Health Risks of Vaping
Over time, we will be able to say exactly how vaping affects our health... but do you really want to try it out or continue vaping until we find out?
Electronic cigarettes haven't been around very long, so it is hard for scientists to say with absolute certainty what the health effects of these products are. However, evidence is piling up that vaping can lead to several serious health problems causing injury and, in some cases, death.
EVALI 👩🔬
EVALI stands for "E-cigarette and Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury." EVALI is a new disease that affects the lungs. People who have EVALI have high fevers and shortness of breath as a result from vaping. Right now, scientists are not sure how exactly this is happening; but the one thing all cases have in common is that the person used vapes and e-cigarettes.
Sadly, as of February 2020, 68 people in the US have died from EVALI and over 2,800 people suffer from this disease.
EVALI and Your Lungs
These are two pictures of lungs. The left is a picture of lungs from a 17-year-old who vaped. His lungs were so badly injured from vaping that they could barely hold any oxygen. This was a severe case where the patient ended up needing a lung transplant. You can read the full story here.
The picture on the right is of healthy lungs. You can see right through these healthy lungs in the x-ray photograph because they are full of oxygen and functioning properly!
NICOTINE ADDICTION 🧠
As we've talked about previously, nicotine addiction is a huge concern. Nicotine can hurt your brain development and lead to lifelong addiction. Addiction is a very difficult disease to overcome and it takes many smokers several attempts at quitting before they are successful.
CANCER 🏥
Right now, there isn't enough evidence to prove that vaping causes cancer. But we know that there are a lot of things that cause cancer (carcinogens) in electronic cigarette liquids. Knowing what we know about these carcinogens, we believe it is likely that cancer will be a big health concern among people who vape.
More likely to smoke cigarettes 🚬
While there's still a lot we don't know about vapes, one long-term study found that teens who vape were FOUR TIMES more likely to start smoking regular cigarettes.
HEART ATTACK 💔
Ultrafine particles in vape aerosol have been shown to trigger a heart attack. Evidence is also growing that shows people who vape have an increased risk of developing heart disease and other heart-related issues.
Seizures 🧠
A rising concern surrounding the topic of vaping is the increased risk of seizures. Cases have been reported of seizures occurring in young people who have never had seizures before. Sometimes these seizures happen when very young children accidentally drink vape liquid (because it looks very much like juice-- both the liquid and the bottle itself) while unattended. Other times, people report having a seizure even after just a few puffs off of a vape.
EXPLOSIONS AND INJURIES 🔥
They're called "electronic" cigarettes for a reason... they use electricity generated by a battery! In some cases, people have had their vape explode while they were using it resulting in the bones of the jaw shattering or severe burns.