E-cigarettes are actually electronic devices that use atomization technology to spray effective tobacco components such as nicotine, and then simulate the effect of smoking. According to the publicity, the harm of electronic cigarettes to the human body is about 95% lower than that of ordinary cigarettes, which is the main reason why many people choose electronic cigarettes. But on the other hand, many people are also questioning the harmfulness of e-cigarettes, thinking that if you smoke too much e-cigarettes, you will also have lung diseases that are unique to smoking e-cigarettes. Is this true?

E-cigarette, is it the "savior" of smokers, or the "disastrous star" of smokers?

Let's look at it from a scientific point of view:

The main working principle of electronic cigarettes is to spray out necessary substances such as nicotine through electronic devices. While normal cigarettes produce 69 kinds of carcinogens such as nitrosamines, formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons benzene (A) pyrene when they burn, electronic cigarettes do not have any of them because they do not have actual combustion effects.

From this comparison, e-cigarettes are indeed much less harmful than ordinary cigarettes. According to the data from the British Ministry of Public Health in 2018, the lung cancer attack rate of e-cigarette users is only about 0.4% of that of ordinary tobacco users. From this point of view, compared with ordinary cigarettes, e-cigarettes are indeed a better choice for smokers.

But some people may still not believe: "Where does the lung disease unique to e-cigarettes come from?"

Indeed, the American Cancer Society once published a study, arguing that aerosols and carbonyl compounds in e-cigarettes can also irritate the lungs and cause special "e-cigarette lung disease", which is why many smokers are unwilling to accept e-cigarettes the main reason.

But in fact, as early as 2019, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clarified rumors about vaping lung disease. The reason for similar diseases is that illegal vitamin E acetate was added to Azi’s vaping products. and other toxic substances, and then cause diseases. And in 2020, the United States also withdrew its statement that "the use of e-cigarettes is not recommended".

All of the above, compared to ordinary cigarettes. E-cigarettes can reduce harm and help to quit smoking steadily. It is indeed a very good substitute for cigarettes. However, please don’t rush to be happy. If you are an ordinary person who has never smoked, or a friend who can quit smoking by your own ability, don’t use e-cigarettes blindly. You should know that e-cigarettes can "reduce harm", but it does not mean that it is "harmless"!

What kind of harm does e-cigarette itself cause to health?

① Still toxic to the body

Compared with ordinary cigarettes, although a large number of toxic substances such as tar in electronic cigarettes have been removed, there are still certain harmful substances. Causes increased toxicity to the lungs, increasing the risk of lung and respiratory disease. This is also the main reason why e-cigarettes are not recommended for people other than smokers.

②Increased risk of eye inflammation

In order to better simulate the smoke of cigarettes, the vapor formed by e-cigarettes will be larger. After long-term smoking of e-cigarettes, vulnerable places such as eyes will be stimulated by smoke for a long time, and they will become red, dry, and even have inflammation and conjunctival damage. risks of.

③There are still hazards of nicotine smoking

Nicotine is the main ingredient in electronic cigarettes. While smoking electronic cigarettes, you will also inhale a large amount of nicotine. Although it is less harmful than ordinary cigarettes, nicotine can also cause diseases such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and even infertility. Symptoms appear. Please also be careful.

In fact, another question worth thinking about is, why are cigarettes replaced by e-cigarettes all over the world? And electronic cigarettes have also been officially included in the cigarette management by the country.

Recently, countries have made more in-depth research on nicotine and electronic cigarettes. On the one hand, Li Xiang’s team from Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has revealed the mechanism of nicotine’s action on improving metabolism and delaying aging through experiments, providing a basis for expanding the application of nicotine and anti-aging. A new technical direction. On the other hand, the research team of the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal, used chick embryo experiments to prove that e-cigarette aerosol has little harm to lung and embryo development, much lower than traditional cigarette smoke.

Li Xiang's team at Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been studying nicotine for a long time. It mainly analyzes the effect of nicotine on the anti-aging substance NAD+ (the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). NAD+ plays a key role in maintaining cell vitality. NMN, a globally popular anti-aging product known as the "elixir of aging", reverses aging by increasing the level of NAD+ in cells.

Recently, Li Xiang's team published an article entitled "Nicotine rebalances NAD+ homeostasis and improves aging-related symptoms in male mice by enhancing NAMPT activity" online in Nature Communications, revealing the researchers' latest findings on the mechanism of nicotine.

Li Xiang's team found that chronic low-dose nicotine can improve energy metabolism and delay systemic aging by activating the NAD+ remedial pathway. This idea was confirmed in mouse experiments. The researchers conducted observations and cell tests on mice drinking low-dose nicotine water for a long time, and found that nicotine has a positive effect on neuroprotection, and can promote the interaction of two proteases in cells, reduce the level of aging factors, and enhance the activity of NAD+. Thereby improving the metabolic rate of aging tissues. In addition, the researchers also found that after nicotine was decomposed in the mouse liver, it could relieve the anxiety of the mice and improve their learning and memory functions.

This study by the Chinese team provides new targets and methods for expanding the application of nicotine and anti-aging, and once again confirms that nicotine is not all harmful. Adequate nicotine intake still has certain positive effects on the body. Nicotine is currently widely present in tobacco, and electronic cigarettes are a new form of nicotine intake.

All in all, the positioning of e-cigarettes is very complicated. On the one hand, it can indeed play a good role in harm reduction and smoking cessation for ordinary smokers. But on the other hand, if non-smokers who are misled or blindly exposed to e-cigarettes will indeed cause harm to their bodies.

Therefore, smokers can try to use e-cigarettes, but for ordinary people, especially young people who have not been involved in the world, they must not touch them! Only when anything is used in the right way can it truly exert its advantages and value. Even e-cigarettes are the same.