How do e-cigarettes affect the lungs, heart, brain, immune system?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Phan Dinh Thuy Tien - General Internal Medicine - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital

Nowadays, many people use e-cigarettes instead of regular cigarettes. And there are many people who have the question of whether vaping is harmful to the lungs and will it affect other organs?

1. What's in the smoke from e-cigarettes?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the smoke exhaled by smokers from e-cigarettes contains a lot of harmful substances that affect both smokers and those who inhale this smoke, including Contains the following ingredients:
Nicotine Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deeply into the lungs Flavors such as diacetyl - a chemical that causes serious lung diseases Volatile organic compounds cancer Heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead. It is very difficult for users to know what e-cigarette products contain inside. Studies have shown that while some e-cigarettes are marketed as being advertised as nicotine-free, researchers have found that the products themselves still contain nicotine.

2. Harms of e-cigarettes

Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is an addictive substance. Especially nicotine is harmful to young people. The human brain continues to develop until about the age of 25, so young people using these products can damage the part of the brain responsible for memory, concentration and learning. Additionally, even though the liquid in an e-cigarette heats to form a vapor that has fewer harmful ingredients than cigarette smoke, it still contains harmful ingredients, including heavy metals and even cigarette smoke. chemicals that cause cancer when they are inhaled deeply into the lungs.
Regarding lung disease, experts are currently not sure if e-cigarettes really cause lung problems, but they still believe that the culprit is a high probability of pollutants including including chemical irritants or allergic or immune reactions to various chemicals or other ingredients found in e-cigarettes. Typically, symptoms will begin gradually with shortness of breath and/or chest pain, then become more severe, requiring hospitalization.

Regarding cardiovascular disease, because nicotine is a strong stimulant, it leads to an stimulant reaction taking place in the body, in the long run, if it happens too much and often, it will be dangerous for the heart. Researchers have found that regular e-cigarette smokers have more symptoms of increased heart rate and oxidative stress than non-users. These conditions can lead to cardiovascular diseases, making vaping a significant health hazard.
Regarding the body's immune system, when exposed to substances from e-cigarette smoke, alveolar macrophage cells die and increase the production of oxygen free radicals by 50 times compared to non-smoker. In addition, it significantly increases the production of chemicals that cause inflammation. The researchers think that e-cigarettes damage immune system cells important for fighting disease, which makes the body more susceptible to infection.

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References: ottawaheart.ca, health.harvard.edu, cdc.gov, sciencedaily.com