The Risks of Vaping
You may have heard recently that vaping devices are a good substitute for cigarettes. In the United States, there have been publications about the risk of lung damage and death associated with inhaling the vapor from these devices, but that is not the only risk.
Vapor-smoking devices, known by terms such as e-cigarettes, arc pens, and e-water gyros, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are also devices that look like traditional cigarettes, cigars, and pipes.
While those devices may look different, most vaping devices function in the same way, the puff activates a battery-powered heating device. This heats the liquid in the cartridge and turns it into vapor that is inhaled.
When you inhale the vapor, your lungs are exposed to a variety of chemicals. These may include nicotine, the main active chemical in marijuana (THC), flavorings, and other ingredients that are added to the vaporizing liquid. In addition, other chemicals may have been produced during the vaporization process.
If the liquid contains nicotine, the inhaler is inhaling the nicotine along with the other ingredients in the liquid," said Dr. John H. Hoffman, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
If the liquid contains nicotine, the inhaler inhales the nicotine along with the other ingredients in the liquid," explains Dr. Thomas Isenberg, an expert in tobacco research at Virginia Commonwealth University.
While vaping devices function like any other, some models are more powerful than others and have been found to produce more vapor and deliver more chemicals.
Is vaping safe?
Studies have shown that inhaling nicotine vapor may be less harmful than traditional cigarettes if people who smoke regularly switch to nicotine as a complete alternative. But I'm just saying it might be less harmful because of the potential health risks of inhaling nicotine vapor.
You are inhaling propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavors intended to be eaten but not inhaled, and nicotine.
It is explained.
And they are all heated in this little reactor that is the electronic cigarette. When they're heated, those components can turn into other potentially dangerous chemicals.
One of those potentially harmful chemicals is called vitamin E acetate.
One of the harmful chemicals could be a thickening agent called vitamin E acetate. It is sometimes used as an additive in arc products that contain THC; the CDC has identified it as a "chemical of concern" among people with lung damage related to vaping. It recommends avoiding buying vapor vaping products that contain vitamin E acetate, or THC, from unofficial sellers.
Vaping has become more popular than smoking traditional cigarettes. One in four high school students say they have smoked nicotine. And studies have shown that teens who smoke nicotine are more likely to continue smoking traditional cigarettes.
Marijuana vaping has also increased dramatically among teens. About 20 percent of high school students have inhaled marijuana in the past year, and the amount has more than doubled in the past two years.
New laws aimed at curbing teenage vaping have been enacted: you must be 21 or older to purchase tobacco products, including vaping products, and companies can no longer produce and sell flavors that appeal to children, such as fruit and mint. This is a good thing.
Invalidity of an Oft-Cited Estimate of the Relative Harms of Electronic Cigarettes. Eissenberg T, Bhatnagar A, Chapman S, Jordt SE, Shihadeh A, Soule EK. Am J Public Health. 2020 Feb;110(2):161-162. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305424. no abstract available. PMID: 31913680.
Nicotine absorption during electronic cigarette use among regular users. yingst JM, Foulds J, Veldheer S, Hrabovsky S, Trushin N, Eissenberg TT, Williams J, Richie JP, Nichols TT, Wilson SJ, Hobkirk AL. PLoS One. 2019 Jul 25;14(7):e0220300. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220300. eCollection 2019. PMID: 31344110.
Association Between Initial Use of e-Cigarettes and Subsequent Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta- analysis. Soneji S, Barrington-Trimis JL, Wills TA, Leventhal AM, Unger JB, Gibson LA, Yang J, Primack BA, Andrews JA, Miech RA, Spindle TR, Dick DM, Eissenberg T, Hornik RC, Dang R, Sargent JD. jama Pediatr. 2017 Aug 1;171(8):788-797. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.1488. PMID: 28654986.
Summary.
As it turns out, vaping is no different from smoking cigarettes because you are heating and inhaling ingredients that are harmful to the human body even if they are in a different form.
It may be less harmful than conventional products such as cigarettes, but at the end of the day, if you smoke, the end result is the same, so not smoking is the best option to protect your health.
