Electronic cigarettes are as harmful to the skin as tobacco, says study

Electronic cigarettes are as toxic to the skin as tobacco cigarettes, according to a study published in Annals of Plastic Surgery.

Chemists at the University of Connecticut found that e-cigs loaded with a nicotine-based liquid could be as harmful as unfiltered cigarettes when it comes to causing DNA damage.

Using a rat skin flap model, the researchers examined the toxic microcirculatory effects e-cigarettes may have in comparison with tobacco cigarettes. 58 rats were randomised to either exposure to room air, tobacco cigarette smoke, medium-nicotine content (1.2%) e-cigarette vapor, or a high-nicotine content (2.4%) e-cigarette vapour.

After four weeks of exposure, a random pattern, 3 × 9 cm skin flap was elevated on the dorsum of the rats. At five weeks, flap survival was evaluated quantitatively, and the rats were euthanized. Plasma was collected for nicotine and cotinine analysis, and flap tissues were harvested for histopathological analysis.

Results demonstrated significantly increased necrosis in the vapor and tobacco groups. The average necrosis within the groups was: control 19.23%, high-dose vapor 28.61%, medium-dose vapor 35.93%, and tobacco cigarette 30.15%. Although the e-cigarette and tobacco cigarette groups did not differ significantly, each individual group had significantly more necrosis than the control group (P<0.05). These results were corroborated with histopathological analysis of hypoxic tissue.

The study concluded that both the high-nicotine and medium-nicotine content in the e-cigarette exposure groups has similar amounts of flap necrosis and hypoxia when compared with the tobacco cigarette group.