Why is vaping not a safer alternative to smoking?

Several new studies are linking vaping with blood vessel damage and as a growing threat to one’s cardiovascular health.

Colorful, candy-scented, battery operated devices can be found in pockets of many younger adults who flex it as harmless cigarettes — the world calls them vape.

This is a dangerous trend growing among the youth and those who are planning to quit cigarettes — they want to replace the puff with e-cigarettes because many feel these electronic gadgets aren't as harmful as the cigarette.

To some extent, the assumption is right because unlike traditional cigarettes, vape doesn’t burn the tobacco leaves and one is not exposed to dangerous carbon products.

As per Michigan Medicine journal, tobacco smoke usually contains 7,000 chemicals of which about 60 are suspected to be carcinogenic.

However, the newer studies are finding that vaping may not be purely harmless and can affect one’s cardiovascular health.

While those who smoke cigarettes may get convinced that vaping is a less harmful substitute, the research fears that some may start to do both, causing double damage to the body.

Cigarettes versus vaping

Electronic cigarettes or vapes are different from conventional cigarettes — they heat a liquid which is a blend of nicotine (an extract from tobacco leaves) and some colorful flavours.

This mixture is then heated into an aerosol which is consumed by the people.

Unlike a vape, in a cigarette, tobacco leaves are burnt to produce tar, carbon monoxide and many other chemicals, all of which gets inhaled down the respiratory tract.

The two also smell differently with cigarettes having a prominent smoky smell and vapes usually giving off a fruity scent.

Smoking remains the leading cause of death worldwide, becoming a primary risk factor for lung cancer, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

While the amount of toxins present in an e-cigarette are considerably very low in comparison to cigarettes, they both contain nicotine which is highly addictive and causes serious harm to pregnant women, fetuses and children.

As per the American Heart Association, the vapour of e-cigarettes also contains a harmful substance diacetyl and other volatile compounds that are associated with lung cancer.

As per research, the advertisement of vaping as a safe alternative to smoking is causing significant damage to how the product is being perceived in the communities.

Associated with arterial damage

Several new studies are linking vaping with blood vessel damage and a growing threat to one’s cardiovascular health.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key chemical playing an active role in vasodilation (a process through which blood vessels dilate or get relaxed.

A study published in the Free Radical Biology and Medicine has found that e-cigarettes were reducing levels of NO in the vascular walls, limiting the ability of the blood vessels to fully relax and thereby elevating blood pressure due to inflexible arterial walls. It was also found to damage endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels.

This could increase one’s likelihood of heart attack, stroke and dementia.

As per The Conversation, when a person vapes, they tend to inhale an aerosol of microscopic particles that reach the bloodstream. Seen as an external threat, they trigger an immune response, causing inflammation, releasing more free radicals and causing oxidative stress which again has ill-effects on one’s cardiovascular health.

The youth which starts to vape in early years are more likely to switch to smoking in the future because of nicotine dependency, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).