Effects of electronic cigarette smoking on human health

S.A. Meo, S.A. Al Asiri

Department of Physiology, 1Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. sultanmeo@hotmail.com

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• Toxicology

OBJECTIVE: Electronic cigarette smoking is gaining dramatic popularity and is steadily spreading among the adolescents, high income, urban population around the world. The aim of this study is to highlight the hazards of e-cigarette smoking on human health.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we identified 38 published studies through a systematic database searches including ISI-web of science and pub-med. We searched the related literature by using the key words including Electronic cigarette, E-cigarette, E-vapers, incidence, hazards. Studies in which electronic cigarette smoking hazards was investigated were included in the study. No limitations on publication status, study design of publication were implemented. Finally we included 28 publications and remaining 10 were excluded.

RESULTS: E-smoking can cause, nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, choking, burn injuries, upper respiratory tract irritation, dry cough, dryness of the eyes and mucous membrane, release of cytokines and pro-inflammatory mediators, allergic airway inflammation, decreased exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) synthesis in the lungs, change in bronchial gene expression and risk of lung cancer.

CONCLUSIONS: Electronic cigarettes are swiftly promoted as an alternative to conventional cigarette smoking, although its use is highly controversial. Electronic cigarettes are not a smoking cessation product. Non-scientific claims about e-cigarettes are creating confusion in public perception about e-cigarette and people believe that e-cigarettes are safe and less addictive, but its use is unsafe and hazardous to human health. E-cigarette smoking should be regulated in the same way as traditional cigarettes and must be prohibited to children and adolescents.

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