The study, published Tuesday in the journal Radiology, concluded that vaping has a temporary impact on the function of blood vessels in healthy people. With the help of MRI, it was found, for example, changes in blood flow in the femoral artery of the leg after a single use. The researchers could not determine which chemical could be responsible for the observed changes.
"After a few minutes, everything is back to normal, you could say, but nothing happens," said study author Felix W. Wehrli, professor of radiology and biophysics at the Faculty of Medicine. Perelman medicine from the University of Pennsylvania.
"But if someone vapes regularly," continued Wehrli, it is possible that over time, things will not return to normal. The changes measured by his team in 31 people, who had never smoked or smoked, reflect "the same processes (…) known to initiate stages in the development of cardiovascular disease," including atherosclerosis. But it takes years to develop, he added.
The study is the latest addition to a proliferation of research aimed at measuring the impact of electronic cigarettes on the heart, blood vessels, lungs and brain. But experts say that the research is in its infancy, often in the laboratory or in animals.
A May study, for example, found that electronic cigarette flavors had toxic effects – including lower cell survival and signs of increased inflammation – on a type of cardiovascular cell in the laboratory.
"E-cigarettes are being used more and data showing potential damage … are also increasing," said doctors at the University of Massachusetts Faculty of Medicine in a commentary published on the sidelines of the University of Massachusetts. 39, May study. "In addition to the harmful effects of nicotine, additives are a potential source of vascular health problems and are disproportionately placed in young people."
While experts have long suspected that vaping poses less health risks than smoking, doctors have written that "potential toxicology is poorly known", aromas, particles, heavy metals and others components used in electronic cigarettes.
"No one knows what it does to the human lung to continually inspire propylene glycol and aerosol glycerin. It's an experiment, frankly," said Dr. Robert Jackler, founder from Stanford Research: the impact of tobacco advertising, congressional hearing last month.
"We will discover the results in years," he said.
Jackler said that a number of chemicals used by the aroma industry can be safe when they are absorbed by the intestine, but we do not yet know about it. impact that they can have on the lungs over a long time.
"There is no doubt in my mind that vaping is safer than conventional smoking," said Jackler, "but that does not mean it's safe."
