Secondhand e-cigarette aerosols expose kids to less nicotine than cigarettes, study finds, but can still be risky

CNN
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A new study finds that children who live in homes where adults use e-cigarettes are exposed to significantly less nicotine from secondhand smoke than children who live in homes where adults use traditional cigarettes, but e-cigarettes still expose children to nicotine and may pose other risks.

Researchers say that to fully protect children from nicotine, it’s important to never smoke or use e-cigarettes around them.

The researchers said they conducted the study because of the perception that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes and because more people in the home use e-cigarettes than regular cigarettes. The study was published Thursday in the journal Cancer Research. JAMA Network Open.

Electronic cigarettes are Promoted They are seen as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes for adults and a way to quit smoking, but experts say Further research needed.

Some doctors prefer Patients use e-cigarettes because they are less likely to be exposed to toxic chemicals like tobacco, Dozens of other carcinogens Tobacco contains substances such as N-nitrosamines and aldehydes that can cause cancer and other serious health problems.

But experts say new research shows that reducing harm to the user doesn’t necessarily equate to eliminating harm to those around them — and that this could be a significant problem for children whose lungs are still developing.

The study looked at the lives of 1,777 children. National Health and Nutrition SurveyA racially diverse government survey designed to continually assess the health and nutrition of U.S. children and adults. Tobacco use in the home was reported by a parent or guardian. Over 270 children were exposed to secondhand smoke at home, 45 were exposed to only secondhand e-cigarette vapor, and 1,476 had no users in the home.

The scientists included children between the ages of 3 and 11 in their study because these children are less likely to use nicotine products than older children. They measured the children’s nicotine levels using blood samples taken between 2017 and 2020.

Although new e-cigarette devices have since been introduced in the United States and exposure levels may vary by device, the authors say their study provides a general understanding of nicotine exposure in the home. Exposure levels in studies are generally thought to be underestimated, the authors said.

Children in the study were by far most exposed to nicotine in those living with people who smoked traditional tobacco products, such as cigarettes, which expose children to nicotine two times: when the smoker exhales and between puffs, i.e. when a lit cigarette or cigar is placed in an ashtray.

E-cigarette users are thought to absorb 99% of the nicotine they inhale, but some of it is released when they exhale after smoking the device.

The children in the study had the lowest nicotine levels in those who weren’t exposed to any type of second-hand smoke aerosol in the home. Children exposed to e-cigarettes still had nicotine in their systems, but they absorbed 84 percent less nicotine than children living in homes where only cigarettes were smoked.

The authors said the takeaway from the study is that people need to stop using e-cigarettes of any kind and quit smoking in the home.

“Although nicotine itself has a limited risk profile, increased nicotine absorption from passive smoking suggests that children are also exposed to potentially harmful additives in e-cigarettes, and therefore e-cigarette use should be avoided in homes where children are present,” the study said.

Previous research Similar nicotine exposure was seen in children from households where cigarettes or e-cigarettes were used. Faculty of Medicine Researchers at New York University Langone Health who conducted the nicotine exposure study said they were surprised that nicotine levels were not higher in homes with e-cigarette users.

Some of his studies have shown that nicotine levels in homes where e-cigarettes are used are much higher than in this study. Either way, he says, all of these studies should be a good reminder to e-cigarette users that they need to be careful around others, especially children.

“Most of us toxicologists believe e-cigarettes are safer, but when you think about the primary e-cigarette users and those exposed to secondary aerosols, no one can say for sure that they’re safe,” said Gordon, who was not involved in the latest study.

Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how harmful e-cigarette secondhand smoke aerosols are. Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a volunteer medical spokesman for the American Lung Association and a pulmonologist, said it took years for this to be understood with cigarettes.

Galiatsatos, who was not involved in the study, said passive tobacco smoke is real and harmful, and that they have treated an entire generation of people who developed cancer and other lung diseases not because they smoked but because they grew up around adults who did.

2020, Galiatsatos Published “This is believed to be the first study to document serious injury in adults from second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes. Adults should not put their children’s health at risk by smoking e-cigarettes around them,” he said.

“Children’s developing lungs are very vulnerable,” he says, “and just like we don’t know what the effects of secondhand smoke are, we don’t fully know what effects it will have on the next generation. But why put your children in a position to become future patients?”