12th December 2014
This is our information booklet on e-cigarettes and the respiratory system.
INTRODUCTION
For our initial project, we examined the respiratory system as a whole. Within this, we investigated the effects of smoking on the lungs. While doing this we became interested into the effects of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) on the lungs. During science week the Intel judges were very impressed with our project and encouraged us to do more research on e-cigarettes since they are so popular at the moment.
So the project question now changed to “What are the Effects of E-cigarettes on our lungs?” Despite searching for information in our local library and on the internet into the effects of them on our lungs we only found one article into the effects of them. For this reason, we decided to complete our own research. We created our own questionnaire and had two e-cigarette smokers to complete it. It was interesting to see their responses. We hope you enjoy our project.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE LUNGS
The lungs are an important organ in your body.
The lungs are red and are like sponges that help you breathe.
The left lung is smaller than the right lung.
In the left lung there are two lobes while in the right lung there are three lobes.
When you breathe in, the lungs tighten.
When you breathe out, they relax.
The diaphragm is a muscle that also helps you breathe.
The ribcage protects the lungs.
Some people have only one lung and they still can breathe.
Exercise helps your lung capacity increase which means that your lungs will have more space to let in air.
When resting, the average an adult breathes is around twelve to twenty times a minute.
People who have a large lung capacity can get oxygen around their bodies faster.
When you inhale (breathe in) you get oxygen from plants and trees and when you exhale (breathe out) you breathe out carbon dioxide.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE BREATHE
We breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth.
When we breathe in, it is called inhaling and when we breathe out it is called exhaling.
When we breathe in, oxygen goes down our trachea, through the bronchus and into our lungs. It then travels through our bronchioles and finally to our alveoli.
Alveoli are attached to the end of our bronchioles. They collect oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
When we inhale, our lungs and our ribs get bigger. Our ribs get bigger using our intercostal muscles.
When we exhale they go back to their normal size and the alveoli releases the carbon dioxide. It goes through our bronchioles, back through the bronchus, up through our trachea and out our mouth.
KNOWN DISEASES FROM SMOKING
These are some of the known diseases from smoking, COPD, lung cancer and bronchitis. They are all very dangerous.
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD)
COPD is a disease caused by smoking. It can also be called Emphysema. It causes coughing which produces large amounts of mucus (a slimy substance in our body). It can also cause wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.
BRONCHITIS
Bronchitis is a disease that is caused by smoking. There are two different types of Bronchitis; Acute (short term) and Chronic (long term). Bronchitis causes the bronchioles to become inflamed. Sometimes bacteria can cause it. The disease affects the nose and throat.
LUNG CANCER
Lung cancer is a dangerous disease of the lung. It is mostly caused by smoking. The longer a person smokes, the bigger their risk of getting lung cancer. Some of the effects of lung cancer are; a nagging cough, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, chest pain and a hoarse voice. Lung cancer happens when cancer cells go out of control and kill the normal cells.
ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE
What is an Electronic Cigarette (E-cigarette)?
The e-cigarette (also known as a smokeless cigarette) was invented in the 1960s. However, they did not become popular until a decade ago. They have become increasingly popular with smokers who are concerned about their health or are trying to quit smoking. Although an electronic cigarette looks and tastes very much like a regular cigarette, the small battery powered device contains tobacco, tar or carbon monoxide (a harmful chemical). However, in contrast to the tobacco cigarette, it does not give off unhealthy or unpleasant second hand smoke.
How do they work?
E- cigarettes are battery operated nicotine inhalers. They use a rechargeable lithium battery, a cartridge called a cartomiser and an LED that lights up at the end. The cartomiser is built with e-liquid that typically contains the chemicals along with nicotine, flavouring and other additives. The LED light simulates the burn of a tobacco cigarette. On some e-cigarettes, inhalation activates the battery-powered cartomiser. Other types are manually switched on. Different brands of e-cigarettes contain different chemical concentrations.
Dangerous flavours
Some e-cigarette users think that e-cigarettes are completely harmless but according to recent studies, that is not the case. E-cigarettes have a range of different flavours that might be tempting for children.
It is thought that fruit and sweet flavours should be prohibited while the sales of electronic cigarettes from vending machines should be heavily restricted.
