What are the harmful effects of vaping?

Vaping has become extremely popular over the past decade, especially among teenagers and young adults. Since vaping is a new trend, there was initially no research on short and long-term effects. Vaping is often touted as a “less harmful” alternative to smoking to help people quit. However, like smoking, vaping has its own deleterious effects.

Nicotine is just as addictive in a vape as it is in a cigarette. Vaping can take around 20 minutes or more, compared to just a few minutes with cigarettes. This means that vape users who try to quit nicotine will actually get more of it in a vape and stay just as addicted.

Possible effects of vaping on the lungs

Next we should discuss the effects of vaping on the lungs and the risks of inhaling vapes. The vape juice contains either marijuana, nicotine and / or flavors (cotton candy, watermelon, strawberry) combined with propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. Glycol and glycerin are harmless, but inhaling them into your lungs is harmful. When heated, these mixtures can actually create new chemicals through the heating process, such as “formaldehyde and other impurities such as nickel, tin and aluminum” (Canadian Lung Association).

According to the Canadian Lung Association, vaping can cause serious lung disease and is not an effective way to quit smoking or to quit nicotine addiction. Rather, it has led to nicotine addiction in many young people.

Unknown ingredients

In addition, many of the ingredients in vape juices have only been tested as safe for ingestion, not for inhalation. The health risks associated with using them for long-term inhalation are unknown. Vaping can also worsen asthma, cause lung damage, disease, and cancer-related changes (CLA).

One potentially harmful effect of vaping is the popcorn lung. Popcorn lung, or obliterative bronchiolitis, is the result of inhaling chemicals like diacetyl, a chemical that was once used to flavor popcorn (Medical News Today). Other chemicals or lung infections can cause popcorn lungs, as well as breathing in the fumes used in making popcorn, candy, and chips. Many vape juices contain diacetyl for the flavors. According to a study mentioned in Medical News Today, 39 out of 51 brands of flavored vape juice contained diacetyl, and most of those brands also contained toxic chemicals like acetoin and pentanedione. What happens to the lungs from the popcorn lungs? The tissue becomes scarred and the damage is irreversible. There is currently no cure for popcorn lungs, but treatments are available.

Overall, vaping has many harmful effects, as does inhaling smoke and other chemicals.

Footnote (s)

Mayo Clinic: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-vaping-and-teens/ https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-researching -Vaping juice /
Canadian Lung Association: https://www.lung.ca/lung-health/vaping-what-you-need-know
Medical news today: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318260#symptoms