The danger of e-cigs

A lifelong smoker, dating back to eighth grade when I would stop and hide my pack of Winstons in the bushes on my way to pee- wee football practice, I thought I had it made when e- cigs hit the market approximately 13 years ago.

A safer alternative to real cigarettes, I thought at the time. Plus, they don’t stink.

Approximately 30 years earlier, I had cut my daily pack a day down to about five cigarettes a day simply because I tied them to the three or four beers I’d have after work.

That proved to be a successful way to cut down the number of cigs per day because without the beer to lubricate the mouth, I found that a cigarette, by itself, tasted like cow manure, although to be honest, I’ve never actually tasted cow manure, but you get the point.

With a cup of coffee, the occasional cigarette would work, but I kept it in close contact with only beer.

Which meant that I went most days without a smoke until happy hour. Then I’d smoke my four or five for the day and be done.

The E-Cig Trap

Then came the era of the e-cig circa 2013, and I was hooked. No more nasty smell tied to the real cigarette. I could vape one in an office, and no one would have a clue.

From the moment I woke up and grabbed the first cup of coffee, out came the e-cig. The only time I set it down was when it was time to turn out the lights and go to sleep.

The Blu brand was great, but hard to find, compared to the JUUL brand, which is now sold in most convenience stores.

This year, though, for some odd reason, I found myself thinking of my father-in-law, who passed away in 2010. I was rapidly closing in on the same age as he when he had the first of two back-to-back strokes. He was a world-class smoker, still smoking about a pack a day well into his 60s.

So, my mind, often my own worst enemy, in an effort to put it to rest, told myself, no worries, Gregg, you aren’t still smoking a pack a day, and besides that, you’re not smoking, you are vaping a healthier product — the e-cig.

That all changed this past weekend when I ran across a study that shows that people who consume nicotine — no matter if it’s via a regular cigarette, an e-cig, or nicotine gum — all risk the same thing, and it is an eye opener: two to four times the risk of a stroke compared to people who don’t use any nicotine products.

Same thing with regard to a heart attack.

In a peer-reviewed study led by a team at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, which analyzed data from nearly 400,000 people, they found that e-cigarette users had a 71-percent higher risk of stroke and a 59-percent higher risk of heart attack.

All told, the group of e-cig vapers had an approximate 40-percent higher risk of coronary heart disease compared to non-users, and a 71-percent higher risk of stroke.

The nuance, though, is that the e-cig use is nonstop. I’d take a hit, and then within a minute, another.

In fact, writing this column, my left hand is continually reaching for the desktop, looking for my e-cig.

Then I say to myself, “A 71-percent increase of a stroke, you moron.”

That, so far, has done the trick. I’m now on day number two of being nicotine free.

Here is the real killer, though, pardon the pun.

Nicotine, no matter the delivery method, triggers the release of adrenaline, which forces the heart to beat faster, often increasing by 10 to 20 beats per minute.

That in and of itself might not be so bad if the same nicotine wasn’t also causing the blood vessels to constrict (vasoconstrictor).

In a way, it’s like the old powder cocaine. It makes the heart beast faster, while constricting the blood vessels.

All Day Long

The problem with the e-cigs is that, I’m guessing, most users, like myself, would hit the vape all day long, seven days a week.

Unlike a traditional cigarette, whereby few people actually chain smoke, not so with the e-cig.

I was essentially chain-smoking all day long without ever having to light a match.

From the moment I woke up until the moment I closed my eyes, I was taking a hit off the e-cig.

In fact, during the course of writing this column, my left hand has repeatedly reached for the desktop, looking for that JUUL e-cig.

That’s when my brain kicks in and says to me, again: “A71-percent increased chance of a stroke, you moron.”

That’s when memories of my father-in-law come flooding back to mind.

One day, overnight, he went from a guy who had been happily retired for approximately 8.5 years, enjoying his passion, wood carving, to a guy stuck inside a rehab unit, only a former shadow of his happy, satisfied self.

His life had turned from happy to one of misery.

So I’m now on day number two of being nicotine free.

Will I ever go back to vaping an e-cig because I actually did enjoy it?

Not with that “71-percent increased chance of a stroke” flashing before my eyes.

I have seen the light. Hopefully I caught it in time.

Even now, as I’m about to go back to the top of this column to proof it, my left hand is reaching for the e-cig that is no longer there.

Funny how the brain works.