Dr. Rama opens new research results. “E-cigarettes” destroy DNA Cancer risk equal to normal cigarettes
Today (February 21, 2023) Associate Professor Ruengruedee Patanavanich, M.D. Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University reveal new research results by the University of Southern California School of Medicine, who found that E-cigarettes damage the DNA of oral cells just like regular cigarettes. This DNA damage increases the risk of various diseases. including cancer
Assoc. Prof. Rungruedee said that the researchers selected 72 adults, divided into 3 groups: 1. People who smoke e-cigarettes. (Never smoked a normal cigarette) 2. normal smokers (never smoked an electric cigarette) 3. people who don’t have a history of smoking both electric cigarettes and normal cigarettes. Collect history of smoking, frequency, type of cigarettes smoked. and other risks related in detail and collect oral mucosa samples for everyone in order to detect the characteristics of DNA
“The research found that People who smoke e-cigarettes have 2.6 times more damage to the DNA of mucous membranes than people who smoke. 2.2 times more DNA damage was found compared to people without any history of smoking. in the group that smokes e-cigarettes It was found that the more you smoke, the more The more DNA is destroyed. If considering the type of electronic cigarette smoked found that those who smoke e-pod cigarettes The most damaged DNA If considering the taste of e-cigarettes smoked, such as fruit flavors, menthol flavors, more DNA damage was found, not related to the nicotine level in e-cigarettes. That is, whether there is more or less nicotine, it causes DNA damage as well, “Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruengruedee said.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruengruedee said that this research cleared the doubts of the e-cigarette advocacy group. who often come out to dispute research showing the dangers of e-cigarettes often claiming It’s because e-cigarettes used to smoke regular cigarettes before. Because this study recruited people who smoked e-cigarettes who had never smoked cigarettes, so the results clearly said that The damage to DNA cells that increases the risk of cancer is actually a result of vaping. Importantly, research in rats found that 9 out of 40 rats exposed to cigarette smoke for a year or more had lung cancer and 22 had early cancer-like changes in the bladder mucosa.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruengruedee said that the e-cigarette support group tried to provide information to society that E-cigarettes are less toxic. making it less dangerous than ordinary cigarettes can’t be trusted Just because less toxins doesn’t mean Less dangerous In addition, e-cigarettes contain more than 2,000 chemicals that were not previously found in ordinary cigarettes.
“As for the case of e-cigarettes that are currently a drama in Thai society And many politicians are thinking about legalizing e-cigarettes. I want you to carefully consider the results of the e-cigarette research study. Think about the impact it will have on society, especially children and youth who will become addicted to e-cigarettes a lot. the claim that Making e-cigarettes legal to reduce the problem of corruption of officials It’s not the right solution to the problem. correct is Fixing the officials to seriously enforce the law which will have a better effect on children and youths,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruengruedee said.
