Vaping has now been proven to be more harmful to humans than medics first thought thanks to a new study at Manchester Metropolitan University and it’s bad news for your brain
Vaping has gained immense popularity in recent years, but if you think it is a healthier alternative to smoking, you are seriously mistaken, according to a new study. The research conducted in Manchester reveals that e-cigarettes can cause significant harm to the body — similar to the damage caused by traditional smoking.
As Mirror’s exclusive report revealed last week, vaping putting long-term users at risk of heart disease, organ failure and dementia.
Public Health England is still advising that “vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking”.
The study, led by Dr Maxime Boidin, senior lecturer in cardiac rehabilitation, told The Mirror though: “What we have found is the dangers for someone who keeps vaping are no different from smokers.
“At the beginning (of the study) I also believed that vaping was more beneficial than smoking.”
During the study at the university’s Institute of Sport, participants – aged between 18 to 45, with an average age of 27 and similar levels of fitness and physical activity – are given regular tests to measure the elasticity of their blood vessels and the speed of blood flow to their brains.
Video Unavailable
For 12 hours prior to testing, they consumed only water and desisted from vaping, smoking and exercise.
Further tests proved that the blood flow in smokers and vapers is similarly impaired, making them at risk of developing cognitive dysfunction, including dementia.
Most e-cigarettes, or vapes, contain nicotine, which has known adverse health effect. Due to the flavours that mimic fruit and sweets, there has been a big increase in youth vaping.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine can harm brain development which continues until about age 25. It contains nicotine-containing vapes meaning you can develop nicotine dependence. And using e-cigarettes is associated with worsening symptoms of depression
But Dr Boidin says all vapes should only be available on prescription in Britain, to avoid a “health emergency.” He says: “The only benefit of vaping is to help people quit smoking, but if they keep vaping the result is going to be the same. I think doctors should be able to prescribe vapes for a certain time, so they could be used as a transition tool, but only for a short time.
“We now know the long-term effects of vaping, and if we don’t act now we will see a health emergency in the next ten, 15 years.”
