Vapers or electronic cigarettes are often perceived as a healthier alternative to conventional tobacco, but we must not forget that they still have health risks. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) have conducted a study in which they discovered that these devices used in a habitual way could progressively obstruct the small airways and cause symptoms similar to those that occur with asthma.
In the work, the lung tissue of habitual vapers was analyzed under the microscope to look for chronic diseases in them. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine Evidence, indicated that in a part of the patients there was fibrosis and damage to the small airways, similar to the deterioration generated by the chemical inhalation of mustard gas or other gases harmful to health.
It was notable that in the four patients analyzed the same lesion was found and in the same place within the lung, a localized fibrosis in the small airways with constrictive bronchiolitis that was attributed to the inhalation of electronic cigarette products, since the tests showed that they were not due to other causes.
Lungs can regenerate if you stop vaping
The study participants were habitual consumers of this type of vapers, since they had been consuming them between three and eight years, and had a diagnosis of chronic lung disease. All showed a constrictive bronchiolitis or narrowing of the small airways caused by fibrosis within the bronchiolar wall.
“When patients stopped vaping, they experienced a partial reversal of the condition for one to four years, although not complete”
They also observed in sputum samples and airway cells an overexpression of MUC5AC, a protein responsible for creating the gel of the mucous layer of the airways. However, Lida Hariri, lead author of the study, stated that “we also observed that when patients stopped vaping they experienced a partial reversal of the condition for one to four years, although not complete due to residual scarring in the lung tissue.”
All these findings corroborate the evidence that electronic cigarettes are also harmful to health, so the authors recommend stopping their consumption, since the lungs can recover to a great extent. In addition, they are concerned about the increase in the consumption of this type of e-cigarettes, especially in the younger groups.
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