Histopathological Studies of the Heart in Male Rats (Rattus norvegicus) Exposed to Tobacco and Electronic Cigarettes Smoke: Effect of Animals as Passive Smokers
Histopathological Studies of the Heart in Male Rats (Rattus norvegicus) Exposed to Tobacco and Electronic Cigarettes Smoke: Effect of Animals as Passive Smokers
Tyagita Hartady1,2*, Briliant Maharani2, Shafia Khairani1,2, Mas Rizky A. A. Syamsunarno1, Brian Christian Sarniem2
ABSTRACT
Smoking is an activity that is dangerous to health, both for active and passive smokers, including animals exposed to cigarette smoke. There are two types of cigarettes, tobacco cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, which are known to cause disorders of the cardiovascular system, such as heart failure, increased heart rate, and cause histopathological findings such as congestion, hemorrhage, and necrosis. Although there are claims that electronic cigarettes have milder pathological impacts compared to tobacco cigarettes, there is no strong scientific evidence or comprehensive publications regarding the comparison of the impacts of the two, as well as the transition from tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes. Therefore, this study aims to observe the histopathological changes that arise due to exposure to the two types of cigarettes, which are designed to represent the conditions of passive smokers/animals exposed to cigarette smoke. This study used a semi-quantitative method with a total histopathological sample of the heart organ of rats (n = 32) divided into Control (CN), Tobacco Cigarette Smoke (CCS), Electronic Cigarette Smoke (ECS), and Transitional Cigarette Smoke (TCS) groups. Parameters alterations included congestion, hemorrhage, degeneration, necrosis, and fibrosis. The results showed histopathological differences in all lesions, with the most severe damage in the TCS with a score of 5/25 of the total lesions, which was not significantly different from the CCS group. In contrast, the lowest damage was found in the ECS group. Exposure to smoke from both types of cigarettes has an impact on animal health, so special attention is needed for animal owners to limit animal exposure to cigarette smoke.
Keywords | Conventional cigarettes, Electronic cigarettes, Histopathology, Passive smoker, Rats
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June 2025
Adv. Anim. Vet. Sci., Vol. 13, Iss. 6,
