A recent study linked vaping to higher odds of having an asthma attack and developing asthma, according to data presented at the American Thoracic Society 2021 International Conference.
Researcher Theresa To and colleagues from The Hospital for Sick Children, St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto in Canada looked at data collected from the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS).
The study looked at 17,190 people ages 12 and up who participated in the CCHS survey. Of those people, 3.1% reported using an e-cigarette in the past 30 days.
Authors concluded that people who used e-cigarettes had 19% higher odds of developing asthma. The findings were similar to those for current smokers, who had 20% higher odds of having asthma.
Former smokers had 33% higher odds, and never smokers or never vapers didn’t have significant associations with asthma.
“These findings suggest that EC [e-cigarette] use is a modifiable risk factor for asthma to be considered in the primary care of youth and young adults,” study authors wrote.
E-Cig Use Linked to Poor Mental Health
They also noted that their study data found an association between higher levels of stress and anxiety and e-cigarette use, though this doesn’t prove that poor mental health is an e-cigarette side effect.
Fifteen percent of survey participants who vaped reported fair to poor mental health versus 7% of participants who didn’t vape, To said in a press release.
“In addition, those who used e-cigarettes had 60% higher odds of self-reported high levels of life stress compared to those who did not. While vaping may not cause stress, it appears that vape cravings may be triggered by stress and anxiety, making it harder for the e-cigarette user to quit. This may be particularly relevant during the pandemic when stress and anxiety are highly prevalent,” To said.
This isn’t the first study to link vaping and poor mental health.
Among them was a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 68th Annual Scientific Session in 2019 by Dr. Mohinder Vindhyal and colleagues. Researchers found e-cig users were twice as likely to suffer from anxiety, depression and other emotional problems.
Juul Faces Mounting Lawsuits for Deceptive Marketing Practices, Injuries
Health problems such as asthma and poor mental health are just some of the problems linked to e-cigarettes. These health problems have led to lawsuits.
Juul, one of the country’s largest e-cig makers, is facing thousands of lawsuits from states, individuals and organizations. These suits claim the company’s predatory marketing practices and defective products are responsible for creating a teen vaping epidemic and a slew of health problems from seizures to death.
So far, more than 2,300 Juul lawsuits are pending in California federal court as of July 15, 2021.
In June 2021, Juul agreed to pay $40 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the state of North Carolina that accused the company of using business practices that caused a surge in teen vaping.
“North Carolina is not the first state in the nation to hold Juul accountable for its instrumental role in sparking the epidemic of youth vaping and its resulting nicotine addiction,” said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.
Thirty-nine other states are investigating the company, and nine others have already filed similar lawsuits.