While many people may know that electronic cigarettes are not as harmful as tobacco cigarettes, not many are aware of the specific hazards that they may still face if they use e-cigs. A study has shed some light on the potential harm that vapers may be exposed to as they use e-liquids that contain nicotine. The researchers monitored arterial stiffness in the study subjects who used e-cigarettes that contained nicotine and participants whose e-juice didn’t have any nicotine in it. It was discovered that those whose e-liquid had nicotine exhibited arterial stiffness while those without nicotine didn’t show any stiffness in their arteries. The stiffness was transient. However, concern was raised that prolonged vaping could trigger permanent blood vessel stiffness in the way that smoking tobacco cigarettes did. Further research is needed to verify that fear. In the meantime, it is advisable to avoid excesses, such as “dripping” that could worsen any possible adverse effects of vaping.
Study Confirms Teenagers Access Electronic Cigarettes Online
A market survey by a company that makes online verification software has come up with disturbing findings which reveal that teenagers can easily buy electronic cigarettes from online sellers. The Canadian company enlisted teens to purchase e-cigs online and a clear pattern emerged regarding how easy it was for those underage individuals to access these age-restricted products. Many of those teens even received their purchases at post offices without anyone asking them to verify their age. Teenagers are at a time in life when they are most likely to become addicted to nicotine if they are exposed to it. More effort therefore needs to be directed towards developing robust methods of regulating online sales of electronic cigarettes and tobacco products so that only those who are legally allowed to use those products can get access to them. It is no longer enough for website owners to ask visitors to click “yes” or “no” when asked about being above the minimum age limit.
3 Potential Problems With the FDA’s Planned Vaping Regulations
The US Food and Drug Administration made an announcement about how they intend to regulate the tobacco industry in the coming years. That policy direction also encompasses other related products, such as electronic cigarettes. Experts have raised a number of concerns about that policy direction with respect to electronic cigarettes.
First, the planned extension of a deadline to submit applications for existing e-cigarette products to August 8th, 2022 only applies to the products that are already on the US market. This limits the sale of new products that could be better and less harmful. Secondly, the planned regulations are likely to make it very difficult for small firms to bring to the market innovations that can improve the e-cig industry. Thirdly, the view that flavors can lure kids into vaping has no scientific backing to it. It is therefore imperative that all concerned people voice their opinions on this matter when the FDA calls for contributions so that the resulting regulations don’t have unnecessary adverse effects on the e-cigarette industry that holds a lot of promise for people who want a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes.
Why Adolescents Are More Prone to Addiction When They Vape
A lot has been said about preventing adolescents from using e-cigarettes, but not much has been done to show why these young people are more prone to getting addicted to nicotine when they start vaping. The US Surgeon General has published a summary of the unique risks that adolescents face when they take up vaping. Of special interest is the fact that these young people form brain synapses (connections between brain cells) much faster than adults do. The adolescent is therefore more likely to become addicted much sooner than an adult who vapes at the same level and frequency as an adolescent.
The publication also delves into other risks that adolescents face once they take up vaping. Everyone with children should take this information seriously and find ways to dissuade his or her adolescent children from taking up the habit, until at least the age of 25 when brain development has peaked. Only then will that individual be protected from any adverse effects that could result from taking on the habit of using electronic cigarettes at such an early stage in one’s life.
Concerns explode over new health risks from vaping
Vaping seems to have a detrimental effect in the gums, mouths and throats of teen vapers. The hotter the e-liquid becomes when inhaled, the worse the irritation caused by vaping seems to get, causing mouth sores and inflamed throats that take longer to heal.
It is not clear, however, if they might have the same effect on lungs, impairing the healing process. But it is worrying to note young vapers have reported suffering from chronic bronchitis in larger numbers than non-vapers.
The youth of most of the people who take part in the study is what concern researchers the most, because some seem to be showing similar conditions to smokers while the popularity of vaping skyrockets among teenagers.
