Attention, anyone who likes to plague their friends with reasons why you vape, and all the ins and outs of it being beneficial for you - not to mention sitting there like a fucking smoke machine. You might want to read this.
A study has found that e-cigarettes actually cause the same harmful lung diseases as actual cigs.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill conducted the study, with results suggesting inflammatory lung disease, asthma, lupus, psoriasis and vasculitis can all be a direct result of vaping.
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The team used actual samples of human airways to conduct their research.
"There is confusion about whether e-cigarettes are 'safer' than cigarettes because the potential adverse effects are only beginning to be studied," said Dr Mehmet Kesimer, an associate professor of pathology.
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"Our results suggest that e-cigarettes might just be as bad as cigarettes."
They studied 15 e-cigarette users, 14 regular smokers and 15 non-smokers, but despite the small size of the study group, they were confident that the results should lead to further investigations.
Other research sources have indicated that there may be adverse health effects associated with the use of the devices. They have become wildly popular throughout the world in recent years, in part due to perceptions that they are relatively harmless, or that they help smokers to kick the habit. Globally, the market for e-cigs is set to be worth £25 billion ($33bn) worldwide in less than four years' time, and £4.45bn ($5.9bn) in the UK alone.
However, research by a team in Sweden has questioned the relative safety of e-cigarettes, with scientists arguing that those containing nicotine may increase the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
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Similar to the previous study, 15 volunteers who'd never used e-cigarettes before took part in an experiment, with tests revealing an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and arterial stiffness 30 minutes after using them. The test results of those who'd used e-cigarettes without nicotine reported no such effects.
Dr Magnus Lundback of Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, a medical university in Stockholm, said: "The number of e-cigarette users has increased dramatically in the last few years. E-cigarettes are regarded by the general public as almost harmless. The industry markets their product as a way to reduce harm and to help people to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, the safety of e-cigarettes is debated, and a growing body of evidence is suggesting several adverse health effects.
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"The results are preliminary, but in this study we found there was a significant increase in heart rate and blood pressure in the volunteers who were exposed to e-cigarettes containing nicotine. Arterial stiffness increased around threefold in those who were exposed to nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, compared with the nicotine-free group."
It was noted that the effects of the nicotine-based e-cigarettes were temporary, but researchers believe that through repeated use, it's possible they could become permanent.
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