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Translation of a-t 2022; 53: 16
 

In Brief

E-cigarettes - symptoms of bronchitis due to passive exposure to nicotine vapour

The vapour from e-cigarettes (see a-t 2014; 45: 17-9) is apparently considered less harmful or irritating than cigarette smoke: According to research conducted in England, Canada and the USA involving over 12,000 participants, 37.4% of adults actively smoking or smoking until recently allow(ed) smoking in their home compared to 60% of active e-cigarette users who allow vaping at home (1). This may be partly due to the fact that the flavours in the e-liquids make the exhaled aerosols seem more pleasant (2). The influence of passive smoking on health has now been prospectively investigated for the first time over a period of several years in adolescents and young adults: In 2017, 2,090 Southern California students with an average age of 17.3 years were initially interviewed in the classroom about home exposure to tobacco smoke or e-cigarette vapour and health data using self-completion questionnaires. This was followed up by a total of three online annual surveys. According to the study, domestic exposure to nicotine vapour from e-cigarettes is associated with an increase in bronchitis and cough (odds ratio [OR] 1.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.84) and shortness of breath (OR 1.53; CI 1.06-2.21) compared to unexposed participants, after adjustment for self-smoking or self-vaporising, among other things. The authors consider confirmation of the results to be necessary (3). Other findings also highlight risks associated with passive smoking: Asthma symptoms have been described in adolescents passively exposed to nicotine vapour (4). Hypersensitivity pneumonitis known among e-cigarette users has now also been documented in passive vapour users (5,6). According to an Italian study, the extent of fine dust pollution from vapour aerosols exhaled by the test subjects is one or two orders of magnitude smaller than that from cigarette smoke. However, the aerosols exhaled when using e-cigarettes contain far more nanoparticles than tobacco smoke, with diameters of only 6 to 26 nm (tobacco smoke: clear peak at 100 nm), i.e. nanoparticles that readily penetrate the respiratory tract (2).

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1NAHHAS, G.J. et al.: Addiction 2019; 114 (Suppl. 1): 107-14
2PALMISANI, J. et al.: Toxics 2019; 7: 59 (16 pages)
3ISLAM, T. et al.: Thorax, online publ. on 10 Jan. 2022 (6 pages); http://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2021-217041
4BAYLY, J.E. et al.: Chest 2019; 155: 88-93
5GALIATSATOS, P. et al.: BMJ Case Rep. 2020; 13: e233381 (4 pages)
6CHAABAN, T.: Adv. Respir. Med. 2020; 88: 142-6

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