UCF Researcher Finds New Dangers of Vaping

One in 10 young people under 18 use vapes and an estimated 20 million adults smoke e-cigarettes.

A College of Medicine researcher is discovering that vaping creates chemical reactions in the mouth that can destroy good bacteria while increasing germs that cause cavities, gum disease and cellular changes that can lead to cancer.

Despite laws that outlaw selling e-cigarettes to minors, 1 in 10 young people under 18 use vapes, according to the FDA and CDC, and a quarter of those use the digital smoking devices daily. Meanwhile, an estimated 20 million adults smoke e-cigarettes, many in an attempt to quit smoking tobacco. Claudia Andl, an associate professor in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, focuses her research on throat and mouth cancer and has broadened her efforts to help medicine better understand the dangers of vaping.

Andl’s research is focused on how vape devices affect bacterial communities that live in the mouth. Bacteria are often associated with illness.