The Medical Research Council is funding a £1.5 million trial to examine the biological effects of vaping on lung cells, immune cells and the airways
Long-term harms of vaping could be revealed in a new Government-backed trial of e-cigarettes.
The study will now start recruiting 200 people looking to quit smoking and 40 never-smokers for the most detailed ever look at how vaping affects the respiratory system over the course of a year. The NHS is still promoting e-cigarettes as a quitting tool but there are growing concerns about youngsters who have never smoked taking up vaping.
The well established research on tobacco harms built up over decades suggests smoking is much more harmful but there is little evidence on the long term effects of vaping.
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Now the Medical Research Council is funding a £1.5 million trial to examine the biological effects of vaping on lung cells, immune cells and inflammatory markers and “airway microbiome”.
Professor David Thickett, of Birmingham University and clinical lead for the EVALUATE study, said: “This study will provide critical data needed to understand the safety of vaping as a short-term smoking cessation strategy and the potential for harm in longer-term usage so people can make an informed personal choice about whether to quit with e-cigarettes and how long to use them after swapping to stop.”
Harmful chemicals contained in e-cigarettes include nitrosamines, carcinogenic carbonyls, harmful metals and volatile organic compounds. The first-of-its-kind study will investigate how e-cigarettes change gene and protein expression over time.
Chief investigator Dr Aaron Scott, of Birmingham University, said: “We will study how vaping affects important airway immune cells and the epithelial cells which line the insides of the lung. Since these cell types play a critical role in the development of smoking-related lung diseases, these changes will provide clear insight into vaping on lung health.”
It comes after the Mirror reported concerns raised at Europe’s biggest heart conference in Madrid of a “vaping epidemic”. Evidence was presented suggesting e-cigarettes could increase stroke risk by a third.
During a presentation top heart expert Prof Maja-Lisa Løchen, specialist in cardiology at the University Hospital of North Norway, called for a ban on sales of e-cigarettes and warned: “We’re worried about e-cigarettes becoming a new tobacco epidemic.”
A review of over 200 studies published earlier this year by University College London found that between January 2022 and January 2024 vaping rates among adults increased from 8.9% to 13.5%, with rates among young adults rising from 17% to 26.5%.
The trial will recruit 200 otherwise healthy smokers from the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust’s NHS stop smoking services. Half will attempt to stop smoking using nicotine patches or gum and the other half will use e-cigarettes. A further 40 never-smokers never-vapers will also participate. Samples will be collected over a year to assess lung health.
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Dr Mike Cox, assistant professor of the respiratory microbiome at Birmingham University, said: “Trillions of microorganisms live on and in the human body, interacting with each other in a delicate balance. Smoking can drastically alter this balance and can impact health if disrupted. This project will allow us to uncover how vaping impacts the airway microbiome and map out how this changes over time.”
Co-author Dr Dhruv Parekh said: “Studying immune cells from the blood and from the airways by bronchoscopy, allows us to get a complete picture of how the airways are affected by vaping.”
The charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) says smoking is much more harmful than vaping. It estimates around two million Brits have quit smoking using e-cigarettes.
Norway had a ban on nicotine-containing vapes until July this year when it was lifted, allowing for approved sales with strict regulations, including a restriction to only tobacco-flavored liquids.
Contact University Hospitals Birmingham NHS staff smoking cessation services via [email protected] to participate in the study.