To accompany “A single vape session can harm immune cells in the body”

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1.  What is vaping and how does it differ from smoking? In what ways are conventional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes similar?

2.  Students 18 and younger are far more likely to vape than to smoke. Both conventional and electronic cigarettes are illegal for use by kids and these teens. So why do you think they preferentially choose to vape — and do so in large numbers?

During Reading:

1.  What was the rate of e-cigarette use among U.S. teens in 2020?

2.  In an experiment, what is a control? What was the control in the research by Holly Middlekauff’s team that is reported in this story?

3.  What is oxidative stress? Why did Middlekauff’s team focus on free radicals? What can those radicals do to the body?

4.  Before vaping, how did free-radical levels in the blood compare among the groups in the new study? How did that change after vaping? Which group showed the biggest change?

5.  What did the researchers conclude about the “long-term users” in terms of free-radical changes after vaping?

6.  The study was conducted in adults, yet published in a journal aimed at pediatricians. Why?

After Reading:

1.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration consider both cigarettes and electronic cigarettes to be tobacco products that deliver a drug to the body. Do some research to answer: Why are e-cigarettes considered tobacco products and what drug do they deliver? (You can find some background materials that cover this from the Science News for Students landing page for stories on vaping and in the June 23, 2021 congressional testimony of Janet Woodcock, FDA’s Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs.)