WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - According to a new research, which will be presented at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago next week, vaping with or without nicotine negatively impacts the user's blood vessels.
Despite the belief vaping is safer than traditional smoking, the researchers found that it also decreases the level of oxygen the vaper's lungs can take in.
'E-cigarettes have long been marketed as a safer alternative to regular tobacco smoking,' said study lead author Dr. Marianne Nabbout from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock.
'Some believe that e-cigarettes don't contain any of the harmful products, such as free radicals, found in regular tobacco cigarettes, because no combustion is involved.'
The researchers enrolled 31 smokers and vapers ranging in age from 21 to 49 for the study, and compared their results with those of 10 people who did not smoke or vape.
The participants underwent MRI scans before and after vaping or smoking, or at each visit for the nonsmokers. Their blood flow speed in the femoral artery and the amount of oxygen in the blood returning to the heart were also evaluated.
'This study serves to highlight the acute effects smoking and vaping can have on a multitude of vascular beds in the human body,' Dr. Nabbout explained.
'If the acute consumption of an e-cigarette can have an effect that is immediately manifested at the level of the vessels, it is conceivable that the chronic use can cause vascular disease.'
The researchers advised people to refrain from vaping as it might be as harmful to their health as traditional smoking.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
