The long-term effects of vaping are disastrous, causing conditions that can be fatal, and the addiction cannot be treated, pulmonologists say.
Vaping is extremely harmful. Photo by Shutterstock
Electronic cigarettes can cause chemical pneumonia, known as EVALI, and can present a very high risk of myocardial infarction or stroke in the long term, pulmonologist Beatrice Mahler emphasized on Monday.
“They are chemical substances heated to very high temperatures. These temperatures allow the chemical substance in the respective cartridge to turn into a very fine vapor that easily penetrates not only the respiratory system, but also passes beyond the alveoli and reaches the blood. Once in the blood, the respective product acts like any pollutant, pollutants that we avoid in the air we breathe normally and produce different injuries. If we are talking about acute injuries, we are talking about acute lung damage, even in the form of pneumonia, a chemical pneumonia monitored at the international level at the moment, which is extremely severe and which can even determine the hospitalization of the person in question and support breathing“, the doctor declared for Agerpres.
Until the heart attack is a very small step
Beatrice Mahler added that the initial studies published recently indicate that in the long term there are very high risks of myocardial infarction or stroke, as the chemical substances trigger coagulation at the level of atheroma plaques existing in the vessels.
“If we talk about the long-term effects, here things are still under close observation, because we don’t have enough time yet to draw conclusions, but the initial studies that have been published recently indicate that there are very high risks of coronary heart disease, i.e. of myocardial infarction, or stroke, because these chemical substances trigger coagulation at the level of atheroma plaques existing in the vessels. However, from here to the heart attack is only one step. This was not known. Further studies are needed, but it’s a very serious warning sign that the scientific data is beginning to highlight.” Mahler explained.
She said that electronic cigarettes are addictive and specified that there is no treatment for this addiction.
“They are addictive and it’s not about nicotine addiction, which fortunately has a treatment, at least at the moment. (…) Here we are talking about addiction to taste, to gesture. An addiction that not only takes the patient to an area where it makes him consume more clinically proven than if he were to smoke a classic cigarette. The amount of electronic cigarettes that a person ends up consuming is much higher. On the other hand, there is no drug or medical treatment to treat addiction to these electronic cigarettes. This thing seems extremely serious to me, because an apparently non-harmful product is recommended, we have tests and studies that show that it has an effect on health, not only in the long term, but also in the short term, and we don’t have a way medical to intervene and help people who want to give up this addiction than psychological counseling”the pulmonologist showed.
Young people and teenagers end up in hospital with problems created by electronic cigarettes
Beatrice Mahler also said that there are young people who come to the “Marius Nasta” Institute with problems caused by electronic cigarettes, but most of the time the symptoms can be confused with respiratory interference, as they cough, sneeze or have acute phenomena.
According to the doctor, those who vape large quantities may also have digestive disorders.
“They can even have digestive disorders if the amount of vaped products is very high. It requires an extremely careful anamnesis and a sincerity that, most of the time, young teenagers avoid having in front of their parents, because, unfortunately, they hide this habit from their parents and then it is very difficult to you arrive at a diagnosis made in the guard room. In severe cases, yes, and when only the doctor stays with the patient, the chances that the diagnosis will be made are high”doctor Beatrice Mahler pointed out.
In his opinion, the way electronic cigarettes are presented and their accessibility makes them tempting for the young generation and even for children aged 12-13.
“Electronic cigarettes are presented, unfortunately, by the manufacturer as a ‘healthy’ variant, note the quotation marks, or as an alternative to the classic cigarette. Unfortunately, this presentation causes them to be accessed, on the one hand, by those who want to give up the classic cigarette, in the hope that they will succeed in this, and the way in which the electronic devices are presented, their color, shape – which is different -, but also the extremely increased accessibility of the products makes them extremely tempting for the young generation, for teenagers – from the youngest ages, because they are already around the age of 12-13 tempted to taste or to try such products”said the specialist.
