Understanding The Health Risks Associated With Vaping

Quitting smoking can be a fairly difficult thing to do, especially if you don’t have the resources and support groups to help you during your withdrawal symptoms. People struggling to quit smoking have been constantly warned about the effects of tobacco products, including how it contributes to the development of lung cancer, heart disease, and other cardiovascular problems. Because tobacco products are known to be harmful to your health, many people have turned to vape as an alternative solution to their addiction.

Vaping, however, is a topic that needs more research, and because of how little researchers understand the effects of vaping, vaping at most should be taken with precaution. Current reports show that e-cigarettes and vaping products with nicotine can be just as harmful to your health as smoking tobacco. For those who do vape and intend on vaping, there are some negative side effects that could harm your health long-term.

How Vaping Could Harm Your Health

Vaping can sound tempting either as a way to quit smoking or as a fun activity, especially as vaping products contain numerous flavors and can appear less harmful. For those wanting to quit, vaping can appear as a transition item that can satisfy the “smoking” aspect of tobacco. However, various studies have provided some new information about vaping products and the potential harm they have to your health. According to sources from the CDC, vaping products come with these risks:

• Vaping Still Contains Nicotine: Many vaping products still contain nicotine. Nicotine is the extracted chemical from tobacco that’s toxic to our heart and lungs. Nicotine increases blood pressure and blood flow to the heart, and narrows the heart arteries, and contributes to the hardening of the artery walls, increasing the risk of heart attacks. 
• Other Harmful Vaping Ingredients: Reports from the CDC show that vaping products that contained THC also contained vitamin E acetate. Vitamin E acetate can damage the lungs over time and even cause death in serious cases. Alongside that, the aerosols from vaping products can contain other chemicals such as ultrafine particles, diacetyl, and other cancer-causing elements. 
• Vaping Can Be Just As Addictive: Because of the nicotine and other harmful elements in vaping products, some research suggests that vaping can be just as addicting as tobacco, heroin, and cocaine. Vaping products can sometimes even contain more nicotine than tobacco products due to the customization involved in cartridges and e-liquids. 
• The FDA Doesn’t Approve: As of January 2020, the FDA has prohibited the sale of pre-filled cartridge e-cigarettes other than tobacco and menthol flavors. With new legislation surrounding vaping products, the purpose of this legislation is to reduce how much impact vaping has on youth.

Quitting Smoking Through Better Cessation 

For quitting tobacco and nicotine products completely, following your nicotine replacement therapy options will be able to help you slow down your nicotine intake and quit safely. For more information about why vaping is considered unsafe for your health, arrange an appointment and speak with your doctor about quitting today.