The use of
E-cigarettes, or vaping, has been notoriously gaining popularity in recent
years. A majority of individuals who vape are under the age of 35, although it
is popular amongst adolescents and young adults. There is even a popular story
of the 16-year-old teenager who received a double lung transplant due to
extensive vaping injury. On November 8, 2019, the CDC published official
findings on the harmful use of e-cigarettes, particularly the identification of
vitamin E acetate (an additive in some THC-containing products) as a potential
chemical of concern in patients with vaping-related lung injury. The CDC has
published a number of cases related to E-cigarette associated lung injury.
However, little is known about the actual quantitative effects of vaping on the
body, particularly, cardiovascular health.
When smoking is
considered in the medical field, it is associated with cancers and
cardiovascular diseases. In an attempt to investigate specifically the
cardiovascular effects of vaping, a recent study compared the acute effects of
e-cigarettes (non-THC containing products) versus burned tobacco cigarettes on
platelet function. This is a way to measure the atherosclerotic process in
cardiovascular disease. 40 healthy subjects, composed of 20 smokers and 20
nonsmokers, inhaled a burnt cigarette at one time and e-cigarette at another.
Before and after each inhalation, blood samples were drawn to determine the
baseline and post-exposure levels of sCD40L and sP-selectin. sCD40L and
sP-selectin are involved in platelet activation. The study confirmed that after
E-cigarette use, there was an acute increase in both sCD40L and sP-selectin in
smoking and nonsmoking subjects. These levels, as expected, did have a higher
increase after smoking tobacco cigarettes.
The study
concludes that there is an acute effect on platelet activation simply by
vaping. It does not exactly tell us what component of the product is causing
it, but there is certainly an association. The study predicts that it will have
long-term effects on cardiovascular health, although these results are acute.
More studies will be done to learn more about the long-term effects of vaping
and what chemicals are causing damage. As of November 2019, the CDC does not
recommend the use of e-cigarettes, especially vaping products that contain THC.
This recommendation is mostly in large due to evidence of lung injury, and not
necessarily because of cardiovascular risks.
More on the
mentioned study can be found here (titled “impact of tobacco versus electronic
cigarette smoking on platelet function”) : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30170691
Chelsea Salas DUCOM 2020
1.
Double lung transplant story:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/health/vaping-double-lung-transplant.html
2.
CDC
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
3.
Impact of Tobacco Versus Electronic Cigarette Smoking on Platelet Function
The
American Journal of Cardiology
Volume
122, Issue 9, 1 November 2018, Pg 1477-1481
https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/science/article/pii/S0002914918315017?via%3Dihub
