Scientists today celebrated a breakthrough after discovering exactly how e-cigarettes can damage the lungs.
Britons are embracing vaping in unprecedented numbers, with around one in ten adults estimated to be addicted to the habit.
However, although vaporizers are generally considered safer than cigarettes and a useful smoking cessation tool, until now experts were unsure what makes users more susceptible to serious respiratory illnesses.
Researchers in Australia now believe that multiple chemicals found in both cigarette smoke and e-cigarettes may alter the function of key immune cells in the lungs.
Medically known as MAIT cells, they help fight bacterial and viral infections and repair damaged tissue.
But smoke from e-cigarettes can prevent cells from working properly, putting users at greater risk for debilitating lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD.
It comes just a day after the death of former Hollyoaks star Paul Danan, who last year revealed he was rushed to hospital and brought back to life after his “obsessive” use of disposable vapes caused him respiratory failure.
He picked up the habit in recent years after smoking and even admitted that he would “go to sleep” with his vaporizer for comfort.
Brits are embracing vaping in unprecedented numbers, with around one in ten adults estimated to be addicted to the habit.

It comes just a day after the death of former Hollyoaks star Paul Danan, who last year revealed he was rushed to hospital and brought back to life after his “obsessive” disposable vape use caused him respiratory failure.
Professor David Fairlie, a molecular bioscience expert at the University of Queensland and co-author of the study, said: “While we know that cigarette smoke, bushfires, cooking, vehicle exhaust and waste burning pose significant health risks, surprisingly we still know relatively little about how specific smoke components affect our immune system and how they impact multiple parts of the human body.
“We suspected that some of the more than 20,000 chemicals present in the smoke smokers inhale could influence the activity of MAIT cells in the lungs.”
Professor Jamie Rossjohn, an expert in molecular biology and immunity at Monash University and author of the study, added: “We found that long-term exposure impaired the protection of MAIT cells in mice, weakening their ability to fight flu and increasing susceptibility. to COPD.
“This shows how, by altering the behavior of these immune cells, chronic exposure to cigarette smoke can reduce their ability to fight respiratory infections and increase the risk of chronic inflammation and lung disease.”
E-cigarettes allow people to inhale nicotine in the form of vapor, which is produced by heating a liquid that typically contains propylene glycol, glycerin, flavorings and other chemicals.
Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco nor do they produce tar or carbon, two of the most dangerous elements.
The effect of nicotine on the brain is well known: within 20 seconds of inhalation, it triggers the release of chemical messengers such as dopamine, associated with reward and pleasure.
But it also increases heart rate and blood pressure and causes blood vessels to constrict. This is because nicotine triggers the release of the hormone adrenaline.
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Doctors have also expressed fear that there could be a wave of lung disease, dental problems and even cancer in the coming decades in people who adopted the habit at a young age.
In the study, the researchers analyzed the effects of cigarette smoke on MAIT cells from human and mouse blood.
They found that chemicals, including benzaldehyde derivatives used as flavorings in e-cigarettes, mimic signals that MAIT cells would normally respond to during an infection.
writing in the Journal of experimental medicineThe researchers said the chemicals interact with MAIT cells, suppressing their functioning and undermining their protective function.
Prolonged exposure to vapes and cigarettes made the mice less able to fight off respiratory infections and more likely to develop COPD, they added.
Professor Alexandra Corbett, an expert in microbiology and immunology at the University of Melbourne and co-author of the study, also said: “Our findings offer new insight into how cigarette smoke alters immune function.
“With more than one billion smokers worldwide, these findings offer a critical step toward understanding and combating smoking-related diseases.”
Around 1.4 million people in the UK suffer from COPD. The condition occurs when the lungs and airways become damaged and inflamed.

Activists have long blamed predatory manufacturers for the growing crisis, claiming they are intentionally luring children with colorful packaging, compared to highlighter pens, and kid-friendly flavors like bubblegum and cotton candy.
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It is usually associated with smoking or long-term exposure to certain types of dust or harmful industrial chemicals. However, in some cases, patients can get COPD for no clear reason.
The first symptoms are a persistent cough, excessive mucus production and difficulty breathing, which can disturb sleep.
Over time, COPD increases the risk of life-threatening respiratory infections.
There is no cure and patients will see their symptoms progressively worsen. About half of COPD patients will not survive more than five years after their diagnosis.
In the UK, 30,000 people die from COPD each year.
Last year, MailOnline also found that the number of adverse side effects related to vaping reported to UK regulators has exceeded 1,000, five of them fatal.
The extensive list includes everything from headaches to strokes. Members of the public and doctors can submit them.
In July, in the first global guideline setting out possible interventions to help people quit using tobacco products, the World Health Organization called the evidence on e-cigarettes “complex.”
Vaporizers cannot be recommended as a way to quit smoking because too little is known about the harms and benefits, the UN agency said.