By: Lindsay Fox
Vaping is the term that describes the use of e-cigarettes, devices which heat a liquid into vapor that can be inhaled. First coming on to the market in 2003, e-cigarettes were developed to help people quit smoking (Cobb & Solanki, 2020). Nowadays, however, they have grown past that purpose, even being used by people who never smoked, and to deliver THC or marijuana as well as nicotine. Because little is done to regulate the manufacturing of e-cigarettes, many fear that they have disastrous health complications that we just don’t know about yet. This has caused some aggressive campaigns to discourage young people from using the devices.
How much of these claims about the dangers of vaping are true though? There isn’t a lot that scientists know. In terms of helping people quit smoking, a 2019 study found that vape devices actually tend to deliver less nicotine to the body than combustible cigarettes (Kitzen et al., 2019). Whether this truly helps people to quit smoking is unknown. Certainly, stories of former smokers who used e-cigarettes to quit successfully exist. There is definitely evidence that vaping may cause less harm than smoking combustible cigarettes. The liquid that is in an e-cigarette contains far less toxic substances than a combustible cigarette, though some are still present in the nicotine-containing liquids (Kitzen et al., 2019). However, that still doesn’t mean they are safe.
In 2019, a respiratory illness similar to pneumonia began to be observed by doctors. Dr. Sydnee McElroy discusses the illness along with the history of vaping in an episode of her podcast Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine.
As Dr. McElroy describes it, the illness looks similar to pneumonia. Except that it is very different. No bacteria can be identified as the cause. It does not respond to antibiotics; patients often get worse even with traditional treatment. Some need to be put on ventilators to survive. And all of the patients with the disease used e-cigarettes. We now call this disease EVALI, or E-cigarette Vaping product-use associated lung injury. Studies have linked the use of Vitamin E acetate as a thickening agent for liquids containing THC as the cause of this illness (Cobb & Solanki, 2020). With the removal of Vitamin E, the number of cases has declined.
As this video from The Economist points out, however, that was not the only dangerous substance in e-cigarettes.
One of the concerns is trace metals from the heating element in an e-cigarette. And these heating elements do give off trace amounts of metals. The vapor from various e-cigarettes was found to have potentially harmful amounts of nickel, manganese, chromium, and lead (Arnold, 2018). It is not yet known what effects inhaling those metals could have. In addition, because there is very little regulation over the manufacturing of e-cigarettes and the liquids inhaled as vapors, it is difficult to know exactly what is in them (Cobb & Solanki, 2020).
So what do we do? The simple fact is that we have very little information. Evidence points to vaping possibly being less harmful than combustible cigarettes. But we don’t yet know all of the unique dangers they may bring to the table. That is cause to be responsible in use and advertisement, and perhaps avoid using them altogether.
References
Arnold, C. (2018). Between the Tank and the Coil: Assessing How Metals End Up in E-Cigarette Liquid and Vapor. Environmental Health Perspectives, 126(6), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3451
Cobb, N. K., & Solanki, J. N. (2020). E-Cigarettes, Vaping Devices, and Acute Lung Injury. Respiratory Care, 65(5), 713–718. https://doi.org/10.4187/respcare.07733
Kitzen, J. M., McConaha, J. L., Bookser, M. L., Pergolizzi, J. V., Taylor, R., & Raffa, R. B. (2019). e‐Cigarettes for smoking cessation: Do they deliver? Journal of Clinical Pharmacy & Therapeutics, 44(4), 650–655. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpt.12833
Hi,
Nicely done, I enjoyed reading your blog. I found it very informative, especially with the increased popularity surrounding vaping in teens and young adults. I found that your blog provides readability ease, with proper font color and text. However, I would recommend using a slightly larger font size and engaging the reader by speaking to the reader as if you were holding a conversation. You did an excellent job incorporating factual information along with their sources.
Additionally, you provided the reader with education of unfamiliar terminology. The student’s video discussing the risk of vaping makes it relatable to teens and young adult readers, which is the demographic that uses vaping the most. Further gaining the reader’s trust and engaging them in the blog through the video discusses vaping facts and risks. Lastly, the blog’s design appeals to the eye and easy to access and navigate without distractions. Due to the accurate medical information, readability ease, I would recommend your vaping blog.
Hi!
This blog is very well written and informative, without being too much for the reader to understand. I found it particularly interesting you chose this topic. As a nurse in the ER, part of our screening includes asking for a social background. It is uncanny to me how many young kids vape though they’ve never smoked. It seems so “normal” to that young population.
I appreciate that you educated the reader on terminology as well as illnesses they may not be familiar with. I also felt your use of videos perfectly fit in with your topic.