It is a well-known fact that smoking cigarettes is harmful to your veins. It causes blood vessels to become smaller, gets in the way of life-giving oxygen to the blood, and causes an increase in the risk of blood clots, stroke and heart attack. Much of the negative effect of smoking is connected, in part, to nicotine. So what about vaping e-cigarettes that have low-nicotine and even no-nicotine options? Touted as a better alternative to smoking cigarettes, what is the impact, if any, that vaping has on your circulation?
What is vaping?
Vaping is defined as inhaling and exhaling an aerosol (vapor) produced by an e-cigarette or similar device. A vaping device is made up of a mouthpiece, a cartridge or pod that contains the product being inhaled, a battery and heating unit. The battery powers the heating unit, which causes the substance in the cartridge (plant matter or liquids) to be heated slowly - not burning it, but cooking it to a vapor where it is breathed into the lungs. The concern comes, not with the vaping itself, but with the product being inhaled.
Without nicotine, they’re safe...right?
Since vaping was introduced in 2007, many variations and products have been introduced. It’s possible to vape formulas that contain flavorings such as fruit flavors, peppermint, menthol and more. Not every vapor ‘juice' contains nicotine, but nicotine options are available at varying levels. The CDC reports that while e-cigarettes do contain significantly fewer toxic chemicals than the 7,000 found in conventional cigarettes, that doesn’t make them safe. It’s possible also to vape marijuana (THC) or one of any number of dangerous drugs or chemicals.
Vaping’s Effect on Circulation
Vaping juices and pods have a water vapor smoke that consists of different flavors and chemicals. Studies show that this mixture can be as harmful to users, and as damaging to your veins, as regular cigarettes. Why? The vape pod juice mixtures typically contain propylene glycol and glycerol. When these two ingredients are heated at a high temperature, the chemicals released are toxic to the lining of blood vessels and irritate the thin layer of cells that line the blood vessels, disturbing the normal flow of blood through the veins.
There is evidence, then, that e-cigarettes slows the flow of blood in the blood vessels, which can compromise circulation. More research is needed to study the long-term effects of vaping in the human body, but additional studies performed in mice also show an increase in blood clots with vaping ...a finding that is definitely cause for concern.
Another study in August 2019 by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania revealed that vaping a single e-cigarette can be harmful to the body's blood vessels, even when the vapor is entirely nicotine-free. Blood vessels were constricted by more than a third of their normal capacity and the amount of oxygen in the blood vessels dropped by 20 percent.
While more research is needed, it’s clear that vaping and e-cigarettes are far from harmless. While we may not currently know the long-term effects that vaping has on vein health, enough evidence points to the fact that it is, in fact, harming your circulation.
Lastly, vaping is extremely popular with teens and young adults. The Surgeon General has termed vaping as an epidemic with our youth. Because of it’s supposed “safety,” fun flavors and ease of access, children are vaping at an alarming rate. Kids are not always known for making wise decisions. They share vaping juices, looking for low-cost vaping options (where there is little to no regulation), and are using e-cigarettes as a low-barrier entry point for conventional cigarette smoking, marijuana and other harder, scarier, drugs.
My professional recommendation...stay healthy and stay away from ANY form of cigarettes - e-cigarettes or otherwise. If you do smoke and want help quitting, there are resources in each community we serve. Here are a few of the many options available:
Here’s to your health in the new year!
