Transcript
Dr. Petrache: I think there is a mandate that all of us, both physicians and investigators, scientists to find an answer to what has been killing people. So what we are doing specifically in our lab is trying to identify substances that have been reported being inhaled by these victims of the new acute lung injury epidemics, and to expose human lung endothelial cells in culture to these substances and identify how they react to them.
Dr. Bowler: Whether or not e-cigarettes help people quit smoking is debatable. The definitive studies haven't been done yet, in my opinion. Our research on e-cigarettes in an older COPD population found that there was no benefit to smoking cessation and potentially higher nicotine use in the patients who used e-cigarettes.
Dr. Chu: Our research shows that e-cigarettes increase airway inflammation, mucus production and a susceptibility to viral infection.
Dr. Ylioja: So the My Life, My Quit program is really innovative in adapting our standard program for quit plans to work with teens. It's one of the first in the nation to really address the vaping epidemic, to help teens who are looking for help to quit. And we do that in a variety of ways, including some support online, they can text with a coach using live text messaging on a new toll free number, and they can talk to one of our coaches over the phone for support to build their quit plan, navigate those social situations where they're really triggered to use tobacco products or use nicotine.
