E-cigarette flavors can damage the cells that
line the interior of blood vessels and may increase the risk of cardiovascular
disease, a new study says.
The study, published Monday in in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology,
found that several of the e-liquids were toxic to lab-grown endothelial cells,
which play a key role in heart and cardiovascular health.
“When we exposed the cells to six different
flavors of e-liquid with varying levels of nicotine, we saw significant
damage,” said Joseph Wu, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute said
in a statement. “The cells
were less viable in culture, and they began to exhibit multiple symptoms of
dysfunction.”
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Exposure to the flavors — fruit, tobacco,
sweet tobacco with caramel and vanilla, sweet butterscotch, cinnamon, and
menthol increased the levels of molecules that can cause DNA damage and
cell death, according to the study. The cinnamon and menthol flavors were
particularly harmful because they disrupted cells’ ability to form new blood
vessels and significantly decreased cell viability even in the absence of
nicotine.
Cells exposed to the cinnamon, caramel and
vanilla flavors experienced increased signs of inflammation and decreased
ability to migrate to heal wounds.
The Food and Drug
Administration said 3.6 million middle and high school students
considered themselves current e-cigarette users in 2018, more than double the
previous year. Researchers suggested that younger e-cigarette smokers may
view them as a ‘safe’ alternative to traditional cigarettes.
Although some studies suggest that
e-cigarettes deliver lower levels of carcinogens than regular cigarettes,
researchers said the effects of vaping on cardiovascular health has been
unclear.
The study also found e-cigarette users and
traditional cigarette smokers had similar levels of nicotine in their blood
after 10 minutes of smoking.
“This study clearly shows that e-cigarettes
are not a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes,” said Wu. “It’s much
easier to expose yourself to a much higher level of nicotine over a shorter
time period. And now we know that e-cigarettes are likely to have other
significantly toxic effects on vascular function as well.”
Contributing: Brett Molina, USA TODAY
Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg
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