Mental fog: children who start steaming before the age of 14 are more likely to struggle with concentration, memory and decision making, the study shows
- Studies show a link between vaping and mental fog in both adults and children
- Symptoms include difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
- Those who take up the habit before the age of 14 are at the highest risk
- He suggests that smoking should not be considered a safe alternative to tobacco smoking
Vaping could be as harmful to young people’s brains as smoking tobacco, according to new research.
Both teens and adults who use e-cigarettes are more likely to focus, remember, or make decisions, say scientists in the United States.
However, the risk of mental “fog” increases even more for those who get into the habit before the age of 14.
“Our studies add to the growing evidence that smoking should not be considered a safe alternative to tobacco smoking,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Dongma Li, of the University of Rochester, New York.
Both teens and adults who use e-cigarettes are more likely to focus, remember, or make decisions (stock)
The analysis of more than 900,000 people in the United States is the first to investigate a link that was previously suggested during animal experiments.
He showed that those who vaporize and smoke are the most prone – followed by those who did one or the other.
Mental function problems were significantly higher among these groups than their non-smoking and non-smoking colleagues.
Moreover, children who started vaping between the ages of eight and 13 were even more vulnerable than those who started at age 14 or older.
Mental function problems have been shown to be significantly greater among people who have smoked or smoked than their non-smokers and non-smokers.
“With the recent rise in adolescent vapors, this is very worrying and suggests that we need to intervene even earlier,” said Prof. Li.
“Prevention programs that start in high school or middle school may actually be too late.”
Nicotine has been dubbed “brain poison” for young people.
Adolescence is a critical period for brain development, especially for higher-order mental function, such as attention, learning, and memory.
This means that children and adolescents may be more sensitive to nicotine-induced brain changes, explained Prof. Li.
E-cigarettes provide as much or even more nicotine than cigarettes, despite the lack of many other dangerous compounds found in tobacco, she said.
Flavors such as mango, mint, strawberries and vanilla mask its harsh taste.
It is known to change the activity of neurons in key regions of the gray matter that continued to mature until the mid-1920s.
The Prof Li team extracted data on over 18,000 participants in the national youth tobacco survey and over 886,000 adults from the telephone survey of the behavioral risk surveillance system.
They were both asked similar questions about smoking and smoking habits, as well as problems with memory, attention and mental function.
An association between vaping and mental function has been clearly identified – although the former is less obvious.
Exposure to nicotine by vaping may cause mental impairment, said Prof. Li.
On the other hand, people who report “mental fog” may simply be more likely to smoke or vaporize – possibly self-medicating.
Prof Li and his colleagues say that further studies are needed to track children and adults over time to get to the bottom of the “cause and effect”.
Previous research has shown that nicotine-induced brain changes during adolescence can be permanent.
Its harm can lead to long-term effects on the ability to make decisions and can also leave an increased risk of dependence on other substances.
Last year, a study found that steaming damages the heart, lungs and blood vessels – including those that feed the brain.
The latest findings have been published in Tobacco Induced Diseases and PLOS One.