Electronic cigarettes impact on the medical students’ health

The prevalence of e-cigarette use among young people, including medical university students, has increased significantly in the past decade. Despite the existing opinion that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional tobacco products, evidence on the negative impact of vaping on health is accumulating. Objective. To identify the most common symptoms related to using e-cigarettes experienced by medical students. Materials and methods. The anonymous survey included 234 students of the 1st-6th year of the North-Western State Medical University named after I. I. Mechnikov (study group). In addition, the McNair and Kahn test for self-assessment of memory was administered. Results. The mean age of the respondents was 20.9±1.8 years. The smoking history of 69.4% of students was less than 5 years. The average number of puffs per day was 60 [20; 250]. The correlation analysis showed that the risk of developing vape-associated symptoms is higher the longer the smoking history (r=0.16, p<0.05), the frequency of e-cigarette use (r=0.24, p<0.05), and the number of puffs per day (r=0.24, p<0.05). However, 67% of respondents chose disposable e-cigarettes. There was a statistically significant association between the use of disposable e-cigarettes by students and an increased risk of vape-associated symptoms (r=0.15, p<0.05). The McNair and Kahn test also showed deterioration in memory (Z=2.3, p=0.02) and attention (Z=2.2, p=0.02) in students with vape-associated symptoms. Conclusion. The results of the study support further research on the effects of e-cigarette components on human health. Despite the short history, most students have already developed the first symptoms typical of future complications.