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Study: E-cigarettes may cause cancer-like cell growth

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In a recent Boston Herald article, research into the health effects of e-cigarettes by professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, in its preliminary stages showed that, electronic cigarettes, widely seen as a safer alternative to tobacco, may actually cause cancer-like cell growth in users’ airways, according to a preliminary study by a local researcher, funded by the US FDA.

According to Dr. Avrum Spira, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. “ There is definitely some evidence of damage to cells that have been exposed. The electronic cigarette contains liquids, and when they burn, they have other substances in the liquid that could be disease-causing.

Preliminary results from this study suggest that the vapor causes cells from human airways to multiply rapidly, like cancer cells, and also to undergo similar genetic changes to the cells of regular smokers.