An interesting article on the effects of e-cigarettes
We read an interesting article on e-cigarettes by Lisa Winter. We are summarising the article. According to her, there is no such thing as a safe cigarette. That is not just for tobacco cigarettes, it is also for e-cigarettes and other related products. According to recent studies, e-cigarettes are actually quite harmful. They have shown that they still contain tiny particles that can irritate lung tissue. Unlike cigarettes, e-cigarettes don’t burn tobacco leaves. Some e-cigarettes use an electric cartridge called a cartomiser and more expensive models use e-liquid by vapourising it. Some of the particles found in e-cigarettes are quite big and can travel down in the lungs and become embedded in the alveoli. Though some early studies say that e-cigarettes may be an improvement, they could still be dangerous. Vaping pollutes lungs with toxic chemicals and may even make antibiotic bacteria harder to kill (resistant). Crotty Alexander allowed mice to breathe in air containing MRSA that had been exposed to e-cigarette vapour. One day later, the mice getting vapour-exposed germs had three times as many bacteria growing in their lungs as opposed to the mice that were not exposed.
OUR OWN RESEARCH
Because there is not a large amount of research completed on e-cigarettes, we took it upon ourselves to do our own research. We created our own questions and had two people who used to smoke tobacco cigarettes but have changed to e-cigarettes to complete it.
QUESTIONNAIRES ON E-CIGERETTES
Respondent number 1:
Are you a male or a female? Male.
How old are you? 37
Did you smoke tobacco cigarettes? Yes.
Did you find smoking addictive? Yes, very.
Have you ever tried quitting before? Yes.
How long have you been using e-cigarettes?
I have been using e-cigarettes for 8 months.
Do you prefer e-cigarettes when compared to tobacco cigarettes?
Yes, there is no bad taste. It does not make me tired and you feel cleaner on the inside and out.
Do you think there are any downsides in using e-cigarettes?
Yes, nicotine is addictive.
Would you rather go back to cigarettes or stay with e-cigarettes?
I would stay with e-cigarettes.
Do you think smoking had affected your activity levels?
Yes, I felt very lethargic.
Do you think vaping affected your activity levels?
Yes, definitely. However, in my opinion, about a quarter of what cigarettes do.
How long are you planning on using e-cigarettes?
I would stay using a zero milligram liquid e-cigarette because it just contains water vapour. Not having an e-cigarette is like missing a cup of coffee, you do not feel withdrawal symptoms like with a cigarette.
Respondent number 2:
Are you a male or a female? Female
How old are you?
Did you smoke tobacco cigarettes? 49
Yes, I did.
Did you find smoking addictive? Yes, I did.
Have you ever tried quitting before? Yes, I have.
How long have you been using an e-cigarette? 4 months.
Do you prefer e-cigarettes when compared a tobacco cigarettes? Yes, I do.
Do you think there are any downsides in using e-cigarettes? No, I do not.
Would you rather go back to cigarettes or stay with e-cigarettes?
Stay with e-cigarettes.
Do you think smoking has affected your activity levels?
Yes, I do.
Do you think vaping affected your activity levels?
No, I don’t think so.
How long are you planning on using e-cigarettes?
I’m not sure yet.
CONCLUSION
What we have learned and further research
We need our respiratory system to live.
We have learned that the diaphragm moves down when we inhale to make room for air in the lungs.
The diaphragm moves up when we breathe out pushing out the air.
Smoking causes major diseases such as bronchitis, lung cancer and COPD.
There is a cartridge called a cartomiser in the e-cigarette.
E-cigarettes might be more harmful than you think.
E-cigarettes were invented in 1960s.
E-cigarettes were re-launched by a Chinese man after his dad had died from cancer in 2003.
A downside of E-cigarettes is that they can be very attractive for children due to nice fruity flavours and their easy availability in vending machines in America.
We intend to extend our research by sending the questionnaire out to all of the parents in the school and ask them to fill it in if they use e-cigarettes.
What we enjoyed most:
We enjoyed learning new facts about e-cigarettes, including finding out when and who they were invented by. We also enjoyed working in our group and putting the booklet and poster together.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all of our classmates for helping us collect some information. We also would like to thank our teacher, Ms. O’Connor, for helping us in making sure our project was the best it could be. We would like to give a special thanks to the judges for encouraging us to base our project on e-cigarettes. We also would like to thank the people we interviewed for giving us their opinion on the e-cigarettes.
REFERENCES
For our references, we used a lot of internet sites. These contained the most amount of information on e-cigarettes and diseases.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/copd
http://Kids.Net.Au
http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/respiratory/bronchitis.html
http://En.wikipedia.org/wiki/electronic-cigarette
http://En.wikipedia.org/wiki/cigarette
Are E-Cigarettes Safer Than Regular Cigarettes?
http://abcnews.go.com/health/things-cigaretes/story?id+22782568
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28937610
http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/vaping-6-facts-you-need-to-know-about-ecigarettes-30600477.html
Book: Human Beings A-L World Book
What we did when we arrived at Intel:
When we arrived, we looked at all the other projects there. They were all very interesting. After that we presented our project to the judges and they were very impressed. Then we watched a very exiting science show and we really enjoyed it.
