Health & Studies

Gut Reactions

Researchers at University of California San Diego display a laughable level of ignorance about subohming and believe vaping harms the gut

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Researchers at University of California San Diego need to speak to experienced vapers about subohming because taking their guidance from other ignorant self-appointed experts isn’t working out for them. Having poisoned more mice, the team have decided that vaping impacts the colon. Is this how they think vape devices are used?

The researchers used 6-yr-old Kanger Subtanks with 6mg/ml juice, a “low concentration of nicotine” for subohm vaping because their research informed them that vapers typically subohm with 6-9mg 70PG/30VG liquids!

Vaping regime for the mice is not detailed beyond there being two sample groups; one group of mice were exposed aerosols for 1 hour per day for 1 week “resembling acute exposure” and the other for 3 months “resembling chronic exposure”. They did not state what wattages were used, puff duration or puff frequency during over the exposure period. Given the team’s ignorance on how vapers subohm it is highly unlikely that it replicated vaping in adults.

Samples of colon were taken once the mice had been killed.

Because the chemicals used to make the e-liquids and e-cig aerosols used in these studies (propylene glycol and glycerol) are found in >99% of all e-cigarettes,” they write, “these data broadly apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices.”

You couldn’t make it up – but they did.

They state that the “leaky gut” caused by vaping can lead to “inflammatory bowel disease, dementia, certain cancers, atherosclerosis, liver fibrosis, diabetes and arthritis”.

Lead author Pradipta Ghosh commented: “The gut lining is an amazing entity. It is comprised of a single layer of cells that are meant to seal the body from the trillions of microbes, defend our immune system, and at the same time allow absorption of essential nutrients. Anything we eat or drink, our lifestyle choices in other words, has the ability to impact our gut microbes, the gut barrier and overall health. Now we know that what we smoke, such as e-cigarettes, negatively impacts it as well.

“Numerous chemicals are created when these two are heated to generate the fumes in vaping that cause the most damage, for which there are no current regulations. The safety of e-cigarettes have been debated fiercely on both sides. Nicotine content, and its addictive nature, has always been the major focus of those who argue against its safety, whereas lack of chemicals in the carcinogens that are present in the cigarette smoke has been touted by the makers of e-cigarettes when marketing these products as a 'healthy alternative’. In reality, it's the chemicals making up the vapor liquid that we should be more concerned about as they are the cause of gut inflammation."

Vaping isn’t “touted” as a “healthy alternative” by manufacturers, it is promoted as a healthier alternative to tobacco by smoking cessation and harm reduction experts such as Public Health England, Cancer Research UK, and the National Health Service.

The team seem to think, “the findings provide valuable insight into the potential long-term harmful effects chronic use of e-cigarettes on our health.”

Just in case their findings hold true, POTV believes vapers should avoid sticking devices into their own or the anuses of any mice.

Related:

  • E-cigarettes compromise the gut barrier and trigger inflammation”, Ghosh et al. – [link]

Photo Credit:

Dave Cross avatar

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV
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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.

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