--- title: "If You Still Vape, You Might Wanna Read This" description: "In the wake of a new study about vapes, experts who have long warned about the potential dangers of vaping are again ringing alarm bells." date: "2025-07-12" modified: "2025-07-12" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/vape-health-risks-revived" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" tags: - "heart health" - "heavy metals" - "vapes" - "vaping" --- # If You Still Vape, You Might Wanna Read This ![In the wake of a new study about vapes, experts who have long warned about the potential dangers of vaping are again ringing alarm bells.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* In the wake of a terrifying study about heavy metals in vape clouds, experts who have long warned about the potential dangers of vaping are again ringing alarm bells. Researchers from University of California, Davis [recently found]() such high levels of heavy metals like lead and nickel when analyzing vape mist for a [recent study]() that they thought their equipment had gone haywire. But the findings were very real. And while the precise long-term health implications of vaping remain hazy — vapes are still so new, in the grand scheme of things, that some health problems they cause probably haven't even shown up yet — but as the [*New York Times* reports](), doctors are startling to advise serious caution. Cardiovascular expert and doctor James Stein of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine told the newspaper that when you vape "all day long, over and over and over again — you’re basically walking around with high blood pressure." That's because vaping places undue stress on the cardiovascular system, leading your heart rate to rise and your blood vessels to constrict — and it can also lead to an irregular heartbeat condition [known as atrial fibrillation](), a stroke, or even a heart attack. As a cardiovascular expert, Stein also is acutely aware of the damage that vaping can cause to the lungs, which are [closely linked to the heart]() via the circulatory system and [often implicated in heart disorders](). As such, he noted that vaping is known to cause shortness of breath and a persistent cough — which also, obviously, affects traditional cigarette smokers — due to the chronic inflammation associated with it. Vaping can also, the Wisconsin doctor noted, worsen symptoms of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). By now, that sort of outcome should almost be a given, considering that heavy vape use has been associated with bronchiolitis obliterans, better known as "popcorn lung," for [nearly a decade](). And Irfan Rahman, a nicotine researcher at the University of Rochester Medicine, told the *NYT* that vapes release more harmful chemicals the hotter they get. Those chemicals, in turn, harm blood vessels, promote inflammation, and increase the risk of heart disease. Ultimately, people will have to make their own decisions about whether to vape, regardless of how many scary studies come out — but Stein characterized that choice as a no-brainer. "Common sense tells you — your mom would tell you — that a superheated chemical inhaling right into your lungs isn’t going to be good," the doctor said. **More on heart health choices:** [*New Study Finds Serious Risk to Eating Edibles*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()