MEDICAL SCIENCE
Medical Updates Stroke: Smoking both traditional and e-cigarettes may raise risk
A team at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, has uncovered another electronic cigarette health concern. This time, it relates to stroke risk. Newly issued health warnings have pointed to the potential risks of smoking e-cigarettes. In June 2019, the U.S. saw an outbreak of lung injuries associated with e-cigarettes. Experts believe that vitamin E acetate — an ingredient found in some e-cigarettes containing THC — may be the link. In December 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than 2,500 individuals from the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were hospitalized or died as a result of using vapes, e-cigarettes, or associated products. One study that appears in PNAS found that nicotine from e-cigarette smoke caused lung cancer in mice as well as
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February 2020
precancerous growth in the bladder. However, a second study, appearing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, noted a significant improvement in vascular health within a month of a traditional smoker switching to e-cigarettes. Equally worrying findings have come from a new study that appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study found that young adults smoking both traditional and e-cigarettes face a significantly higher risk of stroke.
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