Posted on 05/30/2026 10:41:12 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Costa Rica health officials are warning that smoking and vaping are putting younger adults at serious risk of heart attacks, with specialists from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund saying people under 40 who smoke or vape may face up to five times the risk of suffering a myocardial infarction compared with non-smokers.
The warning comes as Costa Rica marks World No Tobacco Day, observed each year on May 31, and as public health officials push back against the belief that vaping is a safe substitute for cigarettes.
Specialists say the problem is not limited to lung damage. Tobacco, nicotine and other chemicals found in cigarettes and vaping products can inflame the arteries, damage blood vessels and speed up the formation of fatty plaques. When those plaques rupture, clots can block blood flow to the heart and cause a heart attack.
The concern is especially strong for younger adults because heart attacks in this age group are often unexpected and may be missed or dismissed at first. Symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, chest discomfort or unusual exhaustion during routine activity can be mistaken for stress, lack of sleep or poor conditioning.
CCSS doctors have pointed to the case of a 38-year-old man who suffered a heart attack after years of tobacco use. He reportedly began smoking as a child and later tried vaping as a way to quit, but ended up using both products. By the time he sought medical care, doctors found severe arterial damage and performed an emergency catheterization.
The case has become part of a broader prevention message from the CCSS: vaping is not a harmless escape route from cigarettes. Health specialists say many users who turn to vape products as a quitting tool continue consuming nicotine, and some end up combining vaping with traditional smoking.
Cardiologists have also warned that vaping liquids contain substances that can trigger inflammation and affect both the lungs and the heart. Nicotine itself is addictive and can raise heart rate and blood pressure, placing extra strain on the cardiovascular system.
The warning is aimed in part at teenagers and young adults, a group public health officials say is being drawn toward vaping through flavors, modern device designs and the perception that electronic cigarettes are cleaner or less dangerous than tobacco.
The Pan American Health Organization has made youth nicotine use a central part of its 2026 World No Tobacco Day campaign, noting that millions of adolescents already use tobacco or e-cigarettes. PAHO has called for stronger policies to reduce the appeal of these products, including restrictions on flavors, advertising and product design.
In Costa Rica, people who want to stop smoking or vaping can seek help through CCSS cessation clinics, which offer support for nicotine dependence. Health officials say quitting without professional help can be difficult because nicotine addiction often involves physical, psychological and social habits that reinforce each other.
The CCSS message is straightforward: heart attacks are no longer a risk associated only with older adults. For young people who smoke or vape, the damage can begin quietly and much earlier than expected.
Who Knew? WTF
Now there’s a Nanny State policy even in Central America?
This is why Europeans don’t go to Costa Rica. They go to the Dominican Republic instead... Apparently you can smoke everywhere down there.
Just catching on are we?
A friend of mine used e-cigs to kick the cigarette habit, in her case successfully. But she said she noticed that the e-cigs she purchased were already preset on the strongest setting when they came out of the package and the hit of nicotine they gave was much more intense than a regular cigarette.
She had to reset them to the lowest setting, otherwise the user would get more addicted, not less.
You can buy very low
3-6mg
In the ultra Europe 50mg
Here max is 15
There have been many people that quit smoking cigarettes by vaping. Because of this I withhold judgment on vaping. I’m from the age where I grew up with a mostly constant vaporizer working in one of our many bedrooms. I’d rather be in a bingo hall with vapers than smokers.
I've been vaping since 2012. I quit cigs in 2013. I make my own coils and buy my own Japanese cotton for the wicks.
The problem a lot of people new to vaping is the premade coils and lousy e-juice. And yes, one can order the amount of nicotine in that juice. I've been at 3mg for years. The next step is zero.
So, in the 13 years of vaping I have had NO issues at all. None. Zero. All of that despite some of my friends/relatives saying it's going to kill me.
Heck, my own doctor said she would rather me vape than smoke. Of course, she said, "If you're not going to quit nicotine addiction, I'd rather you vape than smoke cigarettes."
Carcinogens/nicotine in cigs vs just nicotine in e-juice. Nicotine is addictive like caffeine. It's a stimulant like caffeine. Coffee good. Vape bad.
Like everything else in life, people need to do some deep research before babbling about crap they know nothing about.
Nicotine raises your heart rate? My oh my, what a shock! I am shocked , I tell you!
This “research” has be be USAID crappola.
Next: Water is wet!
Good news there, I’m over 40.
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