U.S. Customs and Border Protection: vaping can also negatively affect athletic performance

It is no secret that smoking is a common cause of various diseases and premature death.

It is a chronic, relapsing addiction, and in 80% of cases it begins before the age of 18. Tobacco itself is a plant whose leaves are smoked, chewed, or sniffed to produce various effects.

However, cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, and e-cigarettes all contain the chemical nicotine. The latter have become very popular because they have been marketed to us under the false idea that they help people quit smoking or are less harmful to health. Some have even promoted e-cigarettes as cigarettes that can improve athletic performance.

E-cigarettes go by many different names, such as electronic hookahs, vaporizers, or aerosolizing devices, and they come in various shapes and sizes; they may look like cigarettes, cigars, pipes, pens, or even USB sticks.

The term “vaping” refers to what many e-cigarette users believe is vapor being inhaled, although in reality e-cigarettes produce an aerosol made up of tiny particles containing nicotine and other substances, such as propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin, which have been found to increase lung and airway irritation after concentrated exposure.

It is important to mention that several studies have shown that e-cigarette aerosol—“vapor”—contains certain carcinogenic chemicals, as well as flavoring chemicals. Some flavorings contain varying levels of diacetyl, which has been linked to a serious lung disease: bronchiolitis obliterans.

Regarding the belief that nicotine improves athletic performance, researchers warn of the dangers of using this substance because it can cause an imbalance between oxygen demand and oxygen supply, may even trigger a heart attack during recovery, and introducing toxic or irritating elements into the lungs is counterproductive for exercise.

It is important to clarify that, in the case of professional athletes, if they use e-cigarettes whose contents may include prohibited substances, they run the risk of an adverse analytical finding or a positive result in anti-doping tests.

Some effects caused by e-cigarettes include:

Serious lung disease

Coughing

Shortness of breath

Chest pain

Nausea or vomiting

Fatigue

Weight loss

Significantly reduced oxygen levels

Delayed wound healing

It has also been shown that “vaping” in adolescents can delay brain development and affect memory, attention, learning, and self-control, and e-cigarettes are indeed addictive.