Is Vaping Bad for You? Common Health Concerns in Vaping

Vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, with Public Health England pegging e-cigarettes as about 95 percent safer than traditional cigarettes. While vaping is certainly the safer option, that doesn’t mean it’s totally risk-free. A few health concerns have come up with regard to vaping, although most can be avoided.

Nicotine

Nicotine is optional ingredient in many vaping liquids, but those who opt for it are opening themselves up to the risk of addiction. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. When used regularly, your body will require higher and higher doses to achieve the same effects lower doses used to achieve.

When the brain adapts to regular use of nicotine, it ends up needing it to maintain automatic functions, such as movement and memory. Significantly reducing or eliminating nicotine intake can result in severe withdrawal symptoms. While high doses of nicotine can be fatal, small amounts of the substance are not harmful.

Chemical Ingredients

The two main ingredients in e-juice are vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG). They carry the flavor, produce a throat hit, and create vapor clouds. While both substances are considered generally safe for ingestion by the Food and Drug Administration, some people have reported coughing or mouth and throat irritation from the PG. Try an e-juice with lower than a 50/50 ratio of VG/PG if that’s the case.

E-juices that use artificial flavors may also contain several potentially harmful chemicals. These include diacetyl, acetyl propionyl, acetoin, acrolein, ethylene glycol, and diethylene glycol. Diacetyl has been linked to lung disease and damage, with propionyl thought to carry similar risks.

Choosing an e-liquid that uses real tobacco or other natural flavoring can help you avoid the chemicals associated with synthetic flavors.

Side Effects 

A few other health concerns come in the form of side effects, particularly for those new to vaping. These have included:

• Dry throat and mouth. VG and PG absorb moisture from their surrounding environments, including your mouth and throat. Drinking plenty of water can help.
• Sore throat. PG can cause throat irritation, but so can nicotine. Lowering levels of both may help.
• Cough. While PG and nicotine can contribute to coughing, it may also be related to how you vape. Unless your vaping device is suited for directly inhaling the vapor into the lungs, you may be do better inhaling the vapor into your mouth and then into your lungs. Coughing tended to subside for new vapors over time as they became used to vaping.
• Headaches. Headaches reported by new users are most likely caused by dehydration related to VG and PG. Staying hydrated can help.
• Nausea and dizziness. An overload of nicotine can result in both symptoms, taking the cue to stop vaping for a while. If nausea and dizziness hit regularly, you may want to try reducing the nicotine level in your e-juice.

Vaping is not totally risk-free, but many of the health concerns can be reduced or eliminated. That’s a big difference from the risks of traditional cigarettes, which you can only eliminate by quitting altogether.

SOURCES:
https://www.centeronaddiction.org/e-cigarettes/tobacco-replacement/are-nicotine-free-e-cigarettes-harmful
https://www.pubfacts.com/detail/25180080/Evaluation-of-electronic-cigarette-liquids-and-aerosol-for-the-presence-of-selected-inhalation-toxin
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890623812002833
https://www.blacknote.com/vaping-side-effects/
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/456704/McNeill-Hajek_report_authors_note_on_evidence_for_95_estimate.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/534708/E-cigarettes_joint_consensus_statement_2016.pdf