On May 1, the research team of the School of Pharmacy of Sun Yat-Sen University published a review article entitled "Research Progress on the Toxicity Mechanism of Electronic Cigarettes on the Respiratory System" in "International Journal of Molecular Science", an authoritative SCI journal in the field of global molecular medicine. The harm of electronic cigarettes to the human respiratory system is significantly lower than that of traditional cigarettes.

The researchers analyzed and summarized 22 related literatures published since 2010 in the field of electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes, and compared the differences between electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes from the main components and toxicity mechanisms.

In terms of main components, since e-cigarettes only add nicotine and cosolvents and do not contain tobacco, their components are simpler than traditional cigarettes; after atomization, the harmful substances in e-cigarette aerosols are far less than those of traditional cigarettes.

Specifically, both electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes contain nicotine, but the content of toxic compounds such as metal carbonyl compounds, nitrosamines, volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is much lower than that of cigarettes.

In terms of toxicity mechanism, the paper found that the effects of e-cigarettes on the main tissues and organs of the body and intracellular signaling pathways are similar to those of cigarettes; however, a large number of studies have shown that compared with cigarettes, the degree of damage caused by e-cigarettes is relatively low.

This paper conducted a comprehensive scientific analysis of electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes, and concluded that although electronic cigarettes are not completely harmless, they are significantly less harmful than traditional cigarettes, and may become a harm-reducing substitute for reducing the risk of smoking-related diseases.

In addition, the paper also emphasizes that it is necessary to further study the impact of e-cigarettes on traditional cigarette users, collect more data to obtain toxicological evidence-based information, and help people view e-cigarettes objectively and rationally without ignoring their potential risks.

Liu Peiqing, one of the corresponding authors of the paper, professor of the School of Pharmacy of Sun Yat-sen University and director of the National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for the Evaluation and Evaluation of New Drugs, said that the paper can provide scientific reference for the public to have a more comprehensive understanding of e-cigarettes, and also supports the establishment of product quality standards and standards. Toxicity evaluation system, the importance of standardizing ingredient content.

At the same time, the research team also believes that more scientific research is needed to discover evidence-based information to more deeply evaluate the long-term safety of e-cigarettes.