E-cigarettes vs Regular Cigarettes
Research Question: In young adults, does the use of e-cigarettes compared to regular cigarettes reduce the risk of developing cancer?
Introduction
It is estimated that over one billion people worldwide smoke cigarettes, whether on a regular basis or occasionally. Even more disturbing is the fact that tobacco smoking-related illness kill approximately five million people annually making it the leading preventable cause of death (Furrukh 2013). As a result, there have been numerous campaigns to reduce cigarette smoking. People are now more aware of cancer and how smoking contributes to its development. Thus the number of cigarette smokers has reduced over the years. Despite the number of cigarette smokers dropping over the last decade, tobacco still remains one of the leading causes of lung cancer.
There have been numerous campaigns aimed at educating people about the negative side effects of smoking tobacco. As a result, alternatives aimed at reducing cigarette smoking have been developed. One of such alternatives is ‘sheesha’ which is a water pipe-based tobacco. Other substitutes include smokeless tobacco products such as snus, chewing tobacco, dissolvable nicotine products, and moist snuff. However, the product that has been heavily commercialized over the last decade is E-cigarettes. E-cigarettes have grown in popularity, with a lot of teenagers and young adults embracing its use. One of the reasons why it has been popularized is that it is thought to be a better alternative to regular cigarettes. Also, there have been campaigns claiming that it can help cigarette addicts to become rehabilitated. However, most of these assumptions have not yet been medically proven. With the growing number of cancer cases, there is a need to validate whether the use of e-cigarettes is safer. As such the research question is whether the smoking of e-cigarettes by young adults reduces the risk of developing cancer when compared to regular cigarettes.
Methods
This research primarily relied on secondary data to source information. A lot of web research was conducted in order to eliminate biases and prejudice. Most of the information used was sourced online from clinical journals from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Also, the National Medical Association and the Journal of Thoracic Oncology provided credible literature to review. Some of the keywords used included; lung cancer, e-cigarette, and a cigarette. In addition, the keywords were confirmed by searching the medical subject heading. To enhance credibility all the literature used were peer-reviewed and were sourced from credible medical websites.
Results
Traditional Cigarettes and Lung Cancer
In 2013 Muhammad Furrukh under the National Center for Biological Information (NCBI) conducted a research on tobacco smoking and lung cancer. Furrukh research is primarily focused on reviewing scientific facts about tobacco, and the pathophysiology in lung carcinogenesis in both smokers and non-smokers. To gather information he also used randomized trials and tests related to establishing the relationship between tobacco smoking and increased risk of lung cancer. His findings show that smoking is strongly related to small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Due to the changes in cigarette manufacturing case of SCC which was the most smoking-related cancer in the 1970s have reduced. Today adenocarcinoma subtypes are more frequent. This is because in the 1950s there was a push to introduce low tar cigarettes through the use of filter vents. To show the relationship between lung cancer and cigarette smoking, the research uses a flowchart to demonstrate how nicotine addiction leads to cancer.
Figure 1 (Furrukh 2013).
The research is a good read since it starts by defining the link between cigarette smoking and cancer then it goes on to talk about the malignant transformation that takes place. Another strength of the research is that it does not only point out how smoking leads to cancer it also shows what impact tobacco smoking has on lung cancer patient outcomes. Furrukh notes that continued smoking after diagnosis leads to frequent side effects during therapeutic courses. The research however generally focuses on smoking and does not point out on cigarette alternatives such as e-cigarettes affects cancer development.
E-cigarettes and Cancer Risk
One of the greatest concerns of e-cigarette consumption is that its safety and benefits are not yet clinically proven. (Canistro et al., 2017) introduces readers to the toxicological effects of e-cigarettes and how they can raise cancer risk. Using a rat lung model the authors demonstrate the cancer-initiating and co-mutagenic effects of e-cigarette vapor. Their research uncovered that e-cigarettes have a powerful booster effect on phase-1 carcinogen-bio activating enzymes. Additionally, it increases DNA oxidation to 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine. All these findings show that despite being heavily commercialized e-cigarettes are still carcinogenic. The research is very credible since it uses primary data collected from experimentation. In addition, it provides detailed information on how e-cigarettes that lack nicotine can turn out to be harmful. The research uses a table to illustrate some of the volatile compounds found in e-cigarettes.
