Vaping, the new best discovery. Is it?
The past decades have witnessed the continuous flow of discoveries and industrial growth. From the appearance of smartphones and tablets to the genetic tampering of food and intensification of food technology processes, we have seen it all. One of the most recent arrivals was the e-cigarette, otherwise called vaping. But what is vaping and how safe is it? Does it genuinely represent cigarettes; but, in a somewhat divine image?
When you talk about craze and new products to make you look and feel unique, you have to keep focusing that these are targeting the new generations, youth! When you get young adults addicted or hooked on a new product or idea, it will become part of their routine and will, therefore, become so hard to be shaken off! That’s when a company makes its profits: continuation and incorporation into a lifestyle since early adulthood!
What is Vaping and How does it work?
People, especially young ones, have turned to vaping ever since it was marketed to be the healthy alternative for smoking and regular tobacco products. Unlike regular cigarettes, vaping or e-cigarettes, consist of a battery operated device called the vaporizer. You fill this tool with water, and the person ends up inhaling the water vapor produced.
Some numbers related to vaping!
- Studies showed that about 70% of vaping users are dual users. They are smokers, who also use vaping.
- About 29% of smokers, who tried vaping, have quit smoking. (Statistics Brain Research Institute, 2016)
- The e-cigarette sales have jumped from 20 Million dollars in 2008 to almost 3 Billion dollars in 2015. (Statistics Brain Research Institute, 2016)
- According to the CDC and FDA, “Current e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014”.
- A study done in 2014, showed that high school students were mostly smoking e-cigarettes (about 13%), while 9% smoked the hookah and 9% smoked the cigarette!
The teenage years involve an intensive development of the brain. When teens turn to nicotine, they are causing nonreversible brain damages, creating addictions and adding a very rotten solid rock in the foundation of their future.
Ingredients: So what is in the vaporizer? Just water?
Everyone’s attention is directed towards this nicotine-free smoking device. So, the vaporizer contains, typically, a liquid called e-liquid or e-juice since it has different flavors. This e-water is supposed to be made of four components:
- The water: this is the regular water we know
- Nicotine: the same nicotine you know
- Flavorings: These are chemicals to give the taste of the water vapor inhaled.
- Propylene Glycol OR vegetable glycerine base
The problem is the following: two large studies including one conducted by Harvard showed the existence of toxic chemicals in most known e-waters. These substances are the diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, and acetoin. These substances have the possible power to destroy the smallest airways of the lungs leading to a permanent condition called bronchiolitis obliterans that could be deadly. Diacetyl chemicals can lead to severe lung conditions. The concentration of this compound depends on the flavor of the e-water.
As much as it will be great if these vaporizers contain only water, a new announcement was made explaining that the e-water includes formaldehyde! Formaldehyde is a well-known carcinogen. It seems that you get exposed to this chemical when you are e-smoking at a concentration that is 5 to 15 times higher than when you smoke a cigarette.
Vaping and Health.
1- Vaping causes the release of microscopic particles that will be inhaled by the smoker. These tiny particles cause inflammation which could lead to asthma, stroke, heart disease and diabetes.
2- The new generation of vaporizers can let you increase the voltage, meaning raising the temperature, which could lead to unwanted chemical reactions to occur. One of them would be the formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. These are two well-known carcinogens.
3- According to the American Thoracic Society, e-smoking can cause dangerous germs (like the ones causing pneumonia) harder to kill and more resistant to antibiotics.
4- A recent study done by the UNCC showed that the lung and nasal passages of e-smokers are more susceptible to infections. Some of the e-water was found to suppress the body’s typical immune responses. Vaping could suppress your immune system. The effect on the immune system is primarily in e-waters that have the following flavors: cinnamon and cola.
5- The same team at UNCC was teaming alongside the University of Rochester in New York only to discover that vaping could affect men’s sexual and reproductive health. It lowers the concentration of their sperm count and decreasing the motility of this sperm.
6- Vaping affects mental health and memory. More studies are still undergoing that might prove such a link.
7- Finally, vaping leads to plaque build-up and clogged arteries.
So, if you need to know whether you should e-smoke, I can tell you this: vaping is the less of the two evils. So, even though it could be a safer alternative than the cigarette; it is still a dangerous habit that could cause so many health problems and complications. So, you’re better Opt-out!
