Just one vaping session can cause stress that leads to severe lung damage and puts a person at risk for heart or neurological diseases, a new study finds.
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) compared oxidative stress in the lungs of routine cigarette smokers, vapers and people with no history of long term use of tobacco or nicotine devices.
Oxidative stress describes the harmful effects that free radicals (unstable molecules) have on the body.
Vaping for only 30 minutes caused oxidative stress levels two to four times higher than baseline levels in those with no history of previously smoking.
While vapes have been seen as a ‘safer’ alternative to tobacco and cigarette use by some, data in recent years have found there are many negative effects of using the devices.
For the study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, the UCLA researchers gathered 32 participants from the study aged 21 to 33.
They were split into three groups based on their history with cigarette or nicotine use.
Among the volunteers, there were nine regular cigarette users, 12 e-cigarette or vap, users and 11 participants who were non-smokers.
The team collected a type of immune cell called CD45 from all participants both before and after a 30-minute vaping session.
While those with little smoking history still had lower oxidative stress levels than the regular smokers, their CD45 immune cells were testing positive for oxidative stress at a two to four-fold increased rate.
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