• Health The vaping scam to quit smoking: "If it were a drug, no agency would approve it"

In Spain, diseases of the circulatory system produce 24% of registered deaths from all causes.

According to a study by the Spanish Journal of Cardiology, some

54,000 people die each year because of tobacco

and some 14,000 of them die from cardiovascular diseases.

The link between tobacco and the development of this type of pathology is nothing new, however, devices capable of releasing nicotine (DSLN), such as electronic cigarettes, could also be behind the appearance of

arrhythmias

and

alterations in the heart

rate

This has been evidenced by the results of the study published this Tuesday in

Nature Communications

.

The electronic cigarette has been sold as a healthy alternative to conventional tobacco.

Many of the sellers and promoters of this type of device have echoed its effectiveness in quitting smoking.

However, the vast majority of scientific evidence in this regard denies this property and points out its harmful effects on health.

In 2021, a report published by the World Heart Federation (WHF) and supported by the Spanish Heart Foundation (FEC) highlighted the need for stricter regulation.

It was then pointed out that

users of electronic cigarettes are almost twice as likely to suffer a heart attack

than non-smokers and their use was associated with increased heart rate and blood pressure, more irregular heartbeats, vascular problems and the possible increase in risk of blood clots.

According to Regina Dalmau, cardiologist and spokesperson for the Spanish Society of Cardiology, "these products can produce

acute-type effects on the endothelial section

. It is the function of the walls of the vessels that act as an organ in their functionality that can be seen altered by these products. Yes, it has been seen in some studies that consumers of these products have a higher risk of heart attack".

HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE HARMFUL

The recent study published in

Nature Communications

has associated inhalation of e-cigarette aerosols with heart rhythm disorders, including ventricular arrhythmias in mice.

Several of the components present in

this type of device had previously been related to the development of diseases

.

Thus, propylene glycol and glycerin, the main compounds in liquids that turn into vapour, cause irritation of the respiratory tract and generate small organic compounds (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein) that are mutagenic and carcinogenic.

Nicotine has carcinogenic and detrimental effects on the cardiac system.

In addition, the presence of toxic heavy metals such as chromium, copper or zinc, and the respiratory problems caused by the flavorings contained in these devices are known.

Dalmau adds that "the problem with electronic cigarettes is that we are not talking about one product. We are talking about many. Hundreds. Because

aerosols can be very different in their composition

, in their additives, in whether or not they have nicotine"

The main findings of the study are related to the

specific chemicals that make up the liquids in electronic cigarettes

.

The researchers analyzed the effects produced after the inhalation of electronic cigarettes with and without nicotine whose components were propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and flavorings.

The results showed that, during inhalation, the mice's heart rate slowed down and sped up immediately afterward.

In addition, exposure to menthol-flavored e-cigarettes or propylene glycol alone caused

arrhythmias and other heart rhythm irregularities in

these animals .

10.5% of the Spanish population aged 15 to 64 had used electronic cigarettes (with or without nicotine) at some time in their lives in 2020, according to the Survey on Alcohol and Drugs in Spain (EDADES).

The age group that goes from

15 to 24 years is the one that shows the highest prevalence of consumption

and it is that these devices were patented in 2003 and their introduction has been recent in Spain.

In 1996, 64.4% of secondary school students between the ages of 14 and 18 had tried tobacco.

This figure dropped to 38.2% in 2021. However, the evolution of the consumption of electronic cigarettes among adolescents has been reversed.

Barely 17% had tried it in 2014, a figure that rose to 44.3% in 2021.

The study has been developed at the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute of the University of Louisville.

Its researchers warn of the great danger posed by the findings found.

For this reason, they urgently encourage further research on the cardiovascular effects of the components of the liquids of electronic cigarettes both in other animals and in humans.

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