Scientists reveal e-cigarettes may trigger unique immune responses

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- As the debate over the safety of electronic cigarettes rages, a new study found that e-cigarettes trigger damaging immune responses not seen from tobacco cigarettes.

Research from the University of North Carolina has found that not only do e-cigarettes cause potentially damaging immune responses seen in traditional cigarettes, but they can also trigger a new immune response that has not been seen before in traditional cigarettes.

"There is confusion about whether e-cigarettes are 'safer' than cigarettes because the potential adverse effects of e-cigarettes are only beginning to be studied," Dr. Mehmet Kesimer, an associate professor of pathology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, said in a press release. "Our results suggest that e-cigarettes might be just as bad as cigarettes."

In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded its oversight of tobacco products to include e-cigarettes after ongoing questions about their health effects and safety.

An earlier study in September by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that nicotine in e-cigarettes can cause stiffened arteries leading to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

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