NEW YORK - Smoking isn’t good for you. But e-cigarettes, with their sleek, USB bodies and mango-flavored cartridges, promised a sweeter, safer future. No tar, no combustion, no problem. But that picture is getting more complicated. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control announced that it is opening an investigation into the health effects of smoking e-cigarettes, after nearly 100 teenagers in 14 states reported lung illnesses related to vaping. The cases, which were primarily reported among teenagers and young adults, were so severe that some patients were hospitalized and put on ventilators.
So a study out Tuesday in the journal Radiology comes not a moment too soon. In it, researchers show that inhaling e-cigarette vapor—just the vapor, without any nicotine or flavorings—has an immediate, negative impact on the vascular system.
