{"id":7682,"date":"2019-11-25T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=7682"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:48:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T14:48:40","slug":"vaping-poses-high-risk-for-teen-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/vaping-poses-high-risk-for-teen-hearts\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaping poses high risk for teen hearts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For decades, the news had been so good. The number of teenagers smoking tobacco products was falling.<\/p>\n<p>By 2018, only one in 20 high school teenagers reported smoking tobacco in the past month, and the rate of high school seniors who smoked daily had fallen even lower, to 3.6% from a high of 28.8% in 1976.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBillions of dollars, tons of manpower and effort, were spent on informing young people about the harms of smoking,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/providers\/timir-baman-1463513\">Timir Baman, MD<\/a>, a cardiologist at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/services\/specialties\/heart\/\">OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute<\/a> in Peoria. \u201cAnd we were successful. Smoking rates across the U.S. went down significantly. Deaths, cancers and heart attacks attributed to smoking have all gone down. Things were going very, very well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then the <a href=\"http:\/\/healthlibrary.osfhealthcare.org\/Search\/1,4704\">vaping<\/a> started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A study this year by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/search?searchText=vaping#q=vaping&amp;sort=relevancy\">American Heart Association<\/a> revealed that 20% of high school students now vape, and the number is exploding. The study reported that during 2018, vaping among high school students increased by 78% \u2013 and among middle school students by 48%.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s epidemic. A significant problem for today\u2019s society,\u201d Dr. Baman said.<\/p>\n<h2>High risk for heart attack, stroke<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7883 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"electronic nicotine vaporizer\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd1-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd1-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd1.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Vaping hit the mainstream American marketplace about a dozen years ago. Manufacturers pushed it as a clean and healthy alternative to smoking tobacco.<\/p>\n<p>Vaporizers come in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles. They include a battery, which powers the heating of a cartridge (also known as a pod) that contains an e-liquid. The user inhales the vapor produced by the heated contents of the pod.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contents in over-the-counter e-liquids may include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/healthlibrary.osfhealthcare.org\/Search\/40,NicotineSmokingTobacQuiz\">Nicotine<\/a>, which is addictive<\/li>\n<li>Propylene or ethylene glycol, which are solvents used in antifreeze<\/li>\n<li>Flavoring agents such as diacetyl, which has been linked to serious lung disease<\/li>\n<li>Heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pods sold on the street or over the internet, or that are simply homemade, could include an unimagined number of other ingredients.<\/p>\n<p>The delivery of those substances into your cardiovascular and respiratory systems by vaping is on a different level than by traditional smoking. For example, a portion of the nicotine in a cigarette will burn away while not being smoked, but all of the nicotine in a vaping pod gets inhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople need to understand this is not some benign substance they\u2019re inhaling,\u201d Dr. Baman said. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine inhaling components of antifreeze is good for anybody. And we\u2019re talking about a very concentrated, very efficient delivery of these chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The high concentration of these substances in the vapor can overwhelm your body\u2019s defense mechanisms. This can trigger a hyperinflammatory reaction by your body\u2019s organs and tissue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA hyperinflammatory state is not good for the body,\u201d Dr. Baman said. \u201cBasically, when people have a heart attack, it\u2019s due to an inflammatory response. Clots form as part of that response, and those clots cause heart attacks and strokes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He cited a study reported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acc.org\/About-ACC\/Press-Releases\/2019\/03\/07\/10\/03\/ECigarettes-Linked-to-Heart-Attacks-Coronary-Artery-Disease-and-Depression?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">American College of Cardiology<\/a>: Compared to non-smokers, people who vape experience a 56% increase in their risk for heart attack and a 30% increase in risk for a stroke.<\/p>\n<h2>Distress strikes quickly<\/h2>\n<p>Heart and respiratory diseases brought on by cigarette smoking often take decades to manifest.