Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Marijuana, vaping may be as harmful to heart as cigarettes: Study

E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products have become popular because the public perceives them as being less harmful than smoking, the researchers said.

Marijuana, vaping may be as harmful to heart as cigarettes: Study

E-cigarettes and marijuana may have harmful effects on the heart similar to those caused by tobacco cigarettes, opening the door to abnormal heart rhythms, according to a study conducted in mice.

E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products have become popular because the public perceives them as being less harmful than smoking, the researchers said.


Similarly, legal recreational marijuana has become more common in recent years, and is also frequently viewed by the public as being safer than smoking tobacco, they said.

"We found that cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana greatly interfere with the electrical activity, structure, and neural regulation of the heart," said study lead author Huiliang Qiu, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the US.

"Often, any single change can lead to arrhythmia disease. Unfortunately, these adverse effects on the heart are quite comprehensive," Qiu said.

The study, published in the journal Heart Rhythm, exposed rats for eight weeks to a single daily session of exposure to smoke, aerosol from a popular e-cigarette, aerosol from a heated tobacco product, smoke from marijuana, and smoke from modified marijuana that lacks all cannabinoids, compared to just air.

The exposures modelled a single session of actual smoking/vaping: The rats inhaled the smoke or aerosol for five seconds twice for five minutes, with clean air in between the smoke inhalations.

This was done once per day for five days and per week for eight weeks. During that time, the heart function in the rats exposed to the products (but not air) got progressively worse and blood pressure increased, the researchers said.

At the end of the study, the team conducted various tests to determine the electrical and physical properties of the hearts.

The researchers found that all the products led to increased scarring in the heart, a decrease in the number of blood vessels, a change in the type of nerves found in the heart, a reduction in the important ability to vary heart rate, and a higher likelihood of developing arrhythmias.

"It's notable that all of these tobacco and marijuana products had such similar effects," said senior author Matthew Springer, a UCSF professor of cardiology.

"And what's really striking is that this was caused by a single realistic smoking/vaping session per day," Springer said.

The researchers acknowledged that there are some limitations to the study.

"While rats are a good model for many cardiovascular effects of humans, there are still differences and one can't draw firm conclusions about effects on humans from rat studies alone," Springer said.

However, he noted that the results are consistent with various reports from the medical literature about heart rhythm disturbances in users of e-cigarettes or marijuana.

The observation of various physical disturbances in the heart, like the scarring and the nerve changes, suggests a similar explanation, despite the differences in nicotine or cannabinoid content, the researchers added.

(PTI)

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less