Vaping goes from bad to worse

Comic-book villain Ann Darnell, aka Vapor, has the power to transform her body into any gas — from oxygen to mustard gas. But her complex abilities often backfire, like when the Hulk defeated her while she was in the form of hydrogen. He sprayed her with oxygen, and she turned into water!

Vapers are equally in danger of being knocked out by the gasses in e-cigarettes. Millions of teens and young adults are vaping, and older folks are using e-cigs in record numbers, too. Everyone, young and old, is exposed to a cornucopia of toxic chemicals in vapes that damage the lungs and heart, and promote inflammation.

But it turns out the harm is a lot more far-reaching than that. One study in JAMA Pediatrics looked at what a session of vaping does to a nonsmokers’ lungs. Seems one 30-minute session doubles or quadruples their levels of oxidative stress — a marker for a whole grocery cart of health woes, including epigenetic changes and damage to your DNA, as well as tissue injury that can lead to cancer, diabetes, dementia and more. Another study, by researchers from West Virginia University’s School of Medicine, found that vaping while pregnant damages a major blood vessel in a fetus’s brain, reducing brain function when the newborn is 1 month old, and that damage lasts into adulthood.

We say: Make your teens aware of vaping’s dangers, and if you need to quit smoking (everything), check out smokefree.gov and the Cleveland Clinic’s information at my.clevelandclinic.org; search for “Tobacco Cessation.”

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com.