UP IN SMOKE
Vaping may change the
microbiome of our lungs,
according to Dr. Panagis
Galiatsatos, a spokesman
for the American Lung
Association. This could
weaken immune defenses
and make people “more
susceptible to lung-related
diseases in the future.”
“Ideally we would encourage—
particularly young non-smok-
ers—not to start vaping,” Gilpin
continued. She suggested that peo-
ple trying to quit smoking use alter-
native methods.
“Vaping is often quoted as being
less harmful than smoking,” Gilpin
stressed. “But less harmful isn’t the
same as safe, and results from our
study suggest that exposing lung
bacteria to vape may carry the same
risk as smoking.”
“We urgently need more research
about the long-term effects of vaping
on the lungs,” she concluded.
Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, assistant
professor of pulmonary and critical
care medicine at Johns Hopkins Med-
ical School and a spokesperson for
the American Lung Association, who
did not work on the research, com-
mented on the paper. Referring to the
bacteria which populate the lungs,
he told Newsweek, the study “tells us
that vaping may begin to change the
microbiome of our lungs.”
“Our lungs’ normal microbiomes
are made of bacteria that live in an
ecological community in a symbiotic
relationship with our lungs. When
we allow the prevalence of more
pathogenic bacteria to increase (e.g.,
Pseudomonas) and/or become more
virulent, then we create a suscepti-
bility to disease initiation and/or
progression,” explained Galiatsatos.
Asked whether those who use
e-cigarettes should stop, he said
doctors should tell their patients “to
stop smoking, whether combustible
or electronic cigarettes.”
“More importantly, any activity
that has the ability to weaken lung
immune defenses and tip the micro-
biome in favor of pathogenic bacte-
ria, then these persons will be more
susceptible to lung-related diseases
in the future,” Galiatsatos said.
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