We all know how bad smoking is for you, but what about vaping?
A new study at New Jersey Institute of technology (NJIT) led by forensic anthropologist and biochemist Sara Zapico is exploring the potential long-term health risks of e-cigarettes and how they might manifest in young adults at the genetic level, which up until now isn’t fully understood.
With funding from the New Jersey Health Foundation, Zapico is investigating how vaping may alter patterns in gene expression in Gen Z and young Millennial users — insights from which could reveal early warning signs of cancer and respiratory diseases long before traditional testing methods detect them.
While e-cigarettes were originally marketed as a safer alternative to traditional smoking, vaping has since been linked to various respiratory issues, potential lung damage and increased cancer risks. In New Jersey alone, 59 confirmed vaping-associated illnesses have now been reported, while national data shows 1.63 million high school and middle school students currently use e-cigarettes. To read the full story.