E-cigarettes May Be As Harmful As Smoking

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jun, 2017 ) : Electronic cigarettes loaded with nicotine-based liquid are potentially as harmful as tobacco cigarettes when it comes to cancer causing DNA damage, new research has found.

Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat up liquid and turn it into an aerosol vapour that can be inhaled. Using e-cigarettes is also called `vaping'. "From the results of our study, we can conclude that e- cigarettes have as much potential to cause DNA damage as unfiltered regular cigarettes," said the lead author of the study, Karteek Kadimisetty, from University of Connecticut, United States.

Cellular mutations caused by DNA damage can lead to cancer.

Modern e-cigarettes, viewed as a less toxic alternative for people looking to break their habit of smoking tobacco cigarettes, have steadily risen in popularity since they first appeared on the commercial market in 2004, Medical Xpress reported.

Vapour from non-nicotine e-cigarettes caused as much DNA damage as filtered cigarettes, possibly due to the many chemical additives present in e-cigarette vapours, showed the findings. "Some people use e-cigarettes heavily because they think there is no harm. We wanted to see exactly what might be happening to DNA as a result of e-cigarette usage," said Kadimisetty.