Oct 7, 2019 - Health

Study finds lung cancer in mice exposed to nicotine vaping

Ursula Perano

A vape pen. — Photo: Rapeepong Puttakumwong/Getty Images

A New York University study has identified a pattern of lung cancer in mice exposed to the same amount of e-cigarette vapor as someone who's been using e-cigs for approximately three to six years.

The big picture: As vaping deaths and illnesses rise, the medical community and health regulators are increasingly concerned about the unknown effects of e-cigarette use. While e-cigs were originally meant to help cigarette users ween off smoking as a whole, vaping has dramatically increased in popularity in recent years, especially among young people.

To date, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention had linked 18 deaths to vaping and over 1,000 illnesses.

By the numbers: The study exposed 40 mice to vapes with nicotine for 54 weeks. Out of that population:

22.5% developed lung cancer
57.5% developed pre-cancerous lesions in their bladders
Meanwhile, 20 separate mice who were exposed to vapes without nicotine were cancer free

What they're saying:

"E-cigarette vaping can cause lung cancer and pre-cancer changes in bladder in mice. The carcinogenic mechanism is via production of nitrosamines, the proven human carcinogens. So, the probability that e-cigarette vapor is a human carcinogen is high."

— Moon-Shong Tang, the study's lead professor, told Axios.

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Study finds lung cancer in mice exposed to nicotine vaping

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