Africa Global News Publication
E-cigarettes are known by many names, including vape pens (as shown in the image), mods, ENDS, e-cigs and e-hookah. Electronic cigarettes may be harmless after all, according to the findings of a recently published study.
According to a paper presented at the recent meeting of the American College of Cardiology, using e-cigarettes comes with an increased risk of heart-related and mental problems.
“Until now, little has been known about cardiovascular events relative to e-cigarette use. This data is a real wake-up call and should prompt more action and awareness about the dangers of e-cigarettes,” said Mohinder Vindhyal, MD, the lead author.
According to the data, when compared to nonusers, e-cigarette users, also known as vapers, were 56% more likely to suffer a heart attack. They also had a 30% higher probability of suffering a stroke. The prospects were similarly terrible in the case of coronary artery disease (10%), which rose to 25% if other factors such as age, and BMI were controlled. Circulatory problems were 44% higher. Vapers were also twice as likely as nonusers to develop mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
To arrive at these deductions, the researchers used data from yearly surveys conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They used data from 96,467 respondents from 2014, 2016 and 2017.
E-cigarettes are fairly new, having been introduced slightly over a decade ago. They have been touted as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes. This is because they lack most of the harmful compounds in cigarettes including tar and known carcinogens. But they are not completely safe.
However, e-cigarettes present a new public health challenge; they come in thousands of flavors, some of them seemingly designed to attract younger users, especially teenagers. They can also be designed to look like everyday devices, such as flash drives, making it hard to tell them apart from the devices they are imitating.
CDC warns on its website that e-cigarettes may serve as a gateway into cigarette smoking, and that e-cigarettes may contain other harmful products besides the highly addictive nicotine. Nicotine has been known to impede brain development, which continues till the mid-20s.
By Matengo Chwanya
