LSU Research Insights: Science Challenges the Perception of Vaping as a Low-Risk Alternative
January 05, 2026
E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth, with use rising over the past several years. Exposure to toxins in e-cigarettes is associated with increasing health concerns and healthcare impacts. Yet, our knowledge of the health effects of e-cigarettes is still emerging.
2026 & Beyond
As we enter a new year of research and discoveries, our LSU experts are looking forward to the biggest challenges we will face and advances we can anticipate. What might our future look like, “soonish”? How can we help to shape the future we want to see?
In this Q&A, we ask Alexandra Noel, an associate professor and Director of the Inhalation Research Facility at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, about the future of research on inhaled toxins. Noel studies the cardiopulmonary diseases and other alterations that can result from exposure to inhaled environmental pollutants.
“I hope to see research that informs policy. Studies that provide scientific evidence can inform policy and regulation to protect public health. For instance, implementing a global flavor ban for all types of e-liquids and e-cig devices.”
— Alexandra Noel
Where do you see the field of inhalation toxicology research going in the next 1-5 years?
My lab is currently evaluating vaping products and how the inhalation of e-cigarette aerosols affects the cardiopulmonary system. In the next few years, I believe an important direction in my research field will be investigating the health outcomes associated with long-term exposure to vaping products.
Additionally, as novel vaping products enter the market, including various e-cigarette devices, e-liquid ingredients, and nicotine formulations, it is important for research to remain up to date. New products and devices may have distinct profiles and characteristics that influence their cardiopulmonary effects.
I expect to see newly developed techniques that enable precise characterization of e-cigarette aerosols with respect to their chemical composition and physical properties. This characterization is important because different types of nicotine, including free base nicotine, nicotine salt, and synthetic nicotine, can elicit distinct biological responses.
We also need to evaluate the effects of the flavoring chemicals that are added to e-cigarette e-liquids and thus inhaled by the users.
We also need more research on biomarkers or measurable indicators of toxin exposure and health effects. In the next few years, we should see the development of unique markers associated with exposure to vaping products that are distinct from markers indicating exposure to other inhaled tobacco products (like cigarette smoke) or inhaled cannabis products.
What are some challenges you foresee in your field or area of work within the next year that will need addressing?
I believe a key area that needs to be addressed is the proper reporting of exposure doses in experimental studies of e-cigarettes. In other words, it is crucial that vaping product exposure doses are reported more consistently across published studies.
This will enable us to compare results from experiments conducted in different laboratories regarding the potential health effects of e-cigarettes. The exposure dose is not always equal to the number of puffs or the duration of exposure; it must be reported.
We also urgently need standardized methods for preclinical studies of vaping products.
We also need better evaluation of health effects associated with secondhand and thirdhand e-cigarette aerosol exposures, particularly for bystanders who are involuntarily exposed to these aerosols. Individuals at particular risk of secondhand and thirdhand vaping include children and adolescents.
Where would you LIKE to see your field go in the next 1-5 years? What are some questions or avenues for research you think should get more attention in 2026?
I would like to see more studies that can lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the cardiopulmonary adverse effects induced by vaping products, and the chronic cardiopulmonary effects of vaping, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and fibrosis.
Also, I would like to see research examine how newly identified biomarkers can predict chronic lung diseases.
I hope to see more research on the gestational effects of vaping on offspring. How does vaping affect a developing fetus, and how does gestational (or prenatal) exposure affect the respiratory health and trajectory of the offspring, both in childhood and later in life? These are questions I’d love to see answered.
Lastly, I hope to see research that informs policy. Studies that provide scientific evidence can inform policy and regulation to protect public health. For instance, implementing a global flavor ban for all types of e-liquids and e-cig devices.
What are you most excited about in terms of research and discoveries in your field in 2026?
I think there is a lot to look forward to in 2026. Recent experimental studies have shown sex-specific effects in pulmonary responses following inhalation exposures to e-cig aerosols. These are definitely exciting findings, and understanding the basis for those sex-specific differences has translational impacts.
Emerging research also examines the health impacts of nanoplastics and microplastics, which are omnipresent in the environment. An exposure route that often first comes to mind for these tiny plastic particles is ingestion.
However, in both indoor and outdoor environments, we can be exposed to those plastic particles by inhalation. In 2026, I expect to see more publications on the health effects of inhaled nano- and microplastics.
What do you wish more people knew about your area of research and its implications?
I wish more people understood that scientific evidence differs from the public perception of vaping as harmless. The use of vaping products may not necessarily be a ‘safe’ alternative to conventional cigarettes.
One could argue that the comparison is unfair because the health impacts may differ. More than a decade of research on the health effects of vaping products shows that vaping is not ‘safe’ and can alter cardiopulmonary responses.
Certainly, more research is needed to better characterize the cardiopulmonary effects following chronic inhalation of e-cig aerosols.
Public messaging regarding the health effects of vaping is important, as is having a more precautionary approach when it comes to the regulation of vaping products. It’s important that research on the health impacts of vaping products stays current, as the large variety of products and flavoring chemicals on the market continue to evolve.
Next Steps
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