BLACKDOCTOR.ORG: Vaping: Healthy Alternative to Cigarettes or Dangerous Addiction?
Vaping has become an extremely popular trend among young adults and even teenagers. Seemingly a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes, vaping is the act of inhaling vapor through an e-cigarette or vaporizer produced by heating up water, chemicals, nicotine or marijuana. The e-cigarette or vaping industry has become a successful money-making business but many are unaware of the long-term negative side effects of participating in this trend.
Although you can opt out of using nicotine in your e-cigarette, there are many more dangers with vaping and below are just a few:
1. Vape Smoke Can Cause “Popcorn Lung”, A Dangerous Lung Condition
Most people enjoy the different flavors that e-cigarettes offer such as bubblegum and cotton candy. But while those flavors are tasty, may contain a chemical called diacetyl which is commonly used to flavor popcorn, caramel, and dairy products. When inhaled, this chemical can be dangerous as it destroys the lungs’ smallest airways resulting in a lung condition called bronchiolitis obliterans or “popcorn lung”.
2. Vape Liquid Containing Nicotine Has Caused Poisonings According to CDC Report
A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) concluded that there was a dramatic increase in calls to poison centers across the country due to the liquid containing nicotine found in e-cigarettes. The e-cigarette related poisonings were due to the ingestion, inhalation or absorption of the liquid through the skin or eyes. 3. Toxic Metals Are Found in Vape Smoke
According to a report by the Environmental Health Perspectives, the chemical composition of vape smoke also known as “aerosols” contain toxic metals such as iron, chromium, aluminum, nickel, silver, tin and more. These toxins are dangerous to the body as they are known to cause cardiovascular and respiratory disease and even cancer.
4. Don’t Forget the Explosions
Just this past week a man in Florida died due to the explosion of his vape pen firefighters say. This is not the only tale of people suffering from burns and injuries due to their vape pen exploding on or near their body. The explosions are due to users overheating their vaporizer packs, carrying spare batteries in their pockets or using cheaper brands of the vaporizer and e-cigarettes.
Even though e-cigarettes seem like a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes as they do not deposit unhealthy toxins into your body as fast, doctors and experts say that vaping has long-term health risks that could lead to cancer just as cigarettes can. Vaping is especially harmful to teenagers as their bodies are not developed enough to handle the dangerous toxins and they are most susceptible to be poisoned.
Vaping is trendy. It looks cool, you can smoke inside buildings without getting nasty stares from others and there are delicious flavors to choose from. But, there are long-term side effects of participating in this trend that could possibly cost you your life.