E-cigarettes are also known as electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) because
the main experience for the user is from nicotine, an addictive substance.
There is some evidence that e-cigarettes are better at helping smokers to quit than
nicotine patches or lozenges. There is a concern, especially for youth, that e-cigarettes
lead to nicotine addiction and are a gateway to other addictions, including
to smoking cigarettes. E-cigarettes have very high nicotine content, come in
many flavors, and can be used discreetly. The CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey
reports rapid increases in e-cigarette use among youth.36 The percent of high
school seniors who use e-cigarettes increased from 1.5% in 2010 to 13% in 2017. An estimated 27.5% of high school students and 10.5% of middle school students vaped in 2019.
The health risks of electronic cigarettes or “vaping” are not as well studied as the
hazards of tobacco, and as a relatively new product, first marketed in the U.S. in
2007, there is much less information about their long-term effects. Serious injuries
requiring burn and wound care, including skin grafts, have resulted from e-cigarette
explosions. The aerosols in the delivery system deliver ultrafine particles to the
lungs and contain many toxins and known carcinogens, including formaldehyde
and acetaldehyde and flavorings that have not been approved for inhalation. A
study found that daily use of e-cigarettes increased the odds of a heart attack by
1.7 times over the risk among never-users, and daily cigarette smokers had nearly
triple the risk. Recently there has been an epidemic of vaping associated with lung
disease mainly from black market street bought devices that add THC (the psychoactive
ingredient of marijuana) diluted in a lipid such as vitamin E acetate. Some
of the lung injuries from these products have been serious, with users ending up on
ventilators and others dying from lung failure. As of December 2019, hospitalized
lung injury cases topped 2,500 and vaping deaths totaled over 50.
This blog presents opinions and ideas and is intended to provide helpful general information. I am not engaged in rendering advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures and suggestions in that are presented are not in any way a substitute for the advice and care of the reader’s own physician or other medical professional based on the reader’s own individual conditions, symptoms or concerns. If the reader needs personal medical, health, dietary, exercise or other assistance or advice the reader should consult a physician and/or other qualified health professionals. The author specifically disclaims all responsibility for any injury, damage or loss that the reader may incur as a direct or indirect consequence of following any directions or suggestions given in this blog or participating in any programs described in this blog or in the book, The Building Blocks of Health––How to Optimize Your Health with a Lifestyle Checklist (available in print or downloaded at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble and elsewhere). Copyright 2021 by J. Joseph Speidel
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