New research shows e-cigs can make young people stupider.
Your Back Page correspondent has previously voiced his support for the government’s well-considered strategies to crack down on vaping and e-cigarettes, particularly its moves to discourage younger folks from taking up the habit.
A strong argument could be mounted that more should have been done a damn sight sooner, or indeed that current restrictions do not go far enough, but let’s be grateful for what’s been done.
We say this in the light of fresh research out of Ecuador which reveals disturbing new findings on hitherto unmeasured harmful effects of vaping among young people.
The research, conducted at two universities in Guayaquil, Ecuador, involved 405 Hispanic students aged 18 to 30.
Participants were divided into four groups: those who only vaped, those who only smoked cigarettes, those who both vaped and smoked, and a control group of non-users.
All subjects underwent Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tests, which evaluate various aspects of cognitive function including learning, memory, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
The results, which were presented to the 149th annual meeting of the American Neurological Association earlier this month, are not good news for young vapers. Not only is e-cigarette use bad for the lungs and cardiovascular system, it also messes with the brain.
The vapers had lower cognitive function scores than those who didn’t, and the more they vaped, the bigger the disparity. Those students who both vaped and smoked conventional cigarettes performed the worst of all.
As measured by the MoCA test, students who:
- Did not smoke or vape scored a median of 26 (low of 18)
- Only vaped scored a median of 24 (low of 16)
- Only smoked cigarettes scored a median of 25 (low of 22)
- Vaped and smoking together scored a median of 24 (low of 8).
The researchers also noted that students who vaped 10 to 20 puffs per day had scores 9.2% lower than those who did not vape or smoke, and those who vaped more than 20 puffs a day had scores 13.7% lower than those who didn’t vape or smoke.
They said their study was groundbreaking because previously there had been very little information on vaping’s relationship to cognitive function, such as learning, memory, problem-solving, critical thinking and decision-making.
While earlier studies have shown that regular smoking can affect cognition by reducing brain volume and narrowing the blood vessels, lowering blood flow and oxygen to the brain and that nicotine can cause neurotoxicity that damages brain cells, this research is the first to link those effects to vaping.
Let’s hope that in a decade or so we will be able to look back at these times and congratulate ourselves for heading off a vaping-induced health crisis before things got out of hand.
However, if we can’t do that then it won’t be because of a lack of evidence.
Send story tips via smoke signal to penny@medicalrepublic.com.au.
