Doctors have raised the alarm about high levels of vaping among children worldwide, saying they are convinced e-cigarettes are causing irreversible harm to their health.
Cardiologists, researchers and health experts said they were “extremely concerned” about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes on millions of teenagers and young people, including exposure to toxins and carcinogens – some of which are still unknown.
Nicotine levels in e-cigarettes can be very high, raising the risk of addiction and injury to the developing brains of adolescents. Children are also risking long-term cardiovascular effects as a result of vaping at school and college, experts say.
Speaking at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) annual congress in Madrid, the world’s largest heart conference, Prof Maja-Lisa Løchen, a senior cardiologist at the University hospital of North Norway, said she was concerned that millions of children could face ill health in future.
She said: “I worry that vaping may be causing irreversible harm to children’s brains and hearts. Of course we have to wait for long-term data, but I am concerned. It increases your blood pressure, your heart rate, and we know that the arteries become more stiff.”
Vaping stresses children’s cardiovascular systems, Løchen said. Their heart rate rises and their blood vessels constrict, which can stiffen arteries in the heart over time. Repeatedly vaping can lead to high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of developing an irregular heart rhythm, stroke and even a heart attack.
Løchen cited a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine that suggested vaping increases the risk of stroke by almost a third (32%).
When e-cigarettes heat liquids to higher temperatures, they can also release larger amounts of harmful chemicals that can flow into the lungs, enter the bloodstream and seep into the heart.
The liquids in e-cigarettes can release known carcinogens such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde when heated, research suggests. These and other chemicals can damage blood vessels, drive inflammation and contribute to cardiovascular disease risk.
“There is an additional risk of vaping in children [compared with adults] when it comes to effects on the body,” Løchen said. “Because we know that the nicotine and other elements in e-cigarettes have a very harmful effect on developing brains. Not only in the foetus, but during childhood and into your 20s. So that is something we are extremely concerned about.”
When children quit vaping, some experience nicotine withdrawal that can increase heart rate and blood pressure, Løchen told reporters after she gave a presentation on e-cigarettes in Madrid.
“We also know that when children and young people start vaping, they may become dependent on the nicotine and it can become a gateway to smoking. I’m very worried – and convinced – that children and adolescents that are starting to vape now are at increased risk of irreversible harm to their health.”
Also speaking in Madrid, Prof Susanna Price, a consultant cardiologist at Royal Brompton hospital in London and the chair of the ESC advocacy committee, said: “We are seeing an increase in children vaping but what we don’t yet know is what that translates to in long-term cardiovascular risk because they haven’t been around long enough.
“I think there is a push to suggest that vaping is safe but we don’t know that. It’s my concern that we’re going to replace one highly addictive substance with another one that may have a similar profile with respect to cardiovascular risk.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, the chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Vaping is not risk-free and no child or teenager should be picking up an e-cigarette.” She said governments must take action to tackle concerning levels of youth vaping. “Making vaping less appealing to young people and creating a smoke-free generation cannot come a moment too soon.”
Data on the long-term health effects is limited because vapes are relatively new and evolving. It could be years before further effects become apparent. In the meantime, Løchen is in favour of a global ban on sales of e-cigarettes.
“I think based on what we know now about the detrimental and harmful effects of e-cigarettes, I think there should be a ban on sales of e-cigarettes worldwide,” she said. “There have been around for 15, 20 years now, we have the data. We know they are not harmless.”