Vapor from electronic cigarettes may increase young people’s risk of respiratory infections, whether or not it contains nicotine, a new laboratory study has found.
Lung tissue samples from deceased children appeared to suffer damage when exposed to e-cigarette vapor in the laboratory, researchers reported in a recent issue of the journal PLOS One. The vapor triggered a strong immune response in epithelial cells, which are cells that line the inside of the lung and protect the organ from harm, said lead author Dr. Qun Wu, a lung disease researcher at National Jewish Health in Denver.