Long Term Vaping Is Safe, Study Finds
Research into the long-term effects of using electronic cigarettes has often had potentially tainted results due to the possible impact of the research subjects’ previous history of smoking. A new study sought to address those concerns and identified vapers who had never smoked tobacco cigarettes. The researchers were interested in finding out how those vapers would be affected in the long term. Participants were followed over a period of three and a half years. Several factors, such as heart rate, lung function and heart rhythm were monitored during that time. The results showed that there was no difference between those who vaped and the control group that neither smoked nor vaped. These findings are good news for those who were uncertain about what may happen to them if they use e-cigs for a long time. However, longer term studies need to be conducted in order to ascertain the effects of vaping over longer durations than what this study covered.
Why You Should Go Slow On Flavored Electronic Cigarette Liquids
Did you know that you could increase the percentage to which your electronic cigarette is safer than smoking tobacco cigarettes? Researchers went out to find out the proportion of potential carcinogens and other hazardous substances in electronic cigarette liquids. The findings revealed that the flavorings in those liquids created a bigger number of hazardous substances, such as formaldehyde, when the e-liquid was heated and vaporized. The concentration of the hazardous substances depended on the quantity of flavorings in the liquids. The liquids without flavorings had low levels of those toxic substances during the study. It would therefore be a smart move for you to reduce your consumption of flavored e-cig liquids so that you can lower your exposure to those potentially harmful substances.
Electronic Cigarettes: Should The Term ENDS Be Dropped?
Regulators, such as the FDA, often refer to e-cigarettes as “ENDS” (Electronic Nicotine Delivery System). The implication of using that descriptive term is the indirect portrayal of the impression that electronic cigarettes are primarily used to deliver nicotine to the users of the devices. However, research has unearthed findings that bring into question the suitability of that descriptive term. Researchers discovered that about two-thirds of teenagers who vape use the devices to inhale flavors rather than nicotine. Could some of these outcomes also be present among adult vapers?
The name/label given to something can often have far-reaching results. For example, some policy leaders advocate for banning “ENDS” adverts or sales as a way to protect teens from nicotine exposure/addiction. Changing the label attached to these devices could trigger a more objective view that can result in the formulation of helpful policies, such as how quality issues can be addressed. Otherwise, electronic cigarettes may fall prey to the proverbial “give a dog a bad name and hang him” mentality.
English Stop Smoking Services Friendlier to Electronic Cigarettes
While the debate is still raging in many jurisdictions about the appropriateness of e-cigarette use as a stop-smoking device, the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training in the UK produced a briefing for stop smoking services. That briefing outlines several things that service providers need to do in order to support any individual who wishes to use electronic cigarettes as a way to cut back or stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. For example, the practitioners at those centers are advised to refrain from trying to push their clients to quit vaping as well in the shortest time possible. The practitioners are also cautioned to speak positively about e-cigs so that their clients don’t get the impression that it is bad to vape. Such guidelines are helpful because they increase the options that are available to people who hadn’t registered any success with the other smoke cessation products that are available, such as NRT. The briefing also provides a middle ground between those who believe that e-cigarettes can help someone to stop smoking and those who aren’t convinced as yet.
Scrutinize Your Electronic Liquid Concentration Carefully
Consumers of products, including e-liquid, tend to trust the labels that they see on the products that they buy. However, a study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research by Barbara Davis and others in 2015 shows that many of the labels indicating the concentration of nicotine in electronic liquids are inaccurate. As high as 46 products out of the 50 products sampled were found to have higher levels of nicotine when compared to the claim on the label. This study serves as an eye-opener to all vapers to be very careful when they are buying their e-liquid. Buying from reputable suppliers can go a long way in ensuring that you are buying the nicotine concentrations that you wish to consume. Going an extra mile to find out what quality assurance processes are followed by the manufacturers of the e-fluid that you consume can help to weed out suppliers who may give misleading information about their products..”,