Vaping Research in the News

Scientists Turning to Ecigs as an Addiction Research Aid

It has widely been accepted as a fact that the release of dopamine, in the brain, is one of the primary mechanisms behind addictions ranging from heroin to sex. When dopamine is released into the brain it attaches itself to and activates special receptors found in the pleasure centres of the brain.

Now, Evan Morris, formerly of Imperial College London is running a research project in Israel, where they are running PET (positron emission tomography) scan on subjects while they are vaping in order to map out how dopamine is distributed and received within the brain.

His hope is that by creating movies based on the PET slides they will be able to learn how addiction progresses and design better ways of helping people cope with and alleviate the withdrawal symptoms.

UEA to Study the Effects of Carer, Child, Relationship on Vaping

Thanks to a £45,000 grant from Cancer Research UK's Tobacco Advisory Group, a new study has begun at UEA Norwich.

According to Dr. Caitlin Notle, a UK Society for the Study of Addiction Research Fellow at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, the aim of the project is to fill in the gaps between what is actually known about how parents and carers interact with kids regarding vapeing and e-cigarettes, in the home and what is purely anecdotal.

While there is much reporting (sic) in the media and posturing by various anti-vaping groups the doctor acknowledges that very little is actually known and no real research has been performed.

Regarding these oft quoted stories, Dr. Notle was quoted as saying, "they're not really supported by research evidence and it's important that we have [it] there rather than pay too much heed to possible scare stories."

I couldn't have said it better myself.