Why you should think twice before smoking an e-cigarette

It is time you looked beyond the benefits of smoking e-cigarettes. They are not as healthy as made out to be. According to a recent study, they have immediate effects on the pulmonary functions in healthy and mild asthmatic young smokers.

It is time you looked beyond the benefits of smoking e-cigarettes. They are not as healthy as made out to be. According to a recent study, they have immediate effects on the pulmonary functions in healthy and mild asthmatic young smokers.

E-cigarettes have more deleterious short-term effects on asthmatics compared with healthy smokers, finds a new study. (Shutterstock)

The study was conducted on 54 young cigarette and e-cigarette smokers, among which 27 had mild controlled asthma and the rest were healthy.

It was found that measurements of airway obstruction (oscillometry) and inflammation (exhaled nitric oxide) were worse after e-cigarette sessions. These results were more severe in asthmatics.

Read: Smoke signals: E-cigarettes cause severe respiratory diseases

“As it happens with smoking regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes have more deleterious short-term effects on asthmatics compared with healthy smokers,” said Dr. Andreas Lappas of the Hellenic Cancer Society, Athens, Greece.

Lappas also noted that this research adds to the growing body of research pointing to the dangers of e-cigarettes. Especially for asthma, further research is needed in order to assess the risks of long-term e-cigarette use.

The researchers will report this study at CHEST World Congress.

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