Evidence Mounts E-Cigarettes Not Healthy Alternative

LINCOLN- In the wake of recent reports of fatal lung illness connected with the use of e-cigarettes, including a Douglas County resident in September, new research seems to confirm concerns about the health impacts of vaping. 

A study by Boston University researchers found that e-cigarettes altered cholesterol levels, and Dr. Florian Rader with the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles says his group’s research suggests that vaping may be more harmful to heart health than traditional cigarettes…

 

Rader compared the blood flow of ten non-smokers, ten tobacco cigarette smokers and ten e-cigarette users. Industry groups have previously argued that vaping is a healthy alternative to traditional cigarettes, especially for people trying to kick their smoking habit.

Commercials for e-cigarettes do warn about the health risks of nicotine, but Rader says marketing efforts still portray vaping as a healthy alternative. He believes in addition to nicotine, a number of manufactured products used to form vapors are likely causing the most harm…

 

A recent study by the Food and Drug Administration found that a quarter of all high school students used e-cigarettes in 2019, up five percentage points from last year. Rader notes his group’s initial research and limited trial size could benefit from further studies, and testing health impacts over time, to determine the true impacts of vaping on public health.