Eyesight: Popular habit could increase eye damage by 34 percent
IT IS a known truth that smoking can increase the risk of multiple conditions from heart disease to almost all cancers. In recent years, e-cigarettes and vapes have come to the fore as alternatives. However, new research suggests that they may not just be hot air.
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However, in recent years, more and more studies have found that while e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, they can still cause severe harm.
A new study by the University of California has found using e-cigarettes can cause damage to the eyes.
It found that vapers were 34 percent more likely to experience damaged eyesight than those who didn’t vape.
The reason behind this is because e-cigarettes/vapes, used by around 2.7 million people in the UK, contain harmful chemicals.
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The scientists behind the study think that it could be ingredients such as propylene glycol that causes the damage.
Vaping also results in oxidative stress, a type of stress that plays a role in causing chronic conditions.
Despite the findings of this study, there is not enough data to say for definite that vaping causes eye damage.
More studies need to be carried out to establish a link.
Eye damage isn’t the only risk that vapers face.
Male vapers, for example, face an increased risk of erectile dysfunction while the act can also increase a person’s risk of stroke.
The World Health Organisation has also said that they increase the likelihood of lung and heart conditions.
These all make the ingestion of strawberry-flavoured steam seem incredibly unappealing.
Vaping may not be perfect in terms of its impact on the body, but it is a far healthier and more fragrant alternative to smoking.
Furthermore, the data suggests that vaping really can help smokers quit.
E-cigarettes aren’t perfect then, but they are the lesser of two exhalation-based evils.
As well as being better for your health than smoking, vaping is also cheaper.
Cancer Research UK says "smoking costs more than two-and-a-half times more than smoking e-cigarettes".
Using e-cigarettes thus burns a smaller hole in a person's pocket too.
As to whether passive vaping, like passive smoking, can cause harm, there is no evidence to suggest it could.