Acute Vascular Effects of E-cigarette Use

Summary

Tobacco use harms nearly every organ in the body and has been linked to ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, respiratory illness, lung cancer and other cancers. The World Health Organization estimates that 6 million people worldwide lose their lives due to tobacco use yearly, making cigarette smoking one of the leading single causes of preventable death and morbidity.

As this knowledge becomes more common and wide-spread the sales of cigarettes has seen a decrease in recent years. On account of this, the electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) has been introduced to the market as an alternative to traditional cigarette smoking. Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or e-cigs, are delivery devices which heat a base liquid, to which nicotine and flavorings can be added, into vapor which is then inhaled ("vaping"). E-cigarettes have been aggressively marketed as a cheaper, healthier, cleaner alternative to smoking in both advertising and media outlets, primarily targeting adolescents.

Despite growing e-cigarette use, scientific data on health effects are insufficient in some respects and completely lacking in others. However, the investigators have recently shown that cigarette smoking, as well as e-cigarette inhalation, both cause an acute increase of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the blood of healthy volunteers, suggesting vascular injury, inflammation and a negative impact on hemostasis.

Therefore, using well validated methods, including forearm plethysmography, biomarkers in blood, arterial stiffness measurements and microcirculation assessment (GlycoCheck), the investigators aim to further investigate the effects of e-cigarette inhalation on the vascular system. These measurements will be performed before and after healthy subjects inhale vapor from a e-cigarette on two separate occasions, with and without nicotine in a double-blinded, randomized protocol.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

OTHER

E-cigarette vapor containing nicotine

A fourth generation e-cigarette device will be used with pre-determined temperature, voltage and wattage settings, and pre-mixed e-solution containing nicotine.

OTHER

E-cigarette vapor, nicotine free

A fourth generation e-cigarette device will be used with pre-determined temperature, voltage and wattage settings, and pre-mixed nicotine free e-solution.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Karolinska Institutet

  collaborator OTHER

• Umeå University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jenny A Bosson, MD;PhD · Umeå University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-04-01

Primary Completion

2019-05-29

Completion

2019-06-10

Countries

• Sweden

Study Locations