News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services.Follow The Sun Your Sun Sign in Editions Scottish Sun Irish Sun Sun Bets Sun Bingo Dream Team The Sun News Corp Services All News UK News World News Politics Opinion A DAD ended up in hospital with a hole burnt through his lung after his e-cig spat hot nicotine liquid down his throat.Richard Courtney’s £100 device was meant to turn the fluid into vapour but a fault left him hooked up to a ventilator.The 33-year-old said: “I started vaping to try to give up after 16 years of smoking.I can’t believe it put me in hospital.” 3 Richard was walking home from a mate’s house when he tasted fluid and started coughing.He said: “Then it felt like I’d got a trapped nerve in my shoulder.In the morning I had a really tight chest and couldn’t breathe properly.“I went to hospital.

One of the nurses there put my vape on an oxygen tube and showed that it was spitting liquid out.” Richard, from Horley, Surrey, was told his right lung was working at just 25 per cent capacity.He was kept in overnight at the Acute Medical Unit of East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, and discharged with an inhaler.But five days later his chest tightened up again and he spent another night in hospital.3 He returned to work as a trainer for an insurance firm on Monday.Richard, who has two sons and a daughter, said: “I want to give up completely but at the moment I’m just having the odd roll-up.I’m such an addict I can’t just go cold turkey even after what happened.” KangerTech, the Chinese maker of his e-cig, did not respond to The Sun’s requests for comment.FOR EXPERT ADVICE CUSTOMER CARE Let’s face it—debates over e-cigarettes won’t be over anytime soon.Users (and, of course, manufacturers) say that they are safer than “real” cigarettes and they help people quit smoking.

And unlike the treasure trove of damning health evidence about “real” cigarettes—the latest even adds schizophrenia to the list—research about the health effects of electronic cigarettes is truly in its infancy.But don’t let that fool you, because one thing is becoming clear—inhaling nicotine…along with the other compounds in e-cigarettes such as formaldehyde…is far from harmless for your lungs.We’ve already told you that vaping (inhaling the vapor) causes temporary constriction in the lungs and that the vapor contains carcinogenic nitrosamines, which newer research has confirmed.The latest news: Researchers have shown that vaping may damage the cell barrier that protects the lining of the lungs, called the endothelium.In the study, the researchers exposed human and mouse cells and live mice to an e-cigarette solution that either contained nicotine or was nicotine-free.The result with either solution was not only loss of the endothelial cell barrier, but also lung inflammation and an impairment of cell growth, a sign of cell stress.

It’s just a short-term lab study, to be sure, but if sustained, that kind of damage is associated with risk for lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Note that it wasn’t just the nicotine that caused harm in the study, either.Even the nicotine-free e-cigarette solutions were found to include lung-harming substances, such as the compound acrolein.This substance, which is present in e-cig vapor, damages the endothelial cells in the lungs.e cigarette post falls idahoSHOULD YOU EVER USE E-CIGARETTES?e zigarette siegenSuch short-term lung damage might be acceptable if we knew that e-cigs help people quit smoking.e cigarette pen style

Some studies have found that they do…others have found they are no help at all.To be fair, there’s no question that vaping is less harmful than inhaling cigarette smoke, which is one of the most toxic substances that humans have ever come to use regularly.Even the biggest opponents of e-cigarettes acknowledge that.So if you switch from smoking cigarettes to vaping e-cigarettes, you’re likely doing less harm to your lungs.If doing so helps you quit entirely, that’s a win-win.e cigarette song(For the best ways to quit, see Bottom Line’s Quit Smoking: 13 Ways That Really Work.e cigarette songBut don’t fool yourself into thinking that vaping is a safe alternative to tobacco.e cigarette vision spinner iiAnd if your children or grandchildren who don’t smoke cigarettes think that vaping is a cool and safe habit to pick up, let them know that they’re playing with addictive electronic fire.