Figure 2(Canistro et al., 2017)
(Cummings et al, 2014) talk about e-cigarettes discusses whether it is a better alternative for people struggling with cigarette addiction and whether e-cigarettes are a better alternative for smokers who have been diagnosed with lung cancer. The primary focus of the research is the use of e-cigarettes among cancer patients. E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that deliver nicotine in an aerosol while still maintaining the oral-sensory and hand-to-mouth experience of ordinary tobacco cigarettes. The research does not find any clinical evidence to prove that the use of e-cigarettes can help in smoking cessation. However, the authors argue that e-cigarettes with or without nicotine are effective enough to help smokers abstain from tobacco usage. Since e-cigarettes deliver few chemicals the research concludes that they are safer than regular cigarettes. Since the research is focused on cancer patients it gives very elaborate clinical scenarios and suggests responses for patients. This research is however not based on clinically proven evidence which makes it very hard to validate the information given.
Despite most researches showing that there is little to no direct connection between increased risk of cancer development and e-cigarettes, (Glantz 2018) is of the contrary and tries to expose the risks of e-cigarettes. The research measures DNA damage that was induced by nitrosamines in different organs of the body using lab mice. Glantz research uncovered that upon exposure to e-cigarette’s vapor there was the presence of O6-methyldeoxyguanosines and y-hydroxy-1, N2-proano-deoxyguanosines in the heart, lungs, and bladder. This shows that the product is carcinogenic. The research is more recent than others and includes detailed information about the findings.
Comparison between E-Cigarettes and Conventional Cigarettes
(Tayyarah & Long 2014) present a very important research comparing e-cigarettes with conventional cigarettes and with ambient air. Their research used machine-puffing to determine the bulk composition of e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes. The research compared the nicotine delivery of both products with ambient air. From the experiment, it was discovered that aerosol nicotine for the e-cigarettes was lower by 85% when compared to regular cigarettes. Since nicotine is the leading cause of cancer development among smokers, it shows that use of e-cigarettes could reduce the risk. The research used ISO 17025 accredited analytical methods to evaluate the data. While the research used a machine which cannot sufficiently mimic human puffing, it was proven that e-cigarettes contained little to no Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents (HPHCs). The research also broadly supports the use of e-cigarettes as an alternative to ordinary cigarettes. Since nicotine and HPHCs are reduced in e-cigarettes it shows that users are less likely to develop cancer as compared to conventional cigarettes.
Discussion and Conclusion
Most of the literature reviewed, do not have credible evidence to prove that e-cigarettes can lead to lung cancer. This is because some e-cigarettes contain nicotine while others do not. Also, the amount of nicotine in the e-cigarette aerosol is minimum proving that its use is safer than regular cigarettes. Among the major findings derived from the literature review is that e-cigarettes contain 85% less nicotine than regular ones. In addition, the composition of these e-cigarettes contains reduced amounts of HPHCs. Among the literature reviewed one showed that vapor from e-cigarettes carcinogenic substances that can lead not only to lung cancer but also to cancers of the heart and the bladder.
The topic of e-cigarettes is still very speculative with a majority of researchers lacking clinical evidence to prove their standing. As a result, it is very difficult to ascertain that the use of e-cigarettes is safer than that of regular cigarettes. Also, several types of research have been focused on trying to uncover whether e-cigarettes can be used to stop smoking. These researches are also not backed by well-proven facts. Since e-cigarettes have only been heavily commercially publicized over the last decade, a lot of research still needs to be conducted. However, from the literature reviewed, one can conclude that e-cigarettes provide a safer alternative for tobacco smoker. This is because it contains less nicotine and also reduced amounts of HPHCs.
Ask your questions to our best writers for quality and timely essay answers. Learn smartly and seek help from our solution library that grooms your concepts with over 150 courses.
From essays to dissertations, we have experts for all your writing needs!
