What little is known about the long-term consequences of vaping doesn’t bode well for lung health, especially as it’s skyrocketing in popularity among young people.
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“As electronic cigarettes are quite recent, we do not yet have studies on the risks after 30 years of use. But they are far from trivial, according to our data and those of other researchers,” warns Kim Lavoie, co-director of the Montreal Center for Behavioral Medicine.
Together with colleagues, she has produced a comprehensive summary of available studies on the acute physiological effects of vaping.
Results ? On the cardiac side, smoking an electronic cigarette increases heart rate and blood pressure just as much as traditional cigarettes.
Beware of “popcorn” lungs
On the pulmonary side, the risk seems less important, even if vaping has also been associated with increased inflammation of the lungs.
“We can estimate that the more often this inflammation is triggered, the greater the risk of developing lung diseases, including lung cancer,” says Ms. Lavoie.
Among the worst side effects recorded, doctors are faced with vapers with “popcorn lungs”, the nickname given to inflammation of the bronchioles.
As of August 2020, 20 cases of vaping-associated lung disease have also been reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada, according to the latest published figures.
While research is still needed, Kim Lavoie cites studies that show a link between chemicals in flavored vaping liquids and lung damage.
Easy to get it
It’s all the more concerning when you consider the popularity of these flavors – grapefruit, cherry or even cotton candy – among teenagers, she says.
Although it is illegal to sell vaping products to minors in Quebec, 35% of students in secondary 5 are consumers, according to the latest research.
“Young people tell us that they have no great difficulty in obtaining products from major brands,” says Flory Doucas, spokesperson for the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control.
“And the companies have quite spectacular marketing to attract them, especially the girls,” adds Kim Lavoie.
If vaping has its uses for smokers who want to quit, the researcher advises to avoid at all costs starting vaping in the belief that it is a behavior without health effects.
A lesser evil
As for cannabis, Sean Gilman, a pulmonologist specializing in smoking cessation, maintains that its recreational use is safer than cigarettes.
Nevertheless, he advises to favor oils and edible products.
Consumption becomes a problem when tobacco is mixed into a joint, which is common among heavy smokers, says Dr. Gilman.
The Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control is calling for a ban on the sale of any flavored vaping product except those containing tobacco, as is the case in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
–With Hugo Duchaine
A cancer that elicits less empathy
Photo QMI Agency, Marcel Tremblay
Josée Savard, professor of psychology at Laval University.
Lung cancer is often perceived as “deserved” due to the patient’s years of smoking, which makes the experience even more difficult for them.
“People can have a strong feeling of guilt or shame and hesitate to talk about their diagnosis,” notes Josée Savard, professor of psychology at Laval University.
This is even truer if these smokers have been told for years that smoking is bad for their health and that they should quit.
Mixed reactions
In addition to the guilt they feel, patients have to deal with the reaction of their loved ones to this cancer with a bad reputation.
“Those around you may react with less empathy than if it were another type of cancer. Without it being verbalized, some will think that it is deserved, ”explains Ms. Savard.
This kind of opinion can even affect the quality of support patients receive during some of the most difficult times in their lives.
“And that can have a devastating effect,” she continues, emphasizing the importance of compassion and kindness towards the patient, regardless of the cancer.
The specialist in psycho-oncology recommends that her patients show empathy towards their past decisions.
“We can recognize that smoking had an influence on the diagnosis, while trying to understand why we were so addicted to cigarettes. »
Away from the pink ribbon
But even at the scale of society, cancers do not all attract the same sympathy or the same mobilization.
We need only think of the pink ribbon campaign against breast cancer, or Movember for the fight against prostate cancer.
Nothing as popular exists for lung cancer, yet the deadliest for Quebecers.
“We don’t talk a lot about it for the number of individuals it affects,” believes pulmonologist Catherine— Labbé, of the University Institute of Cardiology and Pneumology of Quebec.
“And I think there are a lot of patients who don’t feel as understood and supported as if they had cancer with more publicity. »
Cancer patients who request it can obtain free psychological follow-up with a doctor’s prescription.