E-cigarettes cause as much DNA damage as conventional cigarettes, new research shows. Especially for sweet flavors.
By Olivier Hertel
© KOEN VAN WEEL / ANP MAG / ANP via AFP
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Ihe news still risks blurring the debate on the interest of electronic cigarettes in the fight against smoking. According to a study published on February 14 in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, vaping damages the DNA of the epithelial cells that line the inside of the mouth. Previous work already seemed to show these effects. But what is new is that the damage observed is equivalent to that caused by conventional cigarettes: more than twice as great as in non-smokers. The study, conducted by Stella Tommasi of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, also shows that there is a dose-dependent effect, as with tobacco. The more you vape, the more the DNA is degraded.
The researchers of course made sure that their results were related to the practice of vaping or smoking. Indeed, many vapers are former smokers. Difficult in this case to say if the DNA was attacked by the cigarette or by the e-cigarette. But the American team took care to select vapers who had never smoked and smokers who had never vaped. Two categories that she compares to non-smokers, who themselves have never touched cigarettes or their electronic alternative.
The effects observed on the genome are not insignificant. The study points out that many toxic chemicals present in both the smoke of vapers and cigarettes cause DNA damage that leads to mutations and instability of the genome. However, these phenomena are involved in many diseases such as cancer.
Different effects depending on the flavors
Another surprising result: the effects of vaping on DNA also depend on the flavor chosen. Scientists have distinguished five categories of tastes: 1/ fruit, 2/ sweets or desserts and other sweet flavors, 3/ mint or menthol, 4/ tobacco, and finally, 5/ multiple tastes. Sweet flavors have the most deleterious effects on DNA, followed by those with a mint or menthol flavor and then fruit. Unfortunately, these flavors are also those preferred by vapers and especially young people. Enough to create, as the study in conclusion suggests, a vaping regulation policy that depends on the type of product.
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In France, the Academy of Medicine has already spoken on the subject in 2015: “Although still partial, studies indicate that if the electronic cigarette must be monitored and regulated, it is also a new opportunity, because its development is accompanied by a notable drop in smoking in France. ” But in a 2021 opinion, based on an analysis of the scientific literature, the High Council for Public Health had a significantly different position: “In particular, the HCSP emphasizes that evidence-based knowledge is insufficient to propose SEDEN – electronic nicotine delivery system – as smoking cessation aids in the care of smokers by health professionals. A position still partly contradicted in November 2022, by a new review of the scientific literature conducted by the Cochrane Organization in the United Kingdom: “Electronic cigarettes with nicotine can help people quit smoking for at least six months. There is evidence to suggest that they work better than nicotine replacement therapies, and probably better than e-cigarettes without nicotine. »
Regarding the new study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Gérard Dubois, professor emeritus of public health and member of the Academy of Medicine, believes that: “its interest is to show a biological effect, which, if confirmed, mainly draws attention to aromas. For the academician, this confirms that the electronic cigarette is only of interest to tobacco smokers, half of whom will lose their lives because of tobacco.