So, you switched from cigarettes to a vape, thinking it’s way less harmful than smoking. But a surprising new study shows that vaping, even without nicotine, can hurt your blood vessels, raising the chances of heart problems and circulation issues.
Regular cigarettes have thousands of harmful chemicals, tar, and cancer-causing substances. While vaping gets rid of many of these toxins, the idea that vapes without nicotine are totally safe is now being questioned.
If you’ve never smoked before, starting to use a vape – even one without nicotine – brings extra risks to your body, according to a new study.
Researchers looked at how nicotine-free vaping affects you compared to regular vaping and even traditional cigarettes.
But before we dive into the surprising findings, let’s go over some basic facts about vaping.
What is vaping?
E-cigarettes, often called vapes, are devices powered by batteries that heat up a liquid to make an aerosol (or vapor) for users to inhale. Unlike regular cigarettes that burn tobacco and let out thousands of dangerous chemicals, vapes don’t create smoke or tar – which is why a lot of people think they are a safer choice.
The juice
E-liquid, or vape juice, is made from a blend of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, which together produce the thick vapor that users breathe out. Even though these ingredients are safe to consume, breathing them in is a whole different matter.
When heated, these materials can break down into harmful substances that might irritate the lungs and airways, possibly causing:
- Chronic coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Lung inflammation
Yummy flavors
The flavors that make vaping so appealing – whether it’s fruity, minty, or dessert-like – often contain toxic chemicals. Some of these chemicals include:
- Diacetyl: Linked to a serious lung disease known as popcorn lung
- Benzaldehyde: A common flavoring that can irritate the respiratory system
- Heavy metals: Vape coils can release trace amounts of lead, nickel, and tin into the vapor
Even without nicotine, inhaling these substances over time can cause lung damage and inflammation.
“You’re exposing yourself to all kinds of chemicals that we don’t yet understand and that are probably not safe,” Dr. Michael Blaha told John Hopkins Medicine.
Popular habit
The use of vaping is becoming more popular, with over 2 million middle and high school students in the U.S. reported to have used e-cigarettes in 2021. More than 80% of these young users chose flavored e-cigarettes, according to John Hopkins.
“What worries me the most about the increase in vaping is that kids who would never have smoked before are starting to vape,” Blaha mentioned. “Switching from cigarettes to vaping is one thing, but beginning nicotine use with vaping is a whole different issue. Getting addicted to nicotine can often lead to using regular tobacco products later on.”
Shocking results
Researchers from the 2024 study were curious to know if the base liquids and flavoring chemicals used in vaping could still have negative health effects.
To do this, researchers compared:
- Nicotine-free vapes
- Nicotine-containing vapes
- Traditional cigarettes
Surprisingly, all three showed negative effects on how blood vessels work, which means that nicotine isn’t the only bad thing about vaping.
The study says that “the drop in blood vessel function was biggest after using e-cigarettes with nicotine, and then e-cigarettes without nicotine.”
Researcher Dr. Marianna Nabbout stated, “This study shows how smoking and vaping can quickly affect different blood vessels in the human body.”
More importantly, “If using an e-cigarette can have an immediate effect on blood vessels, it’s possible that using it for a long time can lead to blood vessel disease.”
If you’ve been vaping thinking it’s a safe choice compared to smoking, this new research should make you think twice!
What do you think about vaping? Please share your thoughts and spread this story so others can learn about the health risks of vaping!
