Vaping:Is Cancer in Many Youths Future?

Abstract

Proposed as a safer alternative to smoking combustible tobacco cigarettes, vaping, or usage of e-cigarettes (e-cigs) has been rapidly rising in popularity, especially among teens and young adults. E-cigs/vapes deliver the same nicotine high without the use of tobacco and its many carcinogens are known to increase risks of developing certain cancers, however, this research paper aims to look at whether vapes carry these same risks through similar mechanisms or new ones. Vapes/e-cigs deliver nicotine in an aerosol state by using battery power to transform chemicals into an aerosol state when inhaled, this aerosol state allows the particles and chemicals in the vapes to lodge themselves into smaller areas of tissue and cell linings allowing it to get in and damage DNA. Multiple studies have found the chemicals in vapes to be cytotoxic, carcinogenic, or capable of DNA/RNA damage. The findings that vapes are currently taking pathways that can induce cancer is exciting, however, the levels at which vapes deliver these problems causing cytotoxic materials is at a much smaller level This leaves the question of if vapes deliver enough to not induce cancer-causing agents, or does it take longer to go into effect?