How do e-cigarettes affect the lungs?

New research published in The FASEB Journal indicates that e-cigarettes can cause cellular and molecular changes in the lungs. Specifically, prolonged inhalation of e-cigarette aerosols by mice caused changes in the animals' pulmonary immune cell composition and altered gene and protein levels in the lungs.

Investigators found that even low exposure to aerosols from JUUL—a brand of e-cigarettes popular with youth and young adults—had significant impacts.

"The health consequences of vaping are not known. Our results show that inhalation of the vapor generated by a popular brand of e-cigarette causes widespread changes inside the lungs, data that further highlight that these products are not inert and may lead to lung damage if used long term," said corresponding author Carolyn J. Baglole, Ph.D., of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec.