College of Idaho - LAB STUDIES VAPE EFFECTS ON BONE HEALTH

Enjoy the puff, without the harmful stuff. That’s how electronic cigarettes have been marketed. But with little research on how e-cigarettes and vaping can affect the human body, questions remain as to how safe this rapidly growing “safer alternative” to smoking really is.

After hearing that traces of heavy metals have been found in the vapor of e-cigarettes, College of Idaho biology professor Dr. Sara Heggland and her INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) lab decided to investigate.

“There are no federal regulations on what they put in the e-liquids,” Heggland said. “So it is kind of an open-ended, ‘what is this doing to the body?’ ”

And more specifically, Heggland and C of I junior Maggie Brown wanted to see how e-liquids affect bone health. So, they chose three different flavors of e-liquids (Mango Blast, Irish Latte and Sweet Melon), with and without nicotine, to expose bone cells to and test their ability to live. Heggland and Brown also wanted a non-flavored e-liquid to serve as the control. That didn’t exist in local vape shops, so Heggland had it custom made.

Part of the difficulty in performing the tests was deciding which e-liquids to test because there are so many flavors and varieties. And the fact that there is no standardization among e-liquids, and the liquid can vary from brand to brand and even from bottle to bottle, added to that difficulty.

The research team also wanted to figure out a way to vape the e-liquid and collect the vapor in a liquid extract to treat the cells. So they designed their very own vaping contraption in the lab with the help of C of I biology professor Dr. Luke Daniels. And early results showed an interesting pattern.

“We saw the flavored liquids had a more pronounced decrease in cell viability than our non-flavored e-liquids,” Brown said about the preliminary results. “But this is consistent with the findings of other researchers.”

Extravagant flavors are one of the biggest differences between tobacco cigarettes and their electronic cousins. Tobacco cigarettes cannot be flavored with anything other than menthol, because flavoring has proven to be an effective marketing strategy to target younger users. On the other hand, the flavors for e-cigarettes range from cotton candy and bubble gum to sweet melon and strawberrylicious. A 2012 report from the Centers for Disease Control estimated that 1.78 million students in grades 6-12 had tried e-cigarettes, though some states have legislation preventing the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

While conducting the tests, Heggland and Brown weren’t sure if directly exposing bone cells to e-liquids would be of any relevance. But after hearing that young children have been able to open the bottles and drink them, resulting in nicotine poisoning, another dimension has been added to their research, Heggland said.

And after observing that e-liquids do decrease a cell’s ability to live, the next question for the lab is, “what is causing this decrease in cell viability?” That’s a question Heggland and Brown will continue to pursue as the school year goes on.

“I’m really excited,” Brown said. “There are a lot of different avenues we can go down. Since the research [on e-cigs] is so limited, there is a lot that we can figure out.”

For Brown, the chance to get hands-on experience as an undergraduate was a major checklist item she had as she applied to colleges in pursuit of her larger dream to go to medical school.

“I found participating in INBRE and participating in the lab during the school year has been an amazing opportunity,” said Brown, who started out in Heggland’s lab by learning cell culture techniques.

And while Heggland is excited about the addition of this new project to her lab, she’s also enjoyed seeing Brown’s enthusiasm. After all, seeing a student eagerly pursue their research is the biggest reward of teaching, she said.

“My research lab is my classroom,” Heggland said. “I love getting students in the lab, getting them excited about science, taking ownership of a project and helping them through the ups and downs.”

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How to Talk to Your Teen About Vaping

It's a new generation, and there's another way to hook kids on nicotine. In a few short years, e-cigarettes and other vaping devices have shot up in popularity. They're the latest method to deliver nicotine ­along with mixtures of chemicals that users suck into their lungs.

For kids, vaping may seem like a fun, harmless, social experience. But for parents, vaping is both an X-factor and an all-too-familiar echo of the past. Toxins masked with sweet candy flavors and marketed as cool social props feels similar to the way tobacco cigarettes were sold for decades.

Below, two doctors (parents themselves) who've blogged about teens and vaping suggest how to open a conversation with your kids.

Old Tactics/New Devices

For a look at how the cigarette industry targeted young people, browse the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents, a now-public collection of studies, reports and memos created by tobacco companies. Documents include insider information on tactics for attracting new, youthful customers. (Remember candy-flavored cigarettes and Joe Camel?)

Today, vaping products are available in fruit, candy and dessert flavors. By clicking an online button assuring they're over 18, kids can order strawberry, peach, blueberry and coconut blends; doughnut and "Belgian waffle" flavors; and chocolate, cherry and cotton candy choices among countless others.

Dr. Pia Fenimore, a pediatrician with Lancaster Pediatric Associates in Pennsylvania, first heard of vaping from a teen patient with whom she'd previously worked to help quit smoking. "She was the one that said to me, 'It's not tobacco. It's safe, and it's a way for me to not miss my cigarettes. And it even smells good,'" Fenimore says. "She showed it to me, and it smelled just like a lollipop. And I thought, 'Oh, no.'"

An in-depth article by Janet Raloff, published June 30 in ScienceNews, digs into the dangers e-cigarettes hold for teens. Developing young brains may be more vulnerable to nicotine's effects. It is possible to vape without nicotine; non-nicotine products are available. But that doesn't mean all the risk is removed. Chemicals may damage lung tissue and disrupt the barrier function of the lungs.

Vaping has alternate uses. In a confidential survey of Connecticut high school students who use e-cigarettes, 18 percent reported vaping marijuana at some point.

Talking With Teens

"There's a lot of good news about cigarette smoking dropping off­­ – kids have definitely gotten the message that smoking is bad," says Dr. Laura Offutt, founder of the teen health website Real Talk With Dr. Offutt. Unfortunately, she says, kids are now getting a marketing message that vaping is an acceptable replacement.

It's harder to detect if kids are using e-cigarettes than traditional smoking, Offutt says. "They won't have smoke on their breath," she says. "But they might have bloodshot eyes. Or they may show signs of nicotine withdrawal," she adds, like the irritability adult cigarette smokers can experience. She's posted sample pictures of vaping devices on her website. "So if parents see anything that looks like that and they're not sure what it is, that could be a clue," she says. 

When talking to your teens about vaping, play it casual, Offutt recommends. "It's not really a judgmental way to ask the question," she says. "It's more just, 'I've read this, and I'm curious what you've heard about it.' Or, 'Do you know any kids that are using e-cigarettes?' or 'What do your classmates think about e-cigarettes?' It's a nice way to open that conversation."

Keep it open-ended, Fenimore agrees: "You don't want to ask a yes-no question. Because teenagers will look for any chance to answer a question with a yes or no. Then you're really nowhere."

Today's teens are more health-savvy, Fenimore says. "When you tell them nicotine can lead to high blood pressure, fatigue and sudden mood changes, and that it can lead to a lifelong, expensive and health-harming addiction, those [are] things they want to avoid for themselves."

Stress the seriousness of vaping, Fenimore says, as a decision to not just make on a whim, but one with potential consequences of lifelong problems. "It's not like drinking a slushy or some other thing you like just because of the flavor," she says. "This is really a serious drug."

Finally, be the message. If you don't want your kids to vape, don't vape, either. "Children of people that use products like vaping and nicotine products are more likely to use them," Fenimore says. "They are less likely to listen to people like me and their teachers if their parents are sending – whether they mean to or not – that subliminal message of, 'Oh well, it's actually OK.'"

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