Smoking and use of any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco or other nicotine-containing products, cause or worsen numerous diseases and conditions.

If you think vaping is not smoking, then you are wrong. Vaping and e-cigarettes are not much different from regular cigarettes.

WHAT ARE E-CIGARETTES?

E-cigarettes are sometimes called e-cigs, vapes, e-hookahs, vape pens, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).

E-cigarettes were invented in 2003 by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, who initially developed the devices to serve as an alternative to conventional smoking.

A recent study found that most people who intended to use e-cigarettes to kick the nicotine habit ended up continuing to use traditional cigarettes.

E-cigarettes have the same health effects as cigarettes, which include causing cancer.

WHAT IS VAPING?

Inhaling the vapour created by an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) is known as vaping. E-cigarettes heat a liquid called E-liquid (E-Juice) to create an aerosol (vapour) that you inhale.

Most people wrongly believe that the vape produced is water vapour and therefore vaping is harmless.

But that is not true.

Vaping is not water vapour. Despite the name, vaping does not produce water vapour. It creates an aerosol (or mist) that contains small particles of nicotine, metal, and other harmful substances.

WHAT'S IN THE E-LIQUID

E-liquid, also called e-juice or mobile juice, is what vaping devices use to make the vapour you breathe in. E-liquids aren't just water. They usually contain:

•  Each flavouring with its own set of ingredients.
• Nicotine is the addictive and harmful substance in cigarettes and other tobacco products.
• Propylene glycol and glycerine are used to create vapour.
•  E-liquids and flavourings sometimes have other ingredients, including:
• Chemicals that can cause cancer (carcinogens), like acetaldehyde and formaldehyde.
• Chemicals known to cause lung diseases, such as acrolein, diacetyl, and diethylene glycol.
• THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical in marijuana that gets you 'high.'
• Vitamin E acetate is linked to lung injury caused by vaping.
• Heavy metals like nickel, tin, lead, and cadmium.
• Tiny (ultrafine) particles can get deep into your lungs.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VAPING AND SMOKING

Vaping and smoking both involve inhaling nicotine and other substances into your lungs. Cigars and E-cigarettes have the same health effects as cigarettes, which include causing cancer. Not just cigarettes, even hookah smoke has been shown to contain concentrations of toxins like tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and heavy metals that are as high as or even greater than those of cigarette smoke.

Besides nicotine, e-cigarette aerosols can contain substances that harm the body, including cancer-causing chemicals and tiny particles to can reach deep into the lungs.

E-cigarettes and regular cigarettes contain nicotine, which research suggests may be as addictive as heroin and cocaine.

DANGERS OF VAPING.

Smoking, be it traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes, harms every body system and leads to long-term health problems such as:

•  Heart disease
• Lung disease
•  Stroke
•  Many types of cancer, including lung, throat, stomach, and bladder cancer. Some severe diseases and health risks are associated with smoking, both cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
• Asthma: Vaping can make you more likely to get asthma and other lung conditions. It can make your existing asthma worse.
•  Lung scarring: Diacetyl, a chemical found in flavourings, can cause bronchiolitis obliterans ('popcorn lung'). Bronchiolitis obliterans causes permanent scarring in your lungs.
• Organ damage. In addition to your lungs, nicotine and other substances in e-liquid can hurt your heart and brain. We know nicotine can affect brain development, raise blood pressureand narrow the arteries.
• EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury): EVALI is a serious lung

condition that vaping. It causes widespread damage to the lungs. Common symptoms of Evali include coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain. EVALI can be fatal.

FATALITIES OF EVALI

EVALI is short for e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury. It's a serious lung condition caused by vaping. Vitamin E acetate, found in some e-liquids, is a possible cause.

Thousands of people were hospitalised due to a spike in EVALI cases seen during 2019-2020. Most people affected were younger than 35 years of age.

Symptoms of EVALI include:

• Cough.
•  Shortness of breath.
• Chest pain
• Fever.
•  Vomiting.
• Diarrhea.
• Stomach pain.
• Fast heartbeat.

Some damage to your lungs from vaping can be healed or improved with medications. Others, like lung scarring, are permanent. Over time, constant irritation of your lungs can lead to health problems(like asthma and COPD) that won't go away.

DEBUNKING MYTHS

There are several myths regarding vaping and e-cigarettes that have led to an increase in their craze and popularity. Some of them are:

• E-cigarettes do not contain nicotine. E-Cigarettes contain nicotine like traditional cigarettes, as well as other chemicals that cause cancer. Some vape product labels do not disclose whether they contain nicotine, and some vape liquids marketed as 0% nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.
• Vaping is less harmful than smoking. Vaping is as detrimental as smoking, causing permanent lung diseases, damage, and cancers.
• Vaping is harmless water vapour. The vapour created while heating the E-liquid is aerosol from nicotine and other chemicals, and not just plain water vapour.
• Vaping will help you quit smoking. No, people who start vaping end up smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
• Vaping is not addictive. Vape pens or e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is addictive.

VAPING IS UNSAFE FOR KIDS, TEENS, AND YOUNG ADULTS

Everyone thinks vaping is cool, as it is on-trend. Statistics show 23 % of Ottawa high school students in grades 9-12 have used a vape at least once. That is 77% short of everyone.

The vape pens or E-cigarettes have cool and smart packaging and are advertised to convince the buyer of them being safe and non-addictive, but fun, as they consist of flavour.

Nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain. The brain keeps developing until about age 25.

Using nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.

Teenagers and adolescents may resort to vaping to deal with stress or anxiety, creating a cycle of nicotine dