New Study on Vaping Reveals Harmful Impact on Lung Cells

The important research into long-term vaping health risks led by

Associate Professor Kelly Burrowes at Auckland University concentrates on studying risks to New Zealand youth. The rising prevalence of young New Zealanders who vape at three times the rate of their counterparts in Canada and the United States and Australia makes it crucial to identify the health risks.

Current evidence showing potential risks of long-term vaping engagement has emerged, even though scientists require multiple decades to determine complete effects. The decline in youth smoking around 2019 led Burrowes to redirect her research toward investigating e-cigarette vapour instead of tobacco. The complete effects of vaping will not become evident until at least ten to twenty years have passed as scientists witness a parallel situation to the smoking-health risk revelation process that spanned a similar timeframe. Doctor Burrowes along with her team conducted multiple investigations spanning six years by studying the respiratory effects specifically.

Vaping’s Harmful Effects on Lung Cells

E-cigarette vapour deposits oily materials inside the lungs whenever someone takes a vape. The inflammatory response starts because of exposure to foreign substances yet persistent vaping will eventually cause harmful tissue deterioration and disease formation. Research on these effects became possible when Burrowes worked with engineering students who built a "vaping robot" to collect and freeze vapour for chemical analysis. Their experimental analysis showed that each e-liquid contains at least thirty different flavouring elements whose safety effects remain unknown. Research into vape vapours showed the presence of heavy metals that emerge when metal coils within vaping devices achieve high temperatures. The lung cells grown in a laboratory received e-cigarette vapour for testing in Burrowes' essential experiment. The exposure caused cell death and created tissue damage that made cells more vulnerable, so harmful substances penetrated the bloodstream.

Youth Voices on Vaping Addiction

Undergraduate students managed by Rebecca Thwaites, who is enrolled in a Bachelor of Science program aimed at finding vaping solutions through their "by youth, for youth" framework. Through her observations, Rebecca Thwaites described how vaping addiction has corrupted her teenage student community. She observed her peers getting tense when they ran out of vape juice because this left them anxious or forced them to lose their devices. The group investigated whether Australia's prescription-only policy should be replicated in similar countries to combat vape distribution. Australia implemented restrictive measures, yet illegal vaping items remain easily obtainable from local stores because they are secretly sold under the counter. A suggested answer proposed developing a plain and unexciting vape device which takes away the popular appeal of vaping. The group proposed a tobacco-flavoured plain dark green vape device with a basic design. The group wants this modification because they think it would reduce the appeal for young people who primarily use attractive colours and sweet flavours to choose e-cigarettes.

Upcoming Policy Changes and Research Progress

Starting on July 1 New Zealand will adopt stronger vaping restrictions that include total restrictions on vapor disposables. All tobacco retailers must keep all vape products hidden so that customer viewing is restricted through a policy similar to conventional cigarette display rules.

The research team of Burrowes and colleagues plans to study vaping's total health effects to deliver definite answers about vaping's impact on health throughout future years, even after new regulations take effect.