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Current Allergy and Asthma Reports

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01-11-2017 | Allergies and the Environment (M Hernandez, Section Editor)

Electronic Cigarettes: Their Constituents and Potential Links to Asthma

Authors: Phillip W. Clapp, Ilona Jaspers

Published in: Current Allergy and Asthma Reports | Issue 11/2017

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Vaping is gaining popularity in the USA, particularly among teens and young adults. While e-cigs are commonly represented as safer alternatives to tobacco cigarettes, little is known regarding the health effects of their short- or long-term use, especially in individuals with pre-existing respiratory diseases such as asthma. Flavored e-cig liquids (e-liquids) and e-cig aerosols contain airway irritants and toxicants that have been implicated in the pathogenesis and worsening of lung diseases. In this review, we will summarize existing data on potential health effects of components present in e-cig aerosols, such as propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and flavorings, and discuss their relevance in the context of asthma.

Recent Findings

Recent survey data indicate that adolescents with asthma had a higher prevalence of current e-cig use (12.4%) compared to their non-asthmatics peers (10.2%) and conveyed positive beliefs about tobacco products, especially e-cigs. Similarly, a study conducted among high school students from Ontario, Canada, indicated a greater likelihood of e-cig use in asthmatics as compared to their non-asthmatic peers. Availability of different flavorings is often cited as the main reason among youth/adolescents for trying e-cigs or switching from cigarettes to e-cigs. Occupational inhalation of some common food-safe flavoring agents is reported to cause occupational asthma and worsen asthmatic symptoms. Moreover, workplace inhalation exposures to the flavoring agent diacetyl have caused irreversible obstructive airway disease in healthy workers. Additionally, recent studies report that thermal decomposition of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG), the base constituents of e-liquids, produces reactive carbonyls, including acrolein, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde, which have known respiratory toxicities. Furthermore, recent nicotine studies in rodents reveal that prenatal nicotine exposures lead to epigenetic reprogramming in the offspring, abnormal lung development, and multigenerational transmission of asthmatic-like symptoms.

Summary

Comparisons of the toxicity and health effects of e-cigs and conventional cigarettes often focus on toxicants known to be present in cigarette smoke (CS) (i.e., formaldehyde, nitrosamines, etc.), as well as smoking-associated clinical endpoints, such as cancer, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, this approach disregards potential toxicity of components unique to flavored e-cigs, such as PG, VG, and the many different flavoring chemicals, which likely induce respiratory effects not usually observed in cigarette smokers.

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Title: Electronic Cigarettes: Their Constituents and Potential Links to Asthma
Authors: Phillip W. Clapp
Ilona Jaspers
Publication date: 01-11-2017
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Current Allergy and Asthma Reports / Issue 11/2017
Print ISSN: 1529-7322
Electronic ISSN: 1534-6315
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-017-0747-5

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Electronic Cigarettes: Their Constituents and Potential Links to Asthma

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Recent Findings

Summary

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Recent Findings

Summary

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