What Is Vaping?
Vaping is the act of inhaling vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or vaping device. Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are battery-powered smoking devices with cartridges meant to be filled with a liquid solution that contains nicotine, flavorings, and chemicals. Vaping aims to provide the sensation of inhaling tobacco smoke without the smoke.
Danger of Vaping
How Does Vaping Work?
Vaping devices come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, but the majority look like USB drives and pens. Most e-cigarettes include the following parts:
- The Mouthpiece: The mouthpiece is a cartridge attached to the end of the tube. It features a small plastic cup that contains absorbent material soaked in a liquid solution.
- The Atomizer: The atomizer heats up and vaporizes the liquid, allowing a person to inhale it.
- The Sensor: The sensor turns on the atomizer when a person sucks on the device.
- The Battery: The battery delivers power to the heating unit.
- The Solution: E-liquid, also known as e-juice, is made up of nicotine, a base (typically propylene glycol), and flavoring. The solution is placed inside the e-cigarette cartridge to be vaporized by the atomizer and inhaled. The liquid's nicotine content ranges from 0 mg to 36 mg.
Is Vaping Safe?
Although many consider vaping a safe alternative to smoking, it is still harmful. Many e-cigarettes have addictive nicotine and, in some cases, toxic chemicals like those found in glues and paint.
National Vaping Statistics
The following includes vaping statistics in the US:[1]
- Nearly one in every twenty Americans use vaping devices, and one in three vapes daily.
- Teenagers aged fifteen to seventeen are sixteen times more likely to vape than those aged twenty-five to thirty-four.
- Only 15% of US people who use e-cigarettes are nonsmokers.[2]
- 63% to 70% of high school cigarette smokers choose flavored vaping products.
- In 2015, over 1.6 million high school students and 500,000 middle school students used electronic cigarettes.
Worldwide Vaping Statistics
The following includes vaping statistics worldwide:3
- Worldwide vaping sales reached $15.7 billion in 2018 and are expected to reach $40 billion by 2023.
- There were 7 million e-cigarette smokers in 2011 worldwide, and in 2018, that number had jumped to 41 million.
- The three largest markets for vaping products are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
- Roughly 55 million people use e-cigarettes in the world as of today.
Health Risks and Dangers of Vaping
Although e-cigarettes may pose a less significant health risk than traditional cigarettes, people still face the potential dangers of vaping. While many of the long-term health effects of vaping are still being researched, tentative studies indicate multiple health risks. These health risks will be detailed below.
Cancer
E-cigarettes contain fifteen times the amount of formaldehyde found in traditional cigarettes, a cancer-causing chemical.
Brain Development Risks
Long-term exposure to nicotine can lead to mood disorders and impaired impulse control, attention, and memory.
Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical that could quickly lead to nicotine addiction. Research indicates that nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine, if not more.[4]
Behavior Dangers
Vaping is closely linked to the use of other tobacco products, alcohol, and marijuana.
Heart Attack
Nicotine in e-cigarettes can raise your blood pressure and alter your adrenaline, increasing your heart rate and putting you at risk of a heart attack. Recent studies found that people who use e-cigarettes were 56% more likely to have a heart attack than those who do not vape.[5]
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Vaping may worsen the symptoms associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Lung Injury
Acrolein, an herbicide primarily used to kill weeds, is present in e-cigarettes and can potentially cause acute lung injury. As of February 2020, 2,807 cases or deaths were caused by e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI).[6]
Poisoning
A higher concentration of nicotine in liquid products causes nicotine poisoning.
Seizures
Nicotine toxicity can cause serious side effects, including seizures.
Dangers of Vaping While Pregnant
Many pregnant women engage in vaping, believing it is less harmful than smoking cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes contain nicotine which could be harmful to the developing baby when exposed to it.
What Does Vaping Do to Your Body?
The liquid from e-cigarettes contains many chemicals that are harmful to the body and inflict the most damage to the lungs, brain, and immune system.
What Does Vaping Do to Your Lungs?
Vape oil comprises chemicals and metals that could be harmful to the lungs. They include heavy metals like tin, lead, nickel, and flavorings such as diacetyl. As a result, excessive e-cigarette use may cause chest pain, coughing, and nausea. Similarly, e-cigarettes contain acrolein, an herbicide mainly used to kill weeds, which can cause acute lung injury and COPD.
What Does Vaping Do to Your Brain?
Nicotine damages the formation of synapses (connections between brain cells), impacting cognitive functioning. More so, some vaping devices emit lead vapor, which can cause brain damage. Vaping may also hasten age and make the brain more vulnerable to neurodegenerative disease.
What Does Vaping Do to Your Immune System?
Vaping can damage critical immune system cells and enhance inflammation, increasing the risk of developing illness and disease.
How to Help Your Loved One Stop Vaping
If someone you care about vapes, there are various tips you can use to help them stop. These will be described below.
Show Them Vaping Facts
Most people believe vaping is safe and doesn't pose any health risk. To dispel, show them vaping facts that highlight the health hazards associated with vaping.
Talk About the Dangers of Vaping
Explaining the dangers of vaping to your loved ones helps inform them of the risks and damaging effects on the heart, lungs, and brain.
It's Time to Quit if You Are Smoking
Voicing your concern regarding your loved one’s health may open their minds to the seriousness of vaping. The financial, psychological, and physical effects are damaging, hopefully providing motivation to stop vaping. Quitting an addiction is not an easy task, so you must be there and support them throughout the recovery journey.
Seek Professional Help
No one has to go through recovery alone, and finding professional help is a great start. Medical experts can prescribe medications and help manage physical symptoms and side effects that may occur while withdrawing from nicotine.
Therapy is also beneficial, especially if there are underlying issues. For example, a therapist can help identify possible reasons for quitting, develop coping skills to curtail cravings, and explore new habits and behaviors.
Treatment for Nicotine Smoking and Addiction
Treatment for Nicotine Smoking and Addiction
Fortunately, there are many methods that can assist people during their recovery from vaping.
Can Vaping Lead to Nicotine Addiction?
Yes, vaping can lead to nicotine addiction if the e-liquid contains nicotine (which most do).
Nicotine Addiction Treatment Programs
Several treatment options are available for nicotine addiction:
- Nicotine Withdrawal and Detox: Detoxing from nicotine involves expelling the chemical from the body. Natural remedies for nicotine withdrawal, such as exercising, engaging in pleasurable activities, and avoiding triggers, can help alleviate withdrawal symptoms after three to four weeks.
- Behavioral Therapies: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) are helpful treatments for nicotine addiction.
- Support Groups: Nicotine support groups can help members live nicotine-free lives.
Find Help at Genesis Recovery
Recovering from nicotine addiction can be quite a tasking experience due to the potential withdrawal symptoms and subsequent cravings.
At Genesis Recovery, we offer the best professional treatments to help you recover from nicotine addiction. Our highly structured recovery program ensures lasting sobriety from substance abuse through the implementation of our Holisticly Therapeutic Treatment Approach.
Reach Out Today
Contact us today at Genesis Recovery to learn more about our treatment programs and how to get started.
Resources
- https://time.com/5381078/american-e-cigarette-vape/
- https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/51/5/1800278
- https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/vaping-statistics/
- https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/nicotine-dependence
- https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/vaping/vaping-ecigarette-health-risks-lung-heart
- https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
