Dr. Mamudu Publishes on E-Cigarette Effects
Dr. Hadii Mamudu, Professor for the Department of Health Services Management and Policy in the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, is co-author of an article in Current Cardiology Reports. The article, The Cardiovascular Effects of Electronic Cigarettes, reviews and discusses emerging literature on e-cigarettes’ adverse effects on the human body.
Dr. Saroj Khadka and Dr. Timir Paul of the James H. Quillen College of Medicine are first and lead authors respectively of the article. Manul Awasthi, health management and policy doctoral student, is also a co-author. Additional co-authors include members of the Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Texas Tech University of Health Sciences, Ochsner Clinic, and West Virginia University.
First introduced in the US market in 2007, e-cigarette use is dramatically on the rise with about 8.1 million adult users in 2018. E-cigarettes, which come in a variety of appealing shapes and sizes, has been promoted as a safe alternative to conventional smoking. They are few if any, usage regulations compared to traditional smoking.
E-cigarette constitutes electronic devices that produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine. They are also known as vaping devices, electronic nicotine delivering systems (ENDS), and are made to look like regular cigarettes and pipes, while some resemble pens, USB sticks, and other everyday items. Users inhale the aerosol into their lungs, while bystanders can also breathe in the aerosol when users exhale it into the air. E-cigarettes come in many different flavors, and the flavorings might contain alcohol, mixtures of aldehydes and terpenes, and toxic chemicals like benzaldehyde. The aerosols that users breathe and exhale contain harmful substances including nicotine, cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals such as nickel and lead, ultrafine particles, and flavoring that harms the lungs.
The linkage between conventional tobacco smoking and its adverse effects on the cardiovascular system has been well established in prior studies; however, studies linking e-cigarette use to adverse cardiovascular health outcomes are sparse. The emerging literature suggests that e-cigarettes have some of the toxic profile as conventional cigarettes and may expose users to similar cardiovascular risks. E-cigarette use induces negative cardiovascular effects via several pathogenic mechanisms such as increased oxidative stress, platelet activation, increased sympathetic activity, endothelial dysfunction, and DNA damage.
To understand the full health effects, it is necessary to raise concerns regarding adverse effects of e-cigarette use on cardiovascular health and develop policies, programs, and guidelines to regulate use. Further studies are required to understand the diverse nature of e-cigarette products and devices and their short-term and long-term effects on cardiovascular system in various populations.