UT Tyler clinical professor explains dangers of vaping, how to stop
One thing to look forward to when smoking a cigarette or hitting a vape is a heart attack.
Associate clinical professor at UT Tyler, Brad Brazill, provides a look at the negative effects of vaping on the heart.
Brazill is a part of a national program called Operation Tobacco Cessation, run by the American Pharmaceutical Association, that works in smoking cessation. This student-run program trains their pharmacists to aid those with nicotine addictions in quitting by setting up programs that help them wean off nicotine. The focus of his work with this association is looking at how the use of nicotine products affects the heart, rather than just the lungs.
“The No. 1 killer of people in the United States and across the world is heart disease. And part of that, which people do not recognize, is atherosclerotic disease, or plaques in the heart, that can cause a heart attack,” Brazill said.
It’s not a secret that smoking, vaping, and overall nicotine addictions have negative effects on the body. It’s been preached for decades that smoking causes issues to a person’s lungs and has been linked to cancer on many occasions. However, something that is not often discussed is the effects smoking can have on the heart.
“Smoking causes a change in demand for oxygen in the heart, which can precipitate heart disease and heart attacks,” Brazill said.
With the invention of flavored vapes and increased marketing toward younger generations, the use of nicotine products, such as vapes, has become more prominent, specifically in East Texas.
The national average of college students who use nicotine products is 22%, while the average in East Texas college students is 78 %, according to the Texas Oral Health Coalition. The work Brazill does with the APhA confirms this.
“When we looked at the composite numbers, the use was higher in East Texas than the national average,” Brazill said.
The continuous use of nicotine products such as cigarettes, vapes and pouches has caused an increase in nicotine addiction overall.
“College students are more likely to fall victim to this addiction as they want to feel included in social settings or use nicotine to self-medicate,” Brazill said.
Not only is there an increase in the use of nicotine products, but there has also been an increase in the doses consumed by those who use these products.
One of the biggest problems he noticed early on in his research into the effects of nicotine usage on the heart, was that students who were vaping were using 10 times the amount of nicotine that you would normally get smoking a pack of cigarettes, Brazill said.
With the introduction of refillable pods, it has become easier for those who vape to fill the vapes with highly concentrated levels of nicotine rather than the standard amount.
“They are increasing the concentration of their vapes to really concerning, toxic levels,” Brazill said.
Operation Tobacco Cessation chair of APhA, Melody Battles, provides an inside look into the work this organization does for addicts.
“Our goal on campus and just out in general is giving people resources to know where to start,” Battles said.
Addiction recovery requires time and effort. Knowing where to start is the first step.
“Quitting nicotine doesn’t have to happen right away and taking things one step at a time is helpful when trying to quit all together,” Battles said.
The goal for Operation Tobacco Cessation is to give students access to resources that will help them quit and start a conversation about their recovery. While this organization was started for college students at UT Tyler, it is not limited to only their students. Students from any college, including TJC, are encouraged to take advantage of the resources provided by Operation Tobacco Cessation.
For more information on Operation Tobacco Cessation or to start the conversation of nicotine addiction recovery visit, http://www.pharmacist.com/Practice/Patient-Care-Services/Tobacco-Cessation.
