One study, conducted by University of Connecticut researchers and published in ACS Sensors, used a new 3-D printed testing device to examine samples from e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes. The device quickly detects DNA damage, or genotoxicity, in environmental samples in the field.
The study shows e-cigarettes loaded with a nicotine-based liquid can be as harmful as unfiltered cigarettes when it comes to causing DNA damage. Additionally, non-nicotine e-cigarette vapor also caused as much DNA damage as filtered cigarettes.
Another study, conducted by Hershey, Pa.-based Penn State College of Medicine researchers, shows e-cigarettes may be less addictive than tobacco cigarettes. The researchers analyzed responses to surveys taken in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study, an ongoing national survey of tobacco use among more than 30,000 people, initiated in 2011.
The researchers examined responses from 3,586 people who fit the study criteria. Among those, 5 percent exclusively used e-cigarettes and 95 percent exclusively smoked cigarettes.
They found e-cigarette users waited longer to start using their product after waking up compared with traditional cigarette smokers. Also, e-cigarette users were less likely to consider themselves addicted, to have strong cravings or to feel like they really needed their product. The researchers note while e-cigarette users are certainly addicted, they are not addicted at the same level as traditional cigarette users.
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