About this Research Topic
Smoking weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of infectious diseases and respiratory infections, and is a major cause of chronic health condition and cancer. This is alarming because more than 34 million Americans smoke, and tobacco use among our nations’ youth is at its highest rate in nearly two decades driven by the youth e-cigarettes (e-cigs) epidemic. Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration recently stated that “people who smoke cigarette may be at increased risk for Infection with virus that causes COVID-19 and may have worsen outcomes from COVID-19”. There is also growing evidence that vaping can harm lung health. Thus, it is more important than ever for smokers to quit and for youth and young adults to stop using tobacco products, including e-cigs to protect their health, improve health outcomes and for the scientific community to develop new therapeutics targets associated with smoking and e-vaping.
For almost 35 years evidence have regarded cigarette smoke as a major risk factor in the development of lung cancer and a variety of adverse human health effects including COPD and asthma. The use of the e-cigs/e-vaping has been perceived initially to be safer than tobacco smoking yet the full health risks and effects are still not fully understood.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide major research areas in cigarette smoke, e-cigs/e-vaping, future research needs and understanding the impact of COVID-19 in individuals suffering of tobacco-related diseases.
Cigarette smoking causes damage to various organs and systems and E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) is a newly identified type of lung injury linked to vaping. Cigarette smoking and/or e-cigs/e-vaping may also serve as a second hit for viral infections including COVID-19. Common mechanisms of tobacco-related injury include altered repair processes, increased oxidative stress and inflammation, aberrant immune responses, enhanced viral infection and replication, DNA methylation impairments, protein post-translational modifications, dysregulation of lipid metabolism and signal transduction pathways.
We encourage you to share your discoveries and thoughts about the contribution of cigarette smoke, e-cigs/e-vaping and to disease initiation and progression in the lungs, heart, liver, gut, and other organs and tissues of the body, including in COVID-19 patients.
We welcome research articles, review articles as well as short communications covering the following subtopics related to the effect of tobacco and E-cigarette smoke:
- Oxidative stress and Inflammation
- Tobacco and E-cigarette smoke injury
- Cardiovascular and non-cancer pulmonary diseases
- Methylation impairment and post-translational modifications of proteins
- Juul and E-liquid (nicotine, THC or CBD, propylene glycol, nickel, lead and ultrafine particles)
For almost 35 years evidence have regarded cigarette smoke as a major risk factor in the development of lung cancer and a variety of adverse human health effects including COPD and asthma. The use of the e-cigs/e-vaping has been perceived initially to be safer than tobacco smoking yet the full health risks and effects are still not fully understood.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide major research areas in cigarette smoke, e-cigs/e-vaping, future research needs and understanding the impact of COVID-19 in individuals suffering of tobacco-related diseases.
Cigarette smoking causes damage to various organs and systems and E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) is a newly identified type of lung injury linked to vaping. Cigarette smoking and/or e-cigs/e-vaping may also serve as a second hit for viral infections including COVID-19. Common mechanisms of tobacco-related injury include altered repair processes, increased oxidative stress and inflammation, aberrant immune responses, enhanced viral infection and replication, DNA methylation impairments, protein post-translational modifications, dysregulation of lipid metabolism and signal transduction pathways.
We encourage you to share your discoveries and thoughts about the contribution of cigarette smoke, e-cigs/e-vaping and to disease initiation and progression in the lungs, heart, liver, gut, and other organs and tissues of the body, including in COVID-19 patients.
We welcome research articles, review articles as well as short communications covering the following subtopics related to the effect of tobacco and E-cigarette smoke:
- Oxidative stress and Inflammation
- Tobacco and E-cigarette smoke injury
- Cardiovascular and non-cancer pulmonary diseases
- Methylation impairment and post-translational modifications of proteins
- Juul and E-liquid (nicotine, THC or CBD, propylene glycol, nickel, lead and ultrafine particles)
Keywords: Smoke injury, signal transduction, Oxidative stress, Inflammation
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
