Vaping has “immediate” negative impacts on the body’s circulation, warn the authors of a new study —even when there is no nicotine in the cigarette.
As a result, many people believe they are less harmful than cigarette smoking.
Over three separate sessions, the participants underwent two MRI exams, one before and one after smoking/vaping episodes: tobacco cigarette, e-cigarette aerosol with nicotine and e-cigarette aerosol without nicotine.
The decrease in vascular function was most pronounced after inhalation of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, followed by e-cigarettes without nicotine.
“This study serves to highlight the acute effects smoking and vaping can have on a multitude of vascular beds in the human body,” Dr. Nabbout said.
Even when there is no nicotine in the cigarette, vaping has “immediate” detrimental effects on the body’s circulation, according to a recent study’s authors.
In spite of the widespread notion that vaping is less harmful than smoking, the researchers discovered that vaping had a “significant” impact on blood vessels and might also reduce the amount of oxygen that the vaper’s lungs can absorb.
The vessels that transport blood and lymph fluid throughout the body are the components of the vascular system. Compared to tobacco smoke, e-cigarettes, commonly referred to as vapes, contain a lot fewer chemicals and toxins.
Because of this, a lot of people think they are safer than smoking cigarettes. Additionally, vapes are available in a large variety of flavors, which appeals to young people.
However, the new study is the most recent to imply that they have a detrimental effect on health and will be presented at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago next week.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock’s Dr. Marianne Nabbout, the study’s lead author, stated that e-cigarettes have long been promoted as a safer substitute for traditional tobacco use.
Since there is no combustion, some people think that e-cigarettes don’t contain any of the dangerous substances, like free radicals, that are present in traditional tobacco cigarettes. “.”.
According to Nabbout, vaping can still be harmful to vascular function and general health even though it exposes users to fewer harmful chemicals than smoking cigarettes.
In the University of Pennsylvania study, Nabbout and her colleagues aimed to determine the immediate effects of vaping e-cigarettes with and without nicotine, as well as the acute effects of cigarette smoking on vascular function.
To date, 31 healthy vapers and smokers between the ages of 21 and 49 have been included.
The participants were given two MRI tests over the course of three different sessions: one before and one after episodes of smoking or vaping tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarette aerosol with nicotine, and e-cigarette aerosol without nicotine.
The upper thigh was cuffed to prevent blood flow.
After deflating, the venous oxygen saturation (a measurement of the quantity of oxygen in the blood that returns to the heart after supplying oxygen to the body’s tissues) and femoral artery flow velocity (a measurement of the speed of blood flow in the femoral artery) were evaluated.
A unique kind of MRI known as phase-contrast MRI was also used to measure blood flow in the brain.
The baseline scans of ten non-smokers and non-vapers, ages 21 to 33, were then compared to the data of the smokers and vapers.
The superficial femoral artery, which runs along the thigh and provides oxygenated blood to the entire lower body, had a “significant” drop in resting blood flow velocity after inhaling each type of vaping or smoking, according to the findings.
Following inhalation of e-cigarettes with nicotine, followed by e-cigarettes without nicotine, the reduction in vascular function was most noticeable.
Regardless of whether nicotine was present in the e-cigarettes, vapers also had decreased venous oxygen saturation.
The research team proposes that vaping causes an “immediate” drop in the lungs’ ability to absorb oxygen.
Dr. Dot Nabbout stated, “This study serves to highlight the acute effects smoking and vaping can have on a multitude of vascular beds in the human body.”.
“If the effects of acute e-cigarette use can be seen at the vessel level right away, it is possible that long-term use will result in vascular disease.”. “”.
“Even if the e-cigarette did not contain nicotine, there might be other potentially harmful ingredients,” she continued in an interview with CNN. It is for this reason that I believe these noteworthy effects were observed even in cases where the subjects did not select the nicotine-based electronic cigarette. “”.
Dr. The public’s takeaway, according to Nabbout, is that vaping might not be risk-free.
In the end, she stated, “we are depending on science to help guide the regulation of such products in favor of public health.”. It is always advised to abstain from smoking and vaping. “”.
