Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of electronic smoking on lung function in young patients diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We did not come across any studies conducted to investigate the harmfulness of electronic cigarettes on young people with COPD. Currently, there is no consensus on whether electronic cigarette smoking is harmful in COPD patients. Some studies suggest that it causes significant harm and increases exacerbation frequency, while others report that it has no effect. There are no studies on COPD patient groups examining the potential harm of electronic cigarettes. In their study on healthy smokers, it was shown that there is an increase in airway resistance on the first day of electronic cigarette use. It was concluded that electronic cigarette use causes serious oxidative stress in the pulmonary tissues of healthy individuals by determining a significant increase in levels as a result of the one-hour electronic cigarette session. In the literature, many epidemiological studies conducted in recent years have shown that electronic cigarette use has negative effects on lung health. Previously, studies found that electronic cigarettes worsen lung functions in adults. The main target of this study is to investigate morphologically, radiologically, and clinically the adverse effect of electronic smoking on the lungs of young patients using electronic cigarettes. The main target of this research is to investigate the adverse effects of electronic cigarettes on lung functions in young patients diagnosed with COPD in the clinic or newly diagnosed for the first time.