The NHS recommends vaping for adults quitting smoking. And although research is in its infancy, we know vapes are not risk-free. Maria Lally reports on the latest findings
While it’s probably true that vaping is less dangerous than smoking cigarettes, questions still remain about how healthy a habit it really is.
It’s a question that was raised again this week, after the tragic death of the actor Paul Danan, the Hollyoaks star, who has died aged just 46. The cause of death has not been confirmed. However, last summer he spoke of being rushed to hospital with respiratory failure, which he said was caused by excessive vaping (he once admitted he would go to sleep with a vape in his hand for comfort).
“I was on a machine in ICU [intensive care unit] and ended up with pneumonia,” he told an interviewer. “My family were warned I might not make it through the night.” He said doctors told him if he ever smoked in any form again, he risked being linked to an oxygen tank.
A single-use vape or e-cigarette is often filled with liquid containing nicotine, and discarded once empty (usually they contain up to 1,000 puffs). They’re often brightly coloured and come in sweet flavours such as strawberry, watermelon, and grape. While a refillable vape can be recharged and filled with different flavours and nicotine strengths.
Last September, a study from Manchester Metropolitan University found that vaping may damage young people’s lungs, which prompted fresh questions over safety. The researchers studied people in their twenties and found those who vaped had a similar exercise capacity to smokers, with both becoming more quickly out of breath and suffering more muscle fatigue than the non-smokers in the study.
The study author, Dr Azmy Faisal, said: “The study adds to growing evidence that long-term use of vaping is harmful and challenges the idea that vaping could be a healthier alternative to smoking”, before adding that “both vapers and smokers showed signs that their blood vessels were not working as well as the non-smoking and non-vaping group”.
Meanwhile, last April, US researchers found that vapers may have a 19 per cent increased risk of developing heart failure after adjusting for all other factors. Dr Yakubu Bene-Alhasan, the study author, said: “More and more studies are linking e-cigarettes to harmful effects and finding that it might not be as safe as previously thought. I think this research is long overdue, especially considering how much e-cigarettes have gained traction. We don’t want to wait too long to find out eventually that it might be harmful, and by that time a lot of harm might already have been done.”
It’s important to note that the NHS currently recommends vaping for adults who need help to quit smoking. But they also state that vaping is not risk-free, nor recommended for non-smokers, or under 18s. Yet a report published last October found one quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds have tried vaping and 9 per cent vape frequently. While data published last year in The Lancet Public Health Journal revealed a record one million adults in England now vape despite never having been regular smokers in the first place.
And therein lies the rub: while most experts agree that vaping is a safer alternative to nicotine for smokers, for those who don’t smoke, especially teenagers and young people, it may not be that safe after all, especially if the growing body of research is anything to go by.
Dr Andy Whittamore is the clinical lead at the charity Asthma + Lung UK. He told The i Paper: “Vapes usually contain nicotine, just like cigarettes, which is incredibly addictive so it’s not a good idea to start vaping other than as an aid to quit smoking. Two-thirds of people who smoke a single cigarette will go on to become regular smokers, so it’s no surprise that people are also becoming hooked on vaping.
“Smoking is the biggest cause of lung disease death in the UK, but while vaping is less harmful, it is not risk-free. The long-term effects that vapes have on the lungs is not known and more research is needed in this area. Vaping can cause inflammation in the airways, and people with lung conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have told us that vapes can trigger their lung condition.”
He says that nicotine exposure can also damage the developing brain, which is why the rise in youth vaping is particularly worrying: “Children mostly use disposable vapes, due to their low prices, so the Government’s decision to ban the sale of single-use vapes is very welcome. This, alongside the powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to restrict vape flavours, will make a real difference to the numbers of young people taking up vaping.
“Ultimately, we want to see a smoke and vape free society and people who vape should still contact their local smoking cessation service for advice on what they can do to quit completely.”
‘I gave up vaping after I started getting nosebleeds’
Tom* is 47 years old and lives in London
“My wife and I smoked in our twenties, mainly socially, but we gave up altogether when our children were born, who are now 12 and 14. Ironically, while warning my eldest son off vaping – something many of his friends seemed to be doing – I started noticing some of my own friendship group quietly taking it up. None of us smoke because we’re far too worried about the risk of cancer, but vaping seems like a more acceptable option. You often see fathers sneaking a puff on a vape at the side of their child’s football game on a Saturday, but you’d never see a parent smoking.
“Pretty soon my wife and I started vaping if we were out having drinks with friends, and at one particularly drunken 50th birthday party I vaped quite heavily. I woke up the next morning with a nosebleed, which I’ve since learnt can be a side effect. I had also been noticing I was quickly getting out of breath when I ran, which gave me a wake-up call and I decided to stop. Some of my friends still vape – while telling their teenage children not to – but it just doesn’t seem worth the risk anymore.”
*Name changed
This article was originally published by a inews.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .