[Perception of ENDS among French high school students in Nord and Pas-de-Calais]

INTRODUCTION

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have been gaining popularity for over a decade, particularly among young people. The aim was to understand how these devices were perceived, in general and according to different characteristics: gender, smoking status, experimentation or possession of SEDEN.

METHODS

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted by an online questionnaire to 15 high schools between 14 May and 23 October 2021. Perception was assessed by a constructed score.

RESULTS

In total, 772 responses from 10 high schools were analysed; 44.7% had already experimented with ENDS. The main reason for use was pleasure (33.8%). Only 15% of smokers or former smokers reported using ENDS to stop smoking as their main reason. The majority of ENDS (72.8%) are perceived as harmful. This negative perception is more important among women, non-smokers, non-experimenters and non-owners of ENDS. More than 50% of the respondents consider ENDS as distinct from tobacco.

CONCLUSIONS

ENDS are perceived as potentially harmful and their use is often motivated by pleasure. Their perception as a practice distinct from smoking, combined with unknown long-term consequences, justifies increased vigilance in the face of the emergence of these new uses.

Increased secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6 by alveolar macrophages consecutive to the development of the late asthmatic reaction

The late asthmatic reaction (LAR), consecutive to bronchial allergen challenge, is characterized both by the influx of various cells in proximal and distal airways and by the enhancement of bronchial hyperresponsiveness. However, the exact conditions for the development of the inflammatory reaction during the LAR remain to be specified. Since monokines play a key role in inflammatory processes, particularly in the lung, the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin; 1-beta (IL-1-beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by alveolar macrophages (AM), collected 18 to 20 hours after exposure to allergen, was evaluated in 15 allergic subjects with asthma submitted to a challenge test with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (N = 6) or with wheat flour (N = 9) and in three healthy subjects. After bronchial provocation test, four patients presented no bronchial response (group 1), and six patients, a single early reaction (group 2). In contrast, five patients developed successively an immediate plus a late response (group 3). The monokine production was compared to that from nine allergic subjects with asthma studied at baseline (group 0) and from 11 unchallenged healthy subjects (control subjects). Measurements of cytokines were evaluated for TNF-alpha and IL-1-beta by a specific immunoradiometric assay, whereas IL-6 levels were appreciated by the proliferation of 7TD1 cells. No detectable amounts of TNF-alpha, IL-1-beta, and IL-6 were in bronchial alveolar lavage fluid, even after a tenfold concentration. In contrast, a significant increase of TNF-alpha (10,642 +/- 3127 U/ml) and IL-6 (1250 +/- 427 U/ml) concentrations was noted in AM supernatants from patients exhibiting an LAR (group 3) compared to cells recovered from groups 2, 1, and 0 and to challenged or unchallenged control subjects (805 +/- 244, 995 +/- 521, 1269 +/- 524, 688 +/- 85, and 445 +/- 74 pg of TNF-alpha per milliliter, respectively; 190 +/- 64, 114 +/- 91, 242 +/- 95, 80 +/- 9, and 54 +/- 19 U/ml of IL-6 per milliliter, respectively). No modification of IL-1-beta contents could be detected between the different groups. A significant correlation was detected between concentrations of TNF and IL-6 (r = 0.92; p less than 0.001). These results demonstrate TNF-alpha and IL-6 secretion by AM consecutively to the development of LAR in allergic subjects with asthma, confirming that AMs are activated after allergen challenge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)