It was a vape that you switched from cigarettes thinking that was a safer option. However, a new study is causing serious concerns—good old fashion nausea and tooth decay aside, even the use of nicotine free vaping may not be as harmless as many think. Although vaporing removes some of the harmful chemicals in traditional cigarettes, like tar and many carcinogens, researchers now say that the base ingredients and flavorings in vapor juices may still be an issue with regards to health. This is especially alarming, as these risks apply directly to the cardiovascular system of your body and your heart.
If you are a person who has never smoked and have shifted to vaping — believing it to be a trendy or low risk habit — it could be an unnecessary gamble of your health. Even so, even the so-called nicotine-free e-cigarettes can damage blood vessels and, potentially, cause heart disease or circulation problems, according to a study to be published Monday in 2024. In their study, the researchersследовало, как действуют nicotine-free vapes, nicotine-containing vapes, and traditional cigarettes. All three affected vascular function, but the nicotine-containing vapes were the most harmful, found the results. Though, even so, the amount of decline in blood vessel health from nicotine free vaping remained significant.
According to one of the study’s authors, Dr Marianna Nabbout, their research shows how quickly vaping can affect your body’s vascular system. But if vaping affects blood vessel function for a single session, then the chronic use of the habit could result in chronic vascular diseases, she warned. Meanwhile, the idea that switching to vaping, including vaping without nicotine, is safe is confuted by this finding.
Vapes are battery powered devices that heat a liquid, as commonly referred to as vape juice or e juice, to produce an aerosol which the person then inhales. Usually it includes propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin — which when ingested in food or drink are considered generally regarded as safe. Although inhaling these compound, especially heated, they break down into harmful by products. These may even cause coughing, difficulty breathing, and inflammation of the lungs and airways.
The problem with that might be the flavorings. Young people particularly are drawn to new users who offer fruit, dessert or minty flavors. However, many of those flavorings contain chemicals such as diacetyl, which can cause popcorn lung, or benzaldehyde, which is known to be irritating to the respiratory system. And it may also be inhaling the vapor of heavy metals that are released by heating coils such as nickel, tin, and lead.
But Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Dr. Michael Blaha warns that you probably won’t get anything good from vaping because you’re more than likely exposing yourself to a wide variety of unknown and possibly unsafe chemicals. In particular, he’s worried about rising vaping rates of people who have never smoked, including teens. In 2021, more than 2 million U.S. middle and high school students had used e-cigarettes, and 80 percent of them liked the flavor. Starting with flavored vapes puts Blaha in fear that those who experiment and become addicted to nicotine will eventually move on to traditional tobacco products.
The thing that is most astounding is that people tend to presume vaping is harmless due to its smoke free nature. Still, the vapor can have a lot of hidden dangers, not just for your lungs but the entire cardiovascular system as well. The message here is a wake up call that ‘nicotine free’ it doesn’t mean ‘risk free.’
This new research should give pause to anyone who or knows someone who thinks vaping is safe. And the early science is shady: The science is catching up to the trend. Puff twice before you puff, especially if you never smoked at all. They may thank your heart and blood vessels.
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