Vaping damages the DNA of cells in the mouth as much as smoking does, shows a new study by researchers at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.
“We are in the process of demonstrating that for the more specific cells of the mouth, there are still quite similar risks between cigarette smoke and vaping aerosol. However, we often tend to say that vaping is so much less harmful, so much safer than cigarette smoke, “said one of the researchers, Dr. Nicholas Chadi, pediatrician and clinician-researcher specializing in medicine at the adolescence and drug addiction at the CHU Sainte-Justine, in Canada.
“Any product inhaled at high temperature will be able to generate risks of mutation in cell reproduction, and when we talk regarding mutation in cell reproduction, we really mean the risk of cancer”, he said. explained, quoted by Canadian media.
To conduct their study, the scientists divided their 72 adult subjects, all of whom were healthy, into three groups: those who currently vaped and had never smoked cigarettes, those who currently smoked cigarettes and had never vaped and those who had never vaped or smoked. The findings of the study, published by the monthly journal “Nicotine & Tobacco Research”, showed that DNA damage, compared to non-smokers, was 2.6 times higher in smokers and 2 .2 times higher among vapers. Also, the highest levels of DNA damage were measured in vapers who used pods. Sweet-flavored vapes were associated with the greatest genetic damage, ahead of mint, menthol, and fruit-flavored vapes.
