Al Bilad newspaper Destroys DNA.. A study reveals the effect of electronic cigarettes – 2024-03-23 10:37:09

A new study reveals that vaping damages the DNA of its users in a similar way to smokers who develop cancer.

Researchers at University College London found that e-cigarette users and cigarette smokers have similar changes in the DNA of cells in their mouths, with these changes linked to the future development of lung cancer in smokers.

This is the first major study linking electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, to an increased risk of cancer, but scientists said more research is needed.

The study, published in the journal Cancer Research, examined the DNA of more than 3,500 people.

One of the study’s authors, Professor Martin Weidschwander, said e-cigarettes “may not be as harmful as originally thought.”

Lead author Dr Chiara Herzog added: “While the scientific consensus is that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking tobacco, we cannot assume that they are completely safe to use and it is important to explore their potential long-term risks and links to cancer.”

Britain’s National Health Service said e-cigarettes are significantly safer than smoking tobacco, and smokers have been advised to switch to e-cigarettes to improve their health.

But DNA changes have also been observed in e-cigarette users who have smoked fewer than 100 tobacco cigarettes in their lifetime.

“E-cigarettes are not risk-free”

Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy, said: “This study contributes to our understanding of e-cigarettes, but it does not show that e-cigarettes cause cancer.”

He said: “Decades of research have proven the relationship between smoking and cancer, and studies so far have shown that e-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking and can help people quit smoking.”

“However, this paper highlights that e-cigarettes are not risk-free, so we need additional studies to uncover their potential long-term effects on human health.”

MPs are set to vote today on legislation that would restrict the flavors and promotion of e-cigarettes, as well as ban smoking altogether for those born after January 1, 2009.

Dr Walker added: “Tobacco smoking causes 150 cancer cases every day in the UK, which is why we look forward to seeing the Government’s age-of-sale legislation before Parliament.

“Nothing will have a greater impact on reducing the number of preventable deaths in the UK than ending smoking, and this policy will take us one step closer to a smoke-free future.”

The World Health Organization calls for its ban

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for all flavored e-cigarettes to be banned worldwide and treated similarly to regular cigarettes.

The organization said on Thursday that there is a need for “urgent measures” to control electronic cigarettes, as there is little evidence to indicate that electronic smoking helps smokers to quit regular cigarettes, and it can lead to nicotine addiction in non-smokers.

It urged changes, including banning all flavoring agents such as menthol, and implementing the same measures used to control regular cigarettes, including: raising taxes and banning use in public places.

The World Health Organization also warned that e-cigarettes have also gained widespread use among young men and women, which may lead to addiction.

The organization’s report stated that the number of people between the ages of 13 and 15 who use e-cigarettes is more than adult users in all regions of the World Health Organization, thanks to intensive marketing.

“Children are pushed from an early age to use e-cigarettes and may become addicted to nicotine,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization’s Director-General.

The World Health Organization said that e-cigarettes generate substances, some of which are known to cause cancer and pose risks to heart and lung health. She added, citing studies, that it could also harm brain development in young people.