E-cigarette flavours can damage the cells that line the blood vessels and generally heart health, according to a study published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The study adds that there is growing evidence that flavoured "e-liquids" used in vapes can set back the cell’s ability to function and survive.
"The public has this notion that e-cigarettes are safe," said study author Dr. Joseph Wu, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and a professor in the medical school's departments of medicine and radiology, to CNN.
This belief comes not just from the presence of fewer cancer-causing chemicals than regular cigarettes, but also from the various vaping flavours and products that can seem to be harmless.
In the study, which Wu’s team conducted, six e-liquids with varying concentrations of nicotine were used and the results showed evidence of poor cell survival and increased inflammation on a type of cardiovascular cell.
The US Food and Drug Administration announced in November that vaping had increased nearly 80% among high schoolers and 50% among middle schoolers since the year before and can put the kids’ developing brains at risk.
"We're seeing more and more evidence that e-cigarettes do have a relationship with increased chance of having a heart attack," Dr. Lawrence Phillips, an assistant professor of medicine and director of outpatient cardiology at NYU Langone Health, previously told CNN.