Vaping refers to the action of inhaling an electronic cigarette. Many youths have been cheated that vaping is not the same as smoking a regular cigarette. However, vaping and smoking have almost the same effects on people, even though the effects of vaping are still under study. One of the reasons that make youth go for vaping is the attractive manner in which electronic cigarettes are packaged. The alluring colors and denial of side effects make the youth fall for them, which eventually leads to addiction. The packaging of electronic cigarettes does not also carry the warning message that is found on regular cigarettes. Current and on-going research shows that vaping is likely to lead to serious health problems among the youths if they do not desist from this behavior.
One of the negative impacts of vaping is that it contains aerosols, which may be deposited in the lungs of youths, leading to medical conditions later in their lives (Callahan-Lyon, 2014). In a study carried out on forty-four articles that researched electronic cigarettes, it was discovered that the aerosols contained elements like propylene glycol, glycerol, and other flavourings (Callahan-Lyon, 2014). The implication here is that in as much as some people feel that electronic cigarettes are safe compared to regular tobacco cigarettes, they still carry some harm whose effects may not yet be clear to the scientists. Callahan-Lyon (2014) says that is the reason that has made the FDA not to approve the use of electronic cigarettes among smokers who would like to quit this habit.
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Electronic cigarettes are also likely to lead to the growth of heart tissues and slow weight gain in people who use them. Though the research is yet to be conducted on human beings, current research carried out on mice exposed to vaping indicated that female mice showed increased growth of their heart tissues by almost 150% within a period of two weeks after an exposure of three hours per day (Shi, Fan, Horton, Haller, Kennedy et al., 2019). However, mice that were kept in well-ventilated rooms where there was no vaping smoke did not show any increase in their heart tissue; a condition referred to as angiogenesis. The implication here is that if mice could show increased heart tissue within such a short period, the effects would be dire if the exposure was increased. What this shows is that youths who engage in vaping are likely to have the cavities of their hearts narrowing due to the growth of the tissues in their hearts. It would, therefore, imply that such people may have narrowed ventricles, which would mean that they are holding less blood. Consequently, less blood supply is likely to take place in their bodies, whose effects are likely to be fatal. The research by Shi et al. (2019) further showed that mice exposed to vaping for shorter periods showed increased collagen contents of their hearts. The rapid increase in the tissue of the heart raises questions about the safety of electronic cigarettes to the users. The research showed slow weight gain for mice exposed to vaping compared to those exposed to normal free air. It also means that the same is likely to happen to human beings if care is not taken. The result is that vaping is likely to have devastating effects on human beings.
In a study carried out on Hungarian electronic cigarette users, findings showed that about 14% of respondents reported experiencing a dry cough, headaches, and dizziness, and increased heart palpitations (Abafalvi, Penzes, Urban, Foley, Kaan, 2019). Though a small number of people have reported adverse effects related to electronic cigarettes, it means that extensive research is likely to discover more underlying problems that users of these electronic cigarettes may not know. Abafalvi et al. (2019) report that the dry cough could have been caused by the aerosols found in the electronic cigarettes. The research goes further and says that the mild headache reported among users of the electronic cigarette could be signalling cardiovascular complications, which generally begin as minor headaches. By the time a diagnosis of cardiovascular complications is made, the condition is normally at an advanced stage, which implies that it could be irreversible. It, therefore, means that electronic cigarettes should be taken with a lot of caution as they are likely to lead to adverse effects that are yet to be established.
Vaping can also lead to slight variations in the functioning of body systems like increased exhaled breath nitric oxide (eNO) and exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) (Polosa, Cibella, Caponnetto, Maglia, and Prosperini, 2017). It also showed increased high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) (Polosa et al., 2017). What this implies is that these elevated levels of waste products found in body systems could raise questions on the safety of electronic cigarettes if they took the place of regular tobacco cigarettes.
Just like normal cigarettes, electronic cigarettes lead to addiction. Available data shows that about 60% of people who vape have become addicted to these cigarettes, something that has led them to more problems (Brewer, Jeong, Hall, 2018). Whereas vaping was meant to make people quit smoking, it has been discovered that it leads to addiction, which is the problem that smokers may have been running away from, when they embraced the electronic cigarettes.
In conclusion, electronic cigarettes are likely to have several effects on the users. Though research is still on-going, some of these effects include the fact that they contain very many aerosols; they may lead to the growth of heart tissues and low weight gain among users and others. They lead to addiction, which is similar to what normal cigarettes do.
References
Abafalvi, L., Pénzes, M., Urbán, R. (2019) . Perceived health effects of vaping among Hungarian adult e-cigarette-only and dual users: a cross-sectional internet survey. BMC Public Health 19, 302 doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6629-0
Brewer N.T., Jeong M., Hall M, G. (2019). Impact of e-cigarette health warnings on motivation to vape and smoke. Tobacco Control 28 pp 64-e70.
Callahan-Lyon, P. (2014). Electronic cigarettes: human health effects. Tobacco control , 23 Suppl 2 (Suppl 2), ii36–ii40. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051470
Polosa, R., Cibella, F., Caponnetto, P. (2017) . Health impact of E-cigarettes: a prospective 3.5-year study of regular daily users who have never smoked. Sci Rep 7, 13825 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14043-2
Shi, H., Fan, X., Horton, A., Haller, S. T., Kennedy, D. J., Schiefer, I. T., … Tian, J. (2019). The Effect of Electronic-Cigarette Vaping on Cardiac Function and Angiogenesis in Mice. Scientific reports , 9 (1), 4085. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40847-5