Source: Source:American Journal of Physiology—Lung Cellular and Molecular PhysiologyDate: Publication:The aerosol particles emitted from vaping are so tiny they can actually seep through paint on walls — the pores in the paint would look like Swiss cheese in comparison to the particle size.(Photo: iStock)The emissions from e-cigarettes are just water vapor, right?Wrong.The “vapor” emitted from an e-cig is actually not water vapor, but more like an aerosol gas, as the emissions consist of tiny particles that contain nicotine, glycerin/glycols, artificial flavorings and preservatives, among other chemicals, according to a new study from RTI International.And the warm, humid conditions of the lungs seem to prevent these aerosol particles from evaporating — which is cause for concern.This is just one of the learnings gleaned from an expert panel that convened on Thursday to discuss the latest research in vaping.The takeaway: E-cigarette emissions — whether you yourself are vaping or if you’re standing next to someone who is — have an immediate effect on your acute lung function.A big concern is the size of the particles, according to Jonathan Thornburg, Ph.D., author of the study and a senior research engineer and director of Exposure and Aerosol Technology at RTI International.

“They are smaller than 1,000 nanometers, 50 times smaller than the width of a human hair,” he says.“They can stay airborne for a long time, and penetrate into the deepest part of our lungs.”The extremely minute size of the particles actually ups their penetrative powers, which is causing experts to wonder what the impacts will be for tissues inside the body.Stanton Glantz, Ph.D., professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco and director of the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, says the aerosol particles emitted are so tiny they can actually seep through the paint on painted walls.If you scaled that representation to size, the pores in the paint would look something like Swiss cheese in comparison to the particle size — which might cause imminent problems.Related: Are E-Cigarettes Heroes Or Harmful?A Look At The ScienceWe may see vastly different health effects result from of e-cigarette use than we do from conventional cigarettes.Because they don’t burn anything and there’s a lack of combustion, fewer cancer-causing chemicals are emitted.

However, e-cig emissions are still composed of ultra-fine particles with nicotine and numerous other potentially damaging additives.“Even some of the flavorings are dangerous — like cinnamon, if you inhale it, can be quite toxic,” Glantz says.“It’s a different risk profile.Some toxicologists think it’s inappropriate to even compare e-cigarettes to tobacco cigarettes.”Glantz thinks we may eventually discover more heart-related consequences associated with vaping.“Exposure to the ultra-fine particles inhibits blood vessels to get larger when they need to, and makes platelets sticky, which leads to more heart attacks,” he says.“The particle effects are a big factor.The oxidizing agents also oxidize cholesterol, which leads to heart disease and heart attacks.”And that doesn’t just go for e-cig emissions.Similar health issues also might result in areas of high air pollution, too.“It’s important to understand that heart attacks are triggered,”Glantz continues.“The ultra-fine particles lead to inflammation, which can actually trigger a heart attack.”Ultimately, when asked flat-out about safety, the panel concluded that e-cigarettes are probably not as harmful as standard cigarettes.

“We know that the level of carcinogens and toxins are lower,”says Thornburg.That said, there was no endorsement for unending use.“They’re not as dangerous as cigarettes, but they’re not safe,”Glantz says.“You are better off not using them.The question is how much safer are they than regular cigarettes?”Related: Hidden High Levels Of Cancer-Causing Formaldehyde Found in E-CigarettesTo put it in better perspective, Glantz also offers this: “They are less toxic than a cigarette, but the cigarette is probably the most toxic consumer product ever designed.It’s a low bar.”And although many ingredients are regarded as generally safe by the FDA upon ingestion, the effects upon inhalation aren’t well understood or studied, leaving a need for better clarity — especially with the prevalence of e-cigarettes taking off in recent years.Since 2007, e-cig sales have doubled each year, finally reaching the $1 billion mark in 2013.Roughly 13 percent of adults have tried vaping, one-third of whom had never before smoked conventional cigarettes, according to Annice Kim, Ph.D., a senior social scientist in the Public Health Policy Research Program at RTI.