E-Cigarettes Offers No Safer Path, Study Shows
Electronic cigarettes are not a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, according to a study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
The study “Conventional Tobacco and Electronic Cigarettes Differentially Affect Cardiovascular Health in Male and Female Mice” was conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Theodore Friedman at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and the laboratory of Ken Roos, PHD at UCLA. Researchers evaluated aerosol exposures and the potential additive effects of a Western diet on cardiovascular health in multiple cohorts of hyperlipidemic (Apoe-/-) male and female mice.
For 12 weeks, the mice were fed either a normal diet or Western diet and exposed daily to air (control), electronic cigarette aerosol, or tobacco cigarette aerosol during their dark cycle.
The researchers found that plasma nicotine levels in the electronic cigarette- and tobacco cigarette-exposed mice were similar to those seen in human users. Both exposures produced adverse effects on the caloric consumption, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular health in diet- and sex-dependent manners.
“Our findings suggest that both electronic cigarettes and conventional cigarettes have adverse effects on heart function, heart chamber size, and heart plaques,” said Dr. Friedman. “These results suggest that electronic cigarettes are not a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes.”
“Electronic cigarettes are rapidly gaining in popularity, especially among young people who think they are perfectly safe compared to conventional cigarettes,” added Dr. Friedman. “Youth who vape may be exposed to high doses of nicotine for many years, which could be harmful to their hearts.”