Can Vaping Harm the Human Heart and Brain?

Debate over the harms of e-cigarettes has long been a hot topic. We previously published a report titled Are e-cigarettes harmful? What are the dangers of e-cigarettes?, but today we want to discuss the possible downsides of e-cigarettes.

　　Some time ago, a research team from the NYU School of Medicine and scientists from Danderyd Hospital in Sweden found that inhaling e-cigarette vapor can reduce blood vessel elasticity, and reduced vascular elasticity may increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. In their experiments, they also detected other harmful chemicals, including nitrosamines. Some studies have also shown that the nicotine in e-cigarettes can stimulate constriction of peripheral blood vessels and harden blood vessels, and may even undergo nitrosation in the body, further worsening its effects. Other research suggests that e-cigarettes may cause airway constriction and lead to breathing difficulties.

　　We will not go into too much detail about the reports above. Although e-cigarettes do not contain carbon monoxide or tar, the nicotine they contain may indeed harden blood vessels. However, whether this directly causes heart disease and stroke still lacks scientifically rigorous, comprehensive, and convincing experimental evidence to date. We are also quite helpless in the face of online rumors claiming that e-cigarettes can cleanse the lungs or treat high blood pressure, because e-cigarettes are not medicine and cannot cleanse the lungs or cure disease! 　　What’s more, the researchers involved in that study also confirmed that the level of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in the bodily fluids of Vapor users was indeed 97% lower than in the bodily fluids of conventional smokers. Tobacco-specific nitrosamines are a major factor that increases smokers’ craving, while nicotine accounts for only a small part of it, so e-cigarettes are 90% less harmful to the body than traditional cigarettes!

　　Many things are relative. Nothing in the world is absolutely safe, and nothing is absolutely good or bad. What we have always emphasized is that e-cigarettes are much healthier than smoking traditional tobacco! E-cigarettes have never claimed to be harmless, nor can they guarantee a long life, but they can reduce the harm to smokers’ bodies to the lowest possible level within a relative range.

　　Of course, with the rapid development of modern technology, the day when e-cigarettes become completely harmless may not be far away. We also look forward to that day, and to e-cigarettes becoming even healthier and more refined!