Is vaping really any better for you?

Breanna Cataldo, Features Editor

E-cigarettes have become commonly known and used in recent times. Most are advertised to be less harmful compared to your average tobacco-filled cigarettes, but is this really true?

The advertisement of e-cigarettes and their fruity flavors has lead to an increase in use among not only those who smoked cigarettes and are trying to stop, but also middle and high schoolers who hadn’t previously smoked, according to a statement made by the US Food and Drug Administration. Not to mention the increase seen in college students as well. How many JUULs do you see when walking around campus? With the increased use of vapes in mind, there came an increase in yearning for more studies on them.

One study, found in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology  showed that the use of the flavored “e-liquids” found in vapes can impact cardiovascular cells in multiple ways. These include a decrease in cell viability, low-density lipoprotein uptake, impaired tube formation and more. The “e-liquid” that showed these results most potently was a cinnamon flavor, but all six flavors tested showed some moderate cytotoxic effects.

The changes that were made to the cardiovascular cells are all known to cause heart disease, according to the authors of the journal piece.

As for the ultimate results of the study, there were no major differences in the uptake in nicotine in an e-cigarette compared to a conventional cigarette, and cardiovascular cells were still impacted from e-cigarette use.

For more information on the study, you can click here.

__

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email protected].