Ruminations: An Old War Revisited From Lung Cancer To Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Neurological Diseases

Healthday

"Over time, this imbalance can play a significant role in causing certain illnesses including cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurological diseases, as well as cancer."
"We were surprised by the gravity of the effect that one vaping session can have on healthy young people."
"This brief vaping session [the basis of the research study] was not dissimilar to what they [study subjects] may experience at a party, yet the effects were dramatic."
"While there’s a perception that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes, these findings show clearly and definitively that there is no safe level of vaping. The results are clear, unambiguous and concerning."
Holly Middlekauff, professor of cardiology and physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

Oxidative stress levels as much as quadrupled after nonsmokers used an e-cigarette for just a half-hour, scientists found. Shutterstock/Pavel Kant

New research published in JAMA Pediatrics concludes that a mere 30 minutes of vaping can result in an imbalance between free radicals (molecules which damage cells) and antioxidants (compounds which inhibit free radicals), elevating cellular oxidative stress. The result is the potential for a significant increase in cellular oxidative stress level, leading to the creation of an internal environment which can result in a range of illness, including cancer, over time.

Popularly considered to represent a safer method of consuming tobacco, e-cigarettes or vape pens, it would appear, are anything but. Detrimental developments in the body foreshadowing serious health issues result from the use of these devices meant to deliver nicotine and other chemicals in vapour form rather than smoke.

The test devised by researchers led by Dr.Middlekauff at UCLA saw researchers recruiting 32 men and women between ages 21 and 33, divided into three groups. The groups were represented by 11 non-smokers, nine regular tobacco smokers, and a dozen e-cigarette smokers. Oxidative stress was measured by the research team through the collection of immune cells prior to and following the three groups having engaged in a 30-minute vaping period.

The researchers found that oxidative stress levels in non-smokers were two to four times higher than prior to the test, after the test subjects had vaped for 30 minutes. A similar increase was not seen in the other two groups, the theory being that the other study subjects had started from a higher baseline of oxidative stress stemming from their prior exposure as smokers and e-vapers which led to a less notable increase.

These findings sound the alarm respecting the safety of vaping, given the reality that vaping has become extremely popular among the young globally. In Canada, roughly15 percent of youth between the ages of 15 and 19 claimed to have vaped within a 30-day period, with 87 percent specifying a nicotine product. And while another 36 percent said they had initiated use of the devices on a casual basis, of those who had reported vaping, one-third owned to habitually vaping on a daily basis.