Young Vapers and Smokers Performed Similarly in New Study

From a health perspective, what’s the difference between smoking and vaping? For some people — including smokers who have used vaping as a way of weaning themselves off cigarettes — the existence of a distinction is vitally important. But in some cases, the effects on the human body are more similar than they are different. A paper presented at this year’s European Respiratory Society Congress makes that startlingly clear — and its conclusions might dissuade some vapers from continuing on their present course.

Manchester Metropolitan University’s Dr. Azmy Faisal led the study, which sought to better understand vaping’s effects on the body. As an article at Medical Xpress points out, the study included monitoring 60 people in their 20s: 20 nonsmokers, 20 people who had smoked for at least two years and 20 people who had vaped for at least two years.

The scientists monitored the participants’ peak exercise capacity and found that the smokers had the lowest (at 182 watts) and the nonsmokers had the highest (at 226 watts). The vaping group didn’t fare much better than the smokers, however; their peak excercise capacity was just 186 watts. Both the vaping and smoking groups also had higher amounts of lactate found in their blood.

“Among the people who had been vaping or smoking for at least two years, we saw important differences in how well they coped with exercise,” Dr. Faisal told Medical Xpress. “The smokers and the vapers had measurably excessive breathing while using the exercise bikes. They found it harder to breathe, their muscles became more fatigued, and they were less fit overall. In this regard, our research indicated that vaping is no better than smoking.”

Is Vaping to Blame for Erectile Dysfunction?

A recent study found that men who vape are more than twice as likely to experience erectile dysfunction than non-vapers

This study isn’t Dr. Faisal’s first foray into exploring respirtory health and smoking’s effects on the human body. In 2018, he was one of the authors that explored the ramifications of decades of smoking on a particular patient; three years later, he was involved with a study of patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This latest inquiry is an unsettling look into vaping’s side effects — and the damage they can do.