THE ESSENTIAL
- Electronic cigarettes can release aldehydes and nicotine at levels comparable to regular cigarettes.
- Vaping may help some smokers quit smoking, although studies have disputed its effectiveness in fighting smoking.
- Because the appeal of electronic cigarettes can encourage young people to vape and become addicted to them, or even to start smoking regular cigarettes.
Although smoking is a major cause of disease (one in three cancers is caused by smoking according to Public health France), the electronic cigarette is not the ideal alternative to successfully quit smoking. In effect, many studies have pinpointed in recent years the negative effects and the potential toxicity vaping on health. Moreover, since the beginning of 2022, the High Council for Public Health recommends that health professionals not to offer vaping as a smoking cessation aid.
Two new studies have once again pointed out the risks of vaping, especially for the heart.
E-cigarette liquids cause cardiac arrhythmias
The first studyconducted by researchers at the American University of Louisville in Kentucky, revealed that exposure to aerosols emanating from electronic cigarettes can cause cardiac arrhythmias. The results of this study, published on October 25 in Nature Communications, suggest that exposure to specific chemicals in e-cigarette liquids (particularly when they involve certain flavorings or solvent carriers) promotes cardiac arrhythmias and electrical dysfunctions. These effects could increase the risk of atrial or ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac arrest, the researchers said.
In their mouse experiment, they found that for all e-cigarette aerosols, the animals’ heart rates slowed during puff exposures and then accelerated when the heart rate variations decreased, showing signs of stress like in fight or flight. Additionally, e-cigarette puffs from a menthol-flavored liquid caused arrhythmias and other irregularities in the heart.
E-cigarette: long-term use damages blood vessels
The second study argues that long-term use of e-cigarettes can significantly impair the function of the body’s blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease. Additionally, using both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes may carry an even greater risk than using either product alone. The results were published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
“In our human study, we found that chronic e-cigarette users had impaired blood vessel function, which may put them at increased risk for heart disease”said in a communiqué Matthew L. Springer, professor of medicine and cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study. “This indicates that chronic e-cigarette users may be at similar risk of vascular disease as chronic smokers.”he added.
In this study, Professor Springer and his colleagues took blood samples from a group of 120 volunteers that included long-term e-cigarette users (more than five times a week for more than three months), regular smokers of regular cigarettes (more than five cigarettes a day) and people who did not smoke either. In particular, they observed an alteration in the function of blood vessels in electronic cigarette users.
Heart health: combining vaping and smoking would be even worse
Additionally, Springer and his team found that e-cigarettes had different harmful cardiovascular effects than tobacco smoke. “These results suggest that using the two products together, as many people do, may increase their health risks compared to using them individually.Professor Springer explained, we didn’t expect to see that.”
“The results of this study are important because they provide new evidence” potentially harmful effects of vaping on the heart, said one of the authors of the first study, Dr Bhatnagar, in a communiqué. “This is very concerning given the rapid growth in e-cigarette use, especially among young people.” The authors of these studies emphasize the need for further research on this topic.