Vaping appears to be harming college students’ brain function Students who vape have lower cognitive function scores Those who vape more have even lower scores MONDAY, Sept. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Vaping may look cool when you're young, but it appears to be dulling the brains of college students, a new study warns. College students who vape have lower cognitive function scores than those who don't, researchers reported Sunday at the American Neurological Association’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
And the more students vape, the lower they score on tests of learning, memory, problem-solving and critical thinking, researchers found. Students who vaped 10 to 20 puffs per day had scores 9% lower than those who did not vape or smoke, while those who vaped more than 20 puffs a day had scores nearly 14% lower, researchers found. “We believe our research marks a before-and-after in the field of studying cognitive function regarding vaping,” said lead researcher Linker Vinan Paucar , a medical student at Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil in Ecuador.
Previous studies have shown that smoking can affect brain function by shrinking the brain and lowering blood flow to brain cells, researchers said in background notes. Nicotine also causes neurotoxicity that damages brain cells. The risk might be even greater in people who vape, Paucar said.
“People in the study who had previously smoked cigarettes typically smoked three or four a week, but with vaping, they n.