​Electronic Cigarettes in the News

Electronic Cigarettes in the News

I am reasonably sure that most of you have already heard the latest news in the Electronic Cigarette, Eliquid world. The story has been being shouted from the mountain tops by every possible means for several days now. On the off chance that you have been in the lav or nick for the last few days here are a few of the headlines for you.

• Science News- E-cigarettes lower immunity to flu and other germs
• The Independent- E-cigarettes 'increase the risk of flu and pneumonia
• Auntie Beeb- E-cigarettes 'may harm the lungs and immune system

Shocked to see these headlines here, you shouldn’t be. By now, you should know that at Exhale Cigarettes we will always do our level best to keep you fully informed. That is why we want you to see these headlines. Beyond that, we want you to understand where they came from and why they are just so much BOLLOCKS.

Of Mice and Men

The story behind all of these stories is a report published in PLOS│ONE in which it was reported that mice exposed to eliquid vapour "experienced impaired pulmonary bacterial clearance" and showed signs of "oxidative stress and inflammation of the respiratory epithelial cells."

If you want that in simple English it means that mice that were locked in a chamber with eliquid vapour developed irritated lungs. DUH!

Did they really have to spend thousands of pounds and sacrifice the lives of the little mice to figure this one out? To be honest, there is some validity to the idea that these effects would make it easier for the mice to contract lung infections and harder for them to fight them off.

These are mice though, not men and it has long been understood that making scientific assumptions about human effects based on mouse effects is filled with well documented pitfalls.

And Now, the Rest of Story

The year was 1984. Scientists were performing a series of test to determine the effects of very common and easily available chemical compound on the respiratory tracts of mice. I will quote from the Research Reports abstract. "Treated animals demonstrated significant impairments in their ability to clear viable pneumococci from the lungs. . . the pulmonary clearance and cellular response were significantly impaired. . . "

Does any of that sound familiar? Don’t the findings sound very similar to the claimed effects caused by ecig vapour? It is based on the same mouse test model. Can anyone guess what the substance being tested was?

In 1984 cigarettes were getting a lot of attention, but it wasn’t tobacco. Lead in paint was also a big subject in the early 80’s as was asbestos insulation in buildings. Neither of those was the subject of the research either. What could it have been?

COMMON ASPIRIN!

That is the rest of the story and the part you are not likely to hear from the mainstream news sources. Their headlines, based on the same research, could have just as easily have read:

"VAPEING AS SAFE AS TAKING ASPIRIN"

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