Is vaping bad for you? Is vaping really safer than cigarettes?
There is a new sheriff in town. Vaping, or E-cigarettes have taken the world by storm and are quickly becoming the go-to alternative to smoking. We all know that smoking kills. It says so right on the package, so anyone who doesn't know that is falling behind. Vape juice contains propylene glycol, nicotine and flavoring ingredients. Cigarettes contain toxic paper, toxic filters, tobacco, carcinogenic preservatives, added nicotine and occasional additives such as menthol which can be dangerously addictive.
While we know that cigarettes are dangerous and addictive, we still have much to learn about vapor. Some studies have suggested that vaporized propylene glycol may produce small amounts of formaldehyde, the chemical used to embalm bodies that has been abused as a dangerous psychogenic drug. Personally, I've never had a psychedelic episode from vaping, and the research seems somewhat flimsy.
There has been little discussion of the other ingredients in vapor, as everyone knows that nicotine is an addictive drug that levels the user's mood and provides a more stable, focused attentiveness until it begins to wear off. Of course, being an addictive drug, another dose is necessary to maintain this state and the withdrawal symptoms can be powerful and uncomfortable. Many of the flavorings are either naturally derived or similar to the flavorings used in contemporary potato chips.
Cigarettes and other similar tobacco products are wrapped in paper or leaves. Both paper and leaves produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter when they burn. The tobacco, itself produces those same poisons as it burns. These poisonous gasses are the same culprits that help produce the deadly smoggy haze near wild fires and factories.
Directly inhaling the particulates from tobacco can fill the mouth, sinus cavity and lungs with tiny particles of ash that choke the victim. This can cause inflammation of those tender, fragile tissues and reduce the natural immune response to common infections such as the Rhino Virus and Influenza. It can also elict an unwanted immune response to the damaging inflammation, causing an autoimmune response that can cause damage without outside instigation. These particles can become permanently lodged in the delicate lung alveoli, and are often coughed up by heavy smokers as a well-known thick, brown sputum.
Tobacco also contains tar. Tar in a cigarette is not really any different from the tar on your driveway. It literally paves the tongue, taste buds, esophagus, tonsils, sinuses and lungs with a thick, black coating that denies oxygen from being absorbed into the bloodstream. This carcinogen can remain in the lungs for many years after a smoker quits. It reduces the ability to taste food and drinks and can cause damage up to and including Cancer. Studies have shown that the reduced oxygen can have profound effects on memory and other brain functions.
It is sufficient to say, that at this point the jury is still out on the dangers of vapor inhalation. There will be much research over many years before we know everything we want to know. Evidence shows that smoking will kill you and vaping seems to be a better alternative.
No comments:
Post a Comment