How dangerous is vaping to your overall health? Cardiovascular surgeon reveals the truth

According to Dr London, the function of the lungs is to absorb oxygen into the blood and take out carbon dioxide. Taking in anything else is always harmful.

Over the last decade, vaping has become a rising cause of concern in cardiovascular health, especially for the younger demographic, taking the crown from cigarettes. It is the inhalation of a mist of nicotine and flavouring (e-liquid) created by a small, handheld device such as e-cigarettes, vape pens or mods.

Vaping involves inhaling an aerosol created by an electronic cigarette. (Unsplash)

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the primary difference between vaping and regular smoking is that it does not include inhaling smoke from burning tobacco, but rather tiny particles of water and other associated chemicals. The basic components of e-liquid include flavouring, nicotine, and propylene glycol and glycerin, which are used to create the vapour.

With its increasing popularity, the question naturally arises as to how dangerous they really are. Taking to Instagram on January 12, Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with over 25 years of clinical experience, answered the same.

How bad is vaping for health?

“Our lungs have a simple function: to bring oxygen to our bodies and to remove carbon dioxide,” noted Dr London. “And putting anything else in our lungs can be frankly dangerous.”

When vaping, the vapour itself and the flavouring in particular can be toxic to the lung cells, warned the doctor, before recalling a patient he once treated for vaping. The individual was 18 years old and was brought in after vaping one time.

They suffered complete pulmonary collapse to the point that they had to be put on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), which is an external lung machine.

“This was called EVALI, e-cigarette or vape-associated lung injury,” explained Dr London. “I've done this multiple times over the years, and several of these patients haven't survived.”

Is vaping better than smoking?

While there is limited long-term data with vaping as there is with cigarettes, it has been observed that the trend is heading in the same direction, which is dangerous, according to Dr London.

“Smoking anything is dangerous. Understand the data so that you can make good decisions for yourself,” he added.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.