ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON HEALTH has been an actively discussed topic for several years now. And this is understandable: designed to reduce the risks associated with smoking, devices too quickly became popular among the category of people who did not have such risks – adolescents. This was facilitated by the tobacco companies, which immediately responded to the market demand and released truly fashionable vaping devices. True if veyping healthier smoking or is it just another way to be harmful to health? Although the issue is still controversial, there is more scientific evidence on the topic today than ever.
Copyright: Herbert Gilbert v. Hon Lik
The first patent for a smokeless cigarette was obtained back in 1963 by Herbert A. Gilbert. It is noteworthy that this device was not supposed to contain nicotine, but it looked exactly like the vapes that we know now.
To the misfortune of the inventor, it all happened for a year before that, as a major US surgeon Luther Leonidas Terry published a famous report on “Smoking and Health” , in which assert the link between cigarettes and lung cancer. Even Gilbert’s belief that the device had enormous potential did not help the cause – and the man, obviously ahead of his time, failed to convince any company to start mass production of the smokeless cigarette .
But it was effortlessly done by the Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, who came to the creation of an electronic cigarette with a difficult, but excellent in terms of marketing background. His father, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer (he died in 2004 a year), and himself a pharmacist, smoking those same two packs of cigarettes a day , I understood that if nothing is done, his story could end analogichno.Ustroystvo that patented Face , responded to the spirit of the times: the world was already entering the era of total healthy lifestyle and could not imagine itself without high-tech gadgets.
Of which consists of pairs and what he is dangerous
When smoking (or, more precisely, vaping) an electronic cigarette, a person inhales not smoke, but the vapor generated when the liquid inside the vape is heated. This liquid usually contains propylene glycol, glycerin, flavors and colors.
In addition, vapes often contain nicotine, which increases blood pressure and heart rate, which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Danger, according to scientists, are small toxic particles ( mainly metals: nickel, lead, chromium and tin), which enter the lungs along with steam. And new data on the topic suggests a connection between vaping and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
And although vaping allows the smoker to avoid exposure to the body of thousands of potentially toxic chemicals ( there are about 7000 of them in tobacco smoke , including carcinogenic tar and carbon monoxide), this does not make the device safe.
Three things you might not know about vaping
It is harmful to teeth and periodontal tissues. It turns out that e-cigarettes are no less harmful to oral health than ordinary cigarettes . In mainly for the account of heat , which changes the composition and amount of bacteria in the mouth in favor of pathogens and can make the mucous more susceptible to infections.
He is dangerous to others. Although “passive vaping” is probably less harmful than secondhand smoke, studies show that copper, propylene glycol and carcinogens can be released into the air when vaping . And all of this is not particularly good for the people around, so a ban on indoor e-cigarettes definitely makes sense.
He interferes with treatment. When it comes to getting rid of an infection, the biofilm that hides bacteria in the lungs is a big problem . So, scientists have found that smoking electronic cigarettes leads to more active formation of this biofilm (as, in fairness, and regular smoking).
Mysterious lung disease EVALI
In the fall of 2019 , reports began to appear in the American media about an outbreak of a mysterious lung disease, allegedly associated with electronic cigarettes. Information on the website of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made it possible to see that the group of victims is very specific : 70% of the patients were men, and their average age was 24 years.
Were later identified culprits of what is happening – not just electronic cigarettes, but electronic cigarettes with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive substance contained in cannabis, and vitamin E acetate, which is used for a higher density of steam. It was found that the electronic cigarettes involved in EVALI (as the new disease was called ) were manufactured in violation of safety requirements and purchased illegally. Which, however, is not particularly comforting in the context of 2,758 victims and 64 deaths .
Do e-cigarettes help you quit smoking?
The answer to this question is complicated. For example, one study that followed 5,400 French smokers trying to quit the habit found that while those who used e-cigarettes did have better results in quitting conventional cigarettes, they also had a higher risk of returning to smoking. tobacco. Another study involving 1,300 volunteers showed that attempts to quit smoking using these gadgets are only effective 10% of the time. Finally, there is evidence that adolescents with veypery more likely to turn in heavy smokers in adulthood, but even if not, the risk of bronchitis are significantly increased .
The World Health Organization on this issue adds that although nicotine in electronic cigarettes do not create additional risks for the health of adult smokers, evidence of the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes as a failure of the method of smoking is limited.
Cigarettes that explode
If stories of e-cigarettes exploding in your mouth seem like horror stories to you, here are some statistics : Between 2015 and 2017 , 2,035 people with vaping burns were admitted to emergency departments in the United States , which is 40 times more than the number of burns from vapes from 2009 to 2015 . Sometimes people also lost their teeth , faced with allergic swelling of the lips and throat, and got a ” black hairy tongue ” – a safe but unpleasant condition that can occur , among other things, when the composition of the microflora in the mouth changes . And this is not to mention the effect of nicotine on the production of collagen and elastin and, as a result, the appearance of wrinkles.
Vaping and teens: it’s all about fragrances
Teens and young adults who are hooked on vaping are the most worried about scientists. That is why the fight against e-cigarettes began with calls to ban the sale of variants with attractive flavors of fruits, mint and desserts. Why do fragrances work this way at all? The answer is simple: aroma determines taste, since our olfactory system can recognize more than ten thousand odors. And yes, this is why even the most beloved food seems less tasty when the nose is stuffed up. Scientists add that flavors in e-cigarettes – as well as in cigarettes in general – also take on the function of blocking defense reactions. The pleasant smell weakens sensory alarms, thereby increasing the risk of abuse and addiction.
Science has yet to confirm the inhalation toxicity of all flavors, but what is already there is enough to push the red button. For example, many of the flavors used in e-cigarettes can provoke inflammation and contribute to the formation of free radicals associated with DNA damage . And in one study in six flavors to Weipa were found pyrazines – providing a synergistic effect on nicotine addiction substances that to the fact the same negative effect on the reproductive function.
Are there any less harmful types of electronic cigarettes?
Manufacturers of devices IQOS and Juul claim that their products are safer than other electronic cigarettes or vapes – in particular, the former heats tobacco without burning it. On today FDA believes that IQOS devices (and their equivalent glo) «are adequate in the context of the protection of public health,” although it does not mean that they are safe . In addition, IQOS is considered less attractive to young people because it is offered without an assortment of fragrances – that is, it is more “boring” device than others. Juul e-cigarettes (their sister is MyBlu), although they look unusual, are just small vapes and contain nicotine (of which there may be more than in regular cigarettes). The American Lung Association claims that the spread of e-cigarettes has reached epidemic levels, and many people do not even realize that these devices are harmful.
Indeed it better smoking veyping
The main problem with vaping is that even the growing amount of research does not provide the amount of data that would allow to state something unambiguously. Since the gadget appeared on the market only in the mid-2000s, scientists are ready to talk only about less toxicity in comparison with ordinary cigarettes, but do not give a quantitative estimate.
However, for hard-core smokers, vaping will definitely be better – and in this the medical community is in solidarity. Therefore, while it is important to control the consumption of e-cigarettes by adolescents by developing school prevention programs and increasing the age of sale , they cannot be completely banned if we do not want the problem of smoking to return to its previous level.