A report presented February 6, 2019 to the American Stroke Association’s national annual meeting raises deeply disturbing possible harm from vaping.

Again, it’s not a harm from nicotine itself, but the use of vaping devices is now associated with very, very serious increases in one’s chance of dying of a heart attack or stroke.

The findings were very briefly reported in the news recently, formal publication of the findings will be coming out soon.  Here is a brief press report on the study.

The key findings as stated in that report were:

“Federal survey data revealed that compared with nonusers, people who use e-cigarettes have a:

• 71 percent higher risk of stroke.
• 59 percent higher risk of heart attack or angina.
• 40 percent higher risk of heart disease.

E-cigarette users also have a doubled rate of smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes, the researchers noted.”

As readers of Real Answers with Dr. Lavin  may recall, nicotine has a shocking lack of direct impact on the body, limited mainly to addiction.  That ability to addict is not minor, though.  Nicotine is rated as one of the most addictive drugs, people who use it remains deeply addicted at rates over 3 times that seen with heroin, cocaine, and alcohol.  But if you took a pure nicotine pill every day, aside from hooking you on a deep dependency, it would have little impact on your heart, brain, or lungs.

But apparently, nicotine vaping devices deliver chemicals that do hurt your brain and heart.

People who vape nicotine may face very, very serious jumps in the chance they will have a heart attack or have a stroke.

And, once addicted to nicotine, the chance you will shift from vape to cigarettes is a major problem, you double your chance of that happening.

BOTTOM LINES

1. The data are preliminary, and only measure association, not cause, but these early data sound a deadly alarm.  Using e-cigarette nicotine vaping devices may cause you to have a heart attack or to have a stroke.  Either can kill or maim, this is serious.
2. Not in any doubt is that nicotine vaping is all the rage, the nation is in the grip of a very deadly epidemic of nicotine vaping in our kids, middle school and up.  Use in young people is up 900% in the last few years.  Over 1 in 10 kids in high school vape, in some high schools it’s well over half the students.  It’s even higher in college.  This is a true fulminant epidemic, and it will cost the lives of kids we love.
3. The nicotine in the vaping devices is one of the most addictive drugs known.  It hooks far more people who use it than heroin, cocaine, and alcohol.  We expect at least 1 million kids will be hooked on nicotine by these devices in the very near future.
4. Be warned:  Don’t let your kids vape, if they do, seek help to help them stop before harm happens.

To your health,
Dr. Arthur Lavin