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When a person consumes nicotine, it gets absorbed into the bloodstream and starts affecting the brain within 10 seconds. Yes, you read that right: 10 seconds.
But what about vaping or e-cigarettes?
Research has found vaping or smoking e-cigarettes to be just as addictive or a pinch less than smoking regular cigarettes.
But it shouldn’t be that bad if I do it just a little, right? It’s FDA approved!
Ummm, NO.
Vaping and e-cigarettes are marketed as one of the ways to help you quit smoking but what about the drawback? Can vaping lead to regular smoking, or can you develop a full-fledged addiction to e-cigarettes? Is it safe, or just safer than smoking?
Below, find out how e-cigarettes can lead to a full-fledged addiction. But first, let’s have a little comparison of the chemicals involved and what the FDA has to say about both.
E-Cigarettes vs. Regular Cigarettes
E-cigarettes and regular ones are very difficult to compare as, on one hand, e-cigarettes don’t produce the 7,000 chemicals that regular cigarettes produce — some of which can cause cancer. However, the aerosol and some other organic compounds in vapes have also been found to cause major health issues and potentially cancer.
Currently, researchers are still gathering data on the effects of vaping. It’s not approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) as smoking cessation devices. According to the CDC ( Center for Disease Control and Prevention), it’s a better option for adult smokers if they replace regular smoking with vaping completely.
1. E-Cigarette Liquid Is Often Unknown
The liquids used in vapes or e-cigarettes are often either unknown or of very cheap quality bought from small retailers. Vaping these harmful liquids can cause headaches and severe migraines, which can later develop into something even more harmful. These unregulated chemicals are often used to spread other addictions across the masses by adding just a little amount of addictive substances. Although companies claim there is either a lesser amount or no harmful particles altogether, we have no way of knowing how much nicotine is in e-cigarettes.
2. Behavioral Addiction
Behavioral addiction, or process addiction, is the addiction to the actual habit rather than the substance. Some smokers and e-cigarettes users don’t do it because of the actual nicotine itself but rather because of the peer pressure or out of the habit of the process. E.g if someone enjoys vaping or smoking regular cigarettes with friends, the social aspect reinforces not only the behavior but also the addiction to the substance.
3. It Damages The Lungs And Respiratory System
Since e-cigarettes are relatively new, research on the long-term effects is still unavailable. But in the short term, the effects on the lungs are very real and problematic in adults and teens alike. It causes some of the projections that remove microbes and debris from the lungs to paralyze, leading to lung infections and potential transplants. A research paper published in BMJ journals suggested that it also causes wheezing and other related respiratory symptoms caused by inflammation in the user’s lungs.
4. Risks Of E-Cigarettes In Adolescents
According to Yale medicine, not only do e-cigarettes affect adults but they are also on the rise among teenagers. Not only is it easier to have an e-cigarette pod in your hand rather than having to pull out a cigarette and then look for a match stick or a lighter, but it also has become a status symbol.
Many teens start vaping as a joke or just to look cool but they’re susceptible to nicotine poisoning their brain because it doesn’t fully develop until 25. There are nicotine-less pods available, but you have to look much harder for them and teens don’t often do that. Moreover, vaping is found to have affected the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for critical thinking, memory, and logic.
For young people, vaping can significantly change the course of their life. And when it comes to adults, they are more likely to develop some sort of lung or respiratory damage. Significant work has been done to close the treatment gap between people with addiction and the hospital. In the meantime, we can all work towards awareness because we all know the pain of knowing someone suffering from addiction.