Researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine has recently released study results they conducted on e-cigarette flavorings. They have found that these juices can potentially cause harm to the human blood vessels and increase the risk for its users to suffer from cardiovascular diseases. The study also revealed that there are some e-juices that are found to be more damaging than the others of its kind. The juice flavor itself may be harmful to human health regardless of its nicotine levels.
The researchers handpicked six different types of flavoring liquids, each one with a different level of nicotine content. The goal was to look into how these liquids affect the endothelial cells of humans that have been generated from induced stem cells. Endothelial cells have been specifically chosen for the study because they serve as the outer covering that protects the blood vessels, which means they play a major role in ensuring that a person maintains excellent cardiovascular health.
"There have been no studies conducted on how these liquid juices affect the endothelial cells of humans, until now," said Joseph Wu, primary and senior author of the study. "When we did the exposure of cells to six different liquids with varying levels of nicotine, we saw how significantly damaging it was. The cells became less viable and showed clear signs of dysfunction."
The six different flavors chosen for the study was tested through three different levels of nicotine concentrations. The cytotoxicity was notably changing from flavor to flavor but those found in the cinnamon e-juice stood out as the most toxic of all. When all the cells were exposed to six different types of e-juices, a significant decrease in viability became prominent. However, what was even more remarkable was the fact that the cinnamon flavor was the most damaging, even in the absence of nicotine.
It is, however, important to note that these tests were only conducted within the walls of the laboratory under specific conditions. Nevertheless, the researchers stand by the results suggesting that the exposure of the endothelial cells of humans to these e-juices are damaging, even more so when the nicotine concentration is high. It poses potential harm to human cells. The changes observed during the experiment can be likened to the changes that happen when a person is slowly developing a cardiovascular complication.
'When you smoke traditional tobacco cigarettes, you get the sense of how much you've smoked, but when you are using e-cigarettes, it is kind of deceptive. In fact, you can easily expose yourself to more nicotine for a shorter period of time," Wu said.
