If the harms of tobacco are not debatable, the effects of “vaping” on health remain to be clarified. This is precisely the subject of work carried out in a laboratory in Saint-Etienne, where researchers expose lung cells to the vapor produced by different electronic cigarettes and e-liquids.
Clément Mercier is waiting for us in front of the brand new premises of the Sainbiose laboratory in Saint-Étienne. The young research engineer focuses his efforts on a now well-known object: the electronic cigarette. For some, it is an alternative to the classic cigarette; for others, it is a gateway to smoking. If the health harms of cigarettes are recognized, those of e-cigarettes remain to be scientifically investigated. Indeed, the diversity of e-liquids with which they are filled and the immense choice of their aromas require more studies to determine the toxicity of each product. Because the thick, fragrant vapor they produce contains many volatile compounds, some of which are harmful when heated. To study the effects of vaping, researchers will expose lung cells to different vapes, and determine their level of harmfulness. Welcome to a lab where there is no smoke without them.
Here is an “exposure chamber”: cigarette smoke is blown onto lung cells placed in the bottom of the box. The goal: to reproduce what happens in the lungs of a smoker when he vapes.
New e‑liquids, flavors and models of e‑cigarettes are arriving on the market all the time. Researchers must therefore repeat their toxicity study with each new product. They were thus able to determine that the compounds present in certain aromas such as cinnamon or mint are more toxic than others. Starting next year, the research team will include volunteer vapers to extend the study on the toxicity of e-cigarettes.
Report produced in the Sainbiose laboratory (unit 1059 Inserm/Mines ParisTech/Université Jean-Monnet ‑Saint-Étienne), Vascular Dysfunctions and hemostasisInhaled Particles group. To be found in Inserm magazine n°62.
Photos: Inserm/François Guénet
Author: B.S.
Addictions
Addictions are brain pathologies defined by dependence on a substance or…
Related News :