Here’s yet another reason to stop smoking e-cigarettes!
Apart from increasing the risk of lung injury, smoking e-cigarettes poses great threat to your heart by elevating bad (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood glucose levels, according to two studies that will be presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions conference in Philadelphia.
The studies also found that smoking e-cigs is associated with coronary cardiovascular dysfunction.
Since March, more than 2,000 Americans have become sick due to vaping, while many are teenagers and young adults. The ongoing vaping epidemic killed 39 people so far. According to CDC, most people with lung injury caused by vaping reported using products containing THC, a psychoactive compound in marijuana.
On Friday, the CDC said it has identified another chemical called vitamin E acetate as a “very strong culprit of concern.”
Deputy Chief Science and Medical Officer of the AHA Dr. Rose Marie Robertson said, “There is no long-term safety data on e-cigarettes. However, there are decades of data for the safety of other nicotine replacement therapies.”
One study examined 476 adults with no history of cardiovascular disease, which included 94 non-smokers, 52 e-cig and tobacco cigarette smokers, 45 e-cig smokers, and 285 tobacco cigarette smokers.
Health officials found that bad cholesterol levels were higher in e-cigarette users than non-smokers.
Study author Dr. Sana Majid from Boston University School of Medicine said, “The best option is to use FDA-approved methods to aid in smoking cessation, along with behavioral counseling.”
Another study to be presented at the same conference found that smoking e-cigarettes decreased blood flow to the heart with coronary vascular function.
The findings of these studies could be worrying factors for e-cigarette users, especially those who are young. According to a National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 28 percent of high schoolers and 11 percent of middle schoolers reported using e-cigarettes within the past 30 days in 2018.
The survey also found that more than half of those e-cigarette users said they used Juul products.
Last week, Juul announced that it would stop selling mint-flavored e-cigarettes. Before that, it said it would stop selling fruity flavors.
The CDC has recommended people to avoid purchasing any type of flavored e-cigarette or vaping products containing THC. “Since the specific compound or ingredient causing lung injury are not yet known, the only way to assure that you are not at risk while the investigation continues is to consider refraining from the use of all e-cigarette or vaping products,” the CDC said.
