its early marketing practices, which included distributing free Juul products at concerts and parties hosted by young influencers.

In 2019, the company was forced to stop all advertising and abandon its fruit and dessert flavors. The following year, the FDA restricted flavors in small vaping devices to only tobacco and menthol. Separately, Congress raised the purchase age for all tobacco and vaping products to 21.

But the question of whether e-cigarettes should remain on the market at all remains.

FDA regulators have been warning companies for years that they will have to provide rigorous long-term data showing clear benefits for smokers who switch to vaping. But all but the largest manufacturers of e-cigarettes have resisted this kind of costly and time-consuming research.

While Juul remains a top seller, a recent federal survey shows teens are leaving the company. Last year’s survey showed that Juul was the fourth most popular e-cigarette among high school students who regularly smoke e-cigarettes. The most popular brand was the Puff Bar disposable e-cigarette in pink lemonade, strawberry and mango flavors. The company’s disposable e-cigarettes were able to bypass regulation because they use synthetic nicotine, which until recently was not under the jurisdiction of the FDA. Congress recently closed this loophole.

Overall, the survey showed a nearly 40% drop in teen vaping as many children were forced to homeschool during the pandemic. However, federal officials caution against interpreting the results given that they were collected online for the first time and not in classrooms.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.