Vaping always did seem fishy.
Widely marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes are now hooking younger generations with promises that they’re a safer method.
But new research has sent those beliefs up in smoke, and it’s all thanks to a small and unlikely model — the zebrafish.
At least 15 million adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15 now vape, according to WHO data. Meanwhile, mounting evidence continues to show that e-cigarettes are just as bad as regular ones.
And now a study published last month in the journal Science of The Total Environment offers more insights into the harms vaping can cause.
Researchers used a zebrafish model — a cost-effective model for understanding human diseases — to discover that exposure to e-cigarettes alters gut microbiota and affects brain structure and function.
For seven days, e-cigarette liquid with and without nicotine was added to the fish tanks.
Heating up e-cigarettes produces harmful carcinogens, including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, which can cause respiratory and skin irritation.
Bacteria in the gut were also changed due to the increase of chemicals in the water, with certain microbiomes that are necessary for gut health decreasing and more harmful bacteria increasing.
“Some bacteria become dominant and replace others, forming a new microbial community,” said study author Thi Ngoc Mai Dong. “The changes suggest that the fish, or rather the bacteria, can ‘feel’ the toxic substances in the water and want to adapt to the new environment.”
And since gut bacteria can affect brain function, the researchers also found that the e-cigarette-filled liquid affected the fish’s behavior and their escape responses.
While the results of an animal study can’t be extended to humans, the study does raise awareness around the harms of vaping.
Previous research has linked the use of e-cigs to possible organ failure, heart disease and brain issues like dementia.
Unsurprisingly, it can also impair fitness levels, even in young people, affecting the ability to breathe, causing muscles to become more easily fatigued and overall less fitness than non-smokers.
There have also been complaints from e-cig users of ailments like “vaping illness” and “vape tongue.”
Meanwhile, vaping can also cause serious lung damage, with several teen vaping addicts experiencing near-death from a lung collapse.
The American Heart Association has called the rise in young people using vapes a “serious public health threat,” noting that most still have “highly addictive” nicotine, which can be especially harmful for developing brains.
