Does vaping cause high blood pressure?
Using e-cigarettes might also raise blood pressure.
Although data is more limited, that’s what Kloner has found in experimental research using rodent models, including a study published online in Cardiovascular Toxicology in February.
“We saw short-term increases in blood pressure with vaping, but we didn’t really see long-term effects,” Kloner says of when rats were exposed to vape “smoke.”
A meta-analysis and systematic review of research on the effects of vaping on the cardiovascular system published in the journalCureus in 2023 concluded that those smoking e-cigarettes were more likely to see a rise in blood pressure.
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Apart from any other chemicals e-cigarettes may deliver in vapor, most do contain nicotine — and the amount has only increased in newer products. One analysis published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Researchfound that nicotine strength, or percentage of nicotine by volume of e-liquid found in vaping devices, nearly doubled over five years, from 2.5 percent in January 2017 to 4.4 percent in March 2022.
People trying to quit smoking by sporadically substituting vaping products could get hit hard as well, since both contribute to cardiovascular problems. Put simply, the safest way to kick the habit is to talk to your doctor and get the help you need to quit all of it ASAP.
“If you stop smoking you can increase life expectancy by up to 10 years,” Sinoway says, “and your risks of heart disease and lung disease and cancer decline.”
Does smoking weed cause high blood pressure?
Whereas a growing number of states now allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, experts say more studies are needed to understand thehealth implications, including cardiovascular.
Researchers recently found cannabis users were 25 percent more likely to have a heart attack, and 42 percent more likely to have a stroke, compared to people who didn’t use, according to one paper published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. As to how smoking affects blood pressure specifically, Kloner calls it “a bit of a mixed bag.” On the one hand, a chemical found in marijuana, cannabidiol, or CBD, may lower blood pressure in healthy individuals. On the other, the psychoactive component, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, may increase blood pressure, particularly in higher doses.
So the question becomes: What’s the mix of THC and CBD in the marijuana you’re smoking or ingesting? “The more THC, the worse,” Kloner says. Problem is, THC concentrations in weed have gone up exponentially in recent decades; and where regulation is lacking, and what’s in marijuana is variable, it’s hard to draw conclusions about how it affects blood pressure, for example.
But for those smoking weed, well, “smoke is smoke,” Ferdinand says. The combustion exposes users to things like carbon monoxide, just as if a person were puffing on a cigarette. Accordingly, research is increasingly finding that heavy use raises a person’s risk forheart diseaseand lung disease in line with smoking tobacco cigarettes, he says, adding that people shouldn’t perceive smoking marijuana as being inherently healthier than smoking tobacco.
Trying to sidestep the issue by ingesting edibles isn’t exactly a safe fix, either. “Patients using edible cannabis who visited the [emergency room] were more likely to show cardiovascular symptoms (8%) versus those who inhaled cannabis (3%),” according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association.
“There is concern among the cardiology community that marijuana is not as safe as people make it out to be,” Kloner says.
How to Quit Smoking: Setting Yourself Up for Success
Having ample reasons to quit smoking — including knowing that smoking can spike blood pressure — still doesn’t make it easy to kick the habit.
“Smoking cessation is difficult,” Ferdinand acknowledges. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to break the addiction, no matter how many times you may have tried and failed.
Follow these tips for success:
- Put past failures behind you. Instead of dwelling on relapses, which are normal, try novel (at least for you) approaches to quitting.
- Set a quit date. Pick a day within the next two weeks, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, to give yourself time to prepare for the change, but so it’s not so far out you lose motivation. Avoid choosing a stressful time if you can.
- Be careful with e-cigarettes. Many who start vaping in hopes of quitting smoking end up doing both, as researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found. That means being exposed to toxins from cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
- Try quit aids. Discuss with your doctor all options to stop smoking, including prescription medications. The Washington University in St. Louis researchers found in the study published in the journalThoraxthat those dual users who smoked and vaped were more likely to quit when they received formal tobacco treatment, like nicotine replacement therapy.
- Expect positive results. Quitting smoking not only improves heart and lung health, it’s a boon for mental health, too. Research finds people who quit smoking have lower rates of anxiety and depression, and often see improvements in mood.
While smoking can cause extensive damage to blood vessels, for which there is no quick fix, the benefits of cessation remain — even if it takes time for blood pressure to come down. “It is worth stopping,” Kloner emphasizes.
