Impact of Tobacco Versus Electronic Cigarette Smoking on Platelet Function

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a scientific study examining the impact of tobacco cigarettes and electronic cigarettes on platelet function in both smokers and non-smokers. The study aims to provide a better understanding of the potential risks associated with electronic cigarette use and to compare them to the well-known risks of tobacco cigarette use.

Key Points:

* The study is a crossover, single-blind study with 40 participants, including 20 smokers and 20 non-smokers, matched for age and sex.
* Participants smoked a tobacco cigarette or vaped a tobacco-flavored electronic cigarette with a nicotine cartridge in two separate phases.
* Blood samples were taken before and 5 minutes after smoking or vaping to measure biomarkers of platelet activation.
* Smokers had higher baseline levels of sCD40L and sP-selectin than non-smokers.
* After smoking or vaping either product, significant changes in the levels of sCD40L, sP-selectin, and platelet aggregation were detected in both smokers and non-smokers.
* The effect of electronic cigarettes on platelet activation was less pronounced than that of tobacco cigarettes in non-smokers.
* In smokers, electronic cigarettes had a less detrimental impact than tobacco cigarettes but only for platelet aggregation.

Main Message:
The study provides valuable insights into the potential risks associated with electronic cigarette use, particularly for platelet function. While electronic cigarettes appear to have a less detrimental impact on platelet activation compared to tobacco cigarettes in non-smokers, they still increase platelet activation. Therefore, discouraging non-smokers, especially young individuals, from using electronic cigarettes recreationally is recommended. The chronic effects of electronic cigarette and tobacco cigarette use on platelet function and cardiovascular events are still unknown and require further investigation in large prospective cohort studies.

Nocella, Cristina, Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, Sebastiano Sciarretta, Mariangela Peruzzi, Francesca Pagano, Lorenzo Loffredo, Pasquale Pignatelli, Chris Bullen, Giacomo Frati, and Roberto Carnevale. “Impact of Tobacco Versus Electronic Cigarette Smoking on Platelet Function.” The American Journal of Cardiology 122, no. 9 (November 2018): 1477–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2018.07.029.