Millions of Americans alone are vaping, opting to vape over smoking cigarettes. The trend led to the National Academics of Science, Engineering and Medicine conducting a new report on vaping. The report has key findings relating to health and potential benefits over smoking cigarettes.
What did the report find?
1. Substantial Evidence Finds Higher Risks of Conventional Cigarette Use
Studies suggest that younger people, especially teens, who start vaping are at a much higher risk of using conventional cigarettes compared to teens that never start vaping. A study from the University of California revealed a few health issues, such as:
- Vaping leads to addiction
- Higher risks of using traditional cigarettes
There’s also a risk of teenagers that use vaporizers having higher risks of cancer, according to the University of California study, but the report contradicts this somewhat.
2. Toxic Substance Exposure is Significantly Lower
Toxic substance exposure, including the toxins that are linked to higher risks of cancer, are significantly lower than compared to cigarettes. Substantial evidence is linked to lower toxic substances when using the Yocan Vaporizer compared to conventional cigarettes. But nicotine still contains toxic substances and is often part of the vaping experience.
In fact, cancer-causing agents are significantly reduced when using an e-cig. There’s also evidence that the short-term impacts of cigarettes are reduced when a person starting vaping rather than puffing on a cigarette.
E-liquid and the device used will determine the results of dependence. There is evidence that there’s lower risk of dependence when using e-cigarettes over traditional cigarettes.
3. Second-Hand Exposure is Much Lower When Vaping
Second-hand exposure to traditional cigarettes puts others at risk, exposing them to more than 7,000 chemicals. There are hundreds of toxins in regular smoke, and there are also 70 toxins that can lead to cancer. Since 1964, 2.5 million non-smoking adults have died because of secondhand smoke exposure.
Evidence suggests that vapor, produced from vaping, has lower levels of nicotine and pollutants than secondhand smoking. There are other concerns, such as the potential for a vaporizer to explode when used, which is a risk that cigarettes do not have.
And there is extensive evidence that touching or drinking e-liquids can lead to vomiting, seizures and brain injury. So, while the risks of secondhand smoke are greatly reduced when vaping, it’s important that e-liquids and concentrates be kept out of the reach of children.
4. Respiratory Disease Evidence is Not Available
Fewer toxins and chemicals may lead to lower risk of respiratory disease. There is some evidence that e-cigs may worsen asthma symptoms, coughing and wheezing, but there’s no evidence available that e-cigs cause or don’t cause respiratory disease. The trend is still relatively new, with researchers continuing to study the health impacts of respiratory disease.
There’s also evidence, according to a study published in the journal of Addictive Behaviors, that e-cigs could help people stop smoking. The research was conducted over a two-year period and found that nearly half of the 15,500 cigarette-smoking adults were more likely to quit regular cigarettes when using e-cigs.
While e-cigs in teens and younger adults poses a higher risk of transitioning to traditional cigarettes, vaping may be a tool to transition away from the harmful health impact of cigarettes.
