Vaping is all the rage. It has been touted as safer than regular cigarettes but that just isn’t the case. Here is what you need to know:
Vaping Causes EVALI
EVALI is Electronic Cigarette (or vaping) Associated Lung Injury. 2,290 of EVALI have been reported in the United States and surrounding areas, with 47 deaths associated with this illness. Those suffering from EVALI can experience symptoms that look very much like the flu or other respiratory infections. Both flu, respiratory infections, and EVALI can cause fever, cough, headache, body aches, and/or fatigue (tiredness).
A Sick Teenager
Vaping can damage the lungs in many ways, such as this case in a Canadian teenager. This young man went to his doctor after dealing with a severe debilitating cough for a week. He was first diagnosed with pneumonia and sent home. Not even a week later, he went to the emergency room and was hospitalized and then put on life support. He very nearly required a lung transplant and has suffered long-term, irreversible damage to his lungs.
EVALI Can Be Caused by Multiple Ingredients
If it were as easy as saying a single ingredient or a specific brand of e-cigarettes caused these associated lung illnesses we could tell the users to just avoid that single thing, but that is not the case, and it may be different for different people. THC, nicotine, and vitamin E acetate have all been linked to EVALI.
Vitamin E acetate sounds healthy…but it isn’t. It is used in vaping products and is not the same as d-alpha-tocopherol which is the natural vitamin E that is used by the body for health benefits. Vitamin E acetate is synthetic and produced from dangerous petrochemicals. Many e-cigarettes have nicotine in them. Nicotine is addictive and can affect mood, focus, and brain development.
Damage to Blood Vessels after One Use
A study published in Radiology showed that even one use of e-cigarettes can cause harm to blood vessels. If the chemicals used in vaping were not harmful enough, the process of vaping can turn these chemicals into toxic substances. You can’t blame nicotine on this one. This study was using e-cigarettes that were nicotine-free. If this can happen after one use, just imagine what kind of damage can occur over years of use.
If all this scares you…it should. There are so many harmful factors in our environment that we cannot control. Let’s make sure to control the ones we can.
Breathe Easy,
Dr. Stacey