<\/p>\n<p>Contrast that progression with this: In spring 2019, news reports told of a \u201cmysterious\u201d lung disease being treated in Midwestern emergency departments. The first death was reported in August, in Illinois. By mid-October, the number of cases treated across 48 states and one U.S. territory was over 1,000, the death toll had reached 20 \u2013 and medical experts had identified one common thread among the victims.<\/p>\n<p>All had a history of using e-cigarettes \u2013 or vaping.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7884 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd2-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"teen male in a hospital bed\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd2-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd2-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/vaping-teens-sd2.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of the most shocking aspects of the vaping cases being treated is the speed at which people are stricken, fall seriously ill and sometimes die.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never personally seen a completely healthy person with no pre-existing conditions go into respiratory compromise immediately from cigarette smoking. To my knowledge, that hasn\u2019t happened,\u201d Dr. Baman said.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s what is going on with the current vaping-related outbreak in emergency departments across the nation. Researchers are scrambling to determine why. What about vaping is so dangerously different?<\/p>\n<p>A majority of the cases have been linked to the presence of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tetrahydrocannabinol\">tetrahydrocannabinol<\/a> (THC) in the vapor being inhaled. THC is a chemical compound that produces the high in marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>But not all vaping pods contain THC, and medical personnel have not witnessed similar acute disease outbreaks in users of recreational pot. Clearly, more factors are in play here.<\/p>\n<p>This outbreak caught the medical community by surprise, Dr. Baman said. He cautioned that much about vaping is unknown. More research is required.<\/p>\n<h2>Focus on young people<\/h2>\n<p>The CDC reported that, as of October 1, 37% of those treated were 20 years old or younger. And there is ample reason to fear those proportions among young people will grow.<\/p>\n<p>The dangers to youth are illustrated by the rapid growth in the popularity of vaping among teens. Vaping is perceived as a new and cool thing to do. Juul became the runaway leader in the e-cigarette market largely by chasing the youth demographic through social media.<\/p>\n<p>Altria Group Inc., international giant in the manufacture of tobacco products, purchased 35% of Juul in December 2018, but has pledged not to target the youth market. The medical community is skeptical.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cigarette companies are expert in this field,\u201d Dr. Baman said.<\/p>\n<p>He points to advertising campaigns that for decades pushed cigarette smoking as a glamorous and healthy activity. Throughout the 1940s, R.J. Reynolds even bannered the claim that \u201cMore Doctors Smoke Camels,\u201d with men dressed as physicians smiling down from billboards and up from newspaper and magazine pages across the nation.<\/p>\n<p>Although it\u2019s not doctors in the vaping ads, the industry is pushing the notion that it\u2019s a harmless alternative to smoking. Vaping hardware is designed to look like a trendy accessory. The variety of flavored pods resembles the offerings of an ice cream shop.<\/p>\n<h2>Real talk<\/h2>\n<p>Dr. Baman is disappointed that a long, sad history seems to be repeating itself, and he would like to see a full-scale assault launched against vaping.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPublic education needs to be significantly increased,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of those ads that show what people look like when they\u2019ve had mouth or throat cancer. You can go through any hospital and see that. That\u2019s reality. Why sugarcoat it?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople need to see what happens to your lungs. That tissue does not regenerate. People need to see pictures of heart attacks, see the scar over the entire heart. That\u2019s not reversible, and those are usually autopsy pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schedule an appointment with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/services\/primary-care\/\">primary care provider<\/a> to discuss vaping and treatment options. OSF HealthCare also offers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/pulmonology\/resources\/smoking-cessation\/\">smoking cessation<\/a> programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recent epidemic of vaping-related emergencies highlights the need for research and an aggressive education campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":7882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[105,116,733],"tags":[743,730,949],"coauthors":[912],"class_list":["post-7682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardiovascular","category-pediatrics","category-lung-respiratory-health","tag-addiction","tag-smoking","tag-vaping"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Vaping poses 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