Vaping is just as bad for fitness as smoking cigarettes
Vaping can be as damaging to your fitness as smoking; Scientists warn that e-cigarette users get tired more quickly and have difficulty absorbing oxygen during exercise.
Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University found that young adults who vaped had approximately 15 percent lower exercise capacity than people who had never smoked or used e-cigarettes.
In the study, 75 adults aged 30 and under were compared and these people were divided into two: smokers, electronic cigarette users and those without a nicotine habit. All participants had otherwise similar lifestyles.
Volunteers completed increasingly intense cycling tests until they reached maximum effort; Researchers monitored blood oxygen levels and examined blood vessels using ultrasound scans.
The findings, published in ERJ Open Research, showed that both smokers and e-cigarette users burn out more quickly than non-users.
Scans also revealed signs of damage and swelling in e-cigarette users’ blood vessels; this reduced their ability to efficiently transport oxygen throughout the body.
As a result, they became out of breath more quickly and experienced a faster build-up of lactic acid, causing their leg muscles to fatigue more quickly.
Study author Dr. Azmy Faisal said: “Both vaping and tobacco smoking led to worsening exercise capacity, shortness of breath and intense leg fatigue.
“Our research shows that vaping, like smoking, can lead to harmful changes to blood vessels, decreased lung efficiency during exercise, and an approximately 15 percent reduction in fitness compared to people who have never smoked or vaped.”
Vaping has now surpassed the popularity of smoking in the UK; Approximately 10 percent of the population uses e-cigarettes, while 9 percent still smokes tobacco.
While vaping is considered less harmful than smoking because it exposes users to fewer cancer-causing chemicals, experts say many of its long-term health effects remain unclear.
Dr. from the European Respiratory Society, who was not involved in the research. Stamatoula Tsikrika said: “Electronic cigarettes may contain lower levels of cancer-causing substances, but they can still trigger genetic changes such as DNA damage and inflammation, which have been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for people who have never smoked to justify the health consequences of vaping.”
