[ad_1]
Smoking kills. No other habit has been so closely linked to death.
In addition to inhaling tobacco and tar burned, smokers breathe toxic metals like cadmium and beryllium, as well as metallic elements like nickel and chromium, which naturally accumulate in the leaves of the body. tobacco.
It is therefore not surprising that most of the available evidence suggests that vaporization, which consists of blowing vaporized liquid nicotine instead of inhaling burnt tobacco, is at least a little healthier. Some limited studies have suggested that using a vaporizer pen instead of a conventional cigarette could also help people quit, but there is no hard evidence.
However, very few studies examine the effects of vaping on the body and brain. Even fewer of them are specifically looking at Juul, a popular device that contains as much nicotine in each of its capsules as a standard pack of cigarettes.
However, some studies published in recent months have begun to highlight some of the potential health effects of vaping. They are troubling. More recently, researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine conducted a survey of young vapers and found that those who reported using Juuls sprayed more frequently than those who used other brands. Participants seemed not to be sufficiently aware of device dependence.
Most electronic cigarettes contain toxic metals, and their use can increase the risk of heart attack
The researchers examined compounds from several popular brands of e-cigs (not Juul) this spring and found within the device some of the same toxic metals (such as lead) that they would normally find in classic cigarettes. In another study published around the same time, the researchers concluded that at least some of these toxins appeared to cross the body of vapors, as evidenced by a urine test performed on nearly 100 study participants. .
In another study published this summer, scientists concluded that there was substantial evidence linking the daily use of e-cigs to an increased risk of heart attack. And this week, a small rat study suggested that vaping could have a negative effect on wound healing similar to that of regular cigarettes.
In addition to these findings, of course, there is a well-established body of evidence on the harmful effects of nicotine. The highly addictive substance can have dramatic effects on the brain development of young adults.
Brain imaging studies in adolescents who start smoking traditional cigarettes (not e-cigarettes) at a young age suggest that these people have significantly reduced their activity in the prefrontal cortex and perform less well related tasks. in memory and attention, no smoking. These consequences are thought to result from nicotine in cigarettes rather than other ingredients.
Nicholas Chadi, a clinical pediatric researcher at Boston Children's Hospital, spoke about Juul at this year's annual conference of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He added that these brain changes observed were also related to increased sensitivity to other drugs and increased impulsivity. He described some anecdotal effects of nicotine vaporization that he had seen in teenagers in and around his hospital.
"After only a few months of nicotine use," said Chadi, teens "describe their desires, sometimes even intense." "Sometimes they also lose the hope of being able to stop smoking, and interestingly, they have less severe withdrawal symptoms than adults, but they start showing them sooner after only a few hundred cigarettes – or whatever the equivalent amount vapors – some begin to show irritability or tremors when they stop
A new survey suggests that teenagers who use Juul e-cigs are not aware of these risks
The Juul, manufactured by Juul Labs, a Silicon Valley start-up company, has captured more than 70% of the e-cigarette market and was recently valued at $ 15 billion. But the company is facing a growing reaction from the US Food and Drug Administration and scientists who claim that the company was intentionally sold to teenagers.
Yet, very little research on e-cigs has focused specifically on Juul.
For example, in a study published this week, researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine interviewed young people who had been vaping and asked them if they were using Juul or any other electronic cigarette. .
Their findings can be found in a widely accessible version of the Journal of the American Medical Association called JAMA Open. On the basis of a sample of 445 high school students whose average age was 19, researchers found that adolescents who used Juul tended to say that they were evaporating. more often than those who used other devices. Juul users also seemed less aware of how devices could be addictive than those of teens who emptied other electronic cigarettes.
"I was surprised and worried that so many young people were using Juul more often than other products," said Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, pediatric professor and lead author of the study, in a statement.
"We need to help them understand the risks of addiction," she added. "It's not a combustible cigarette, but it still contains a huge amount of nicotine – at least as much as a pack of cigarettes."
Source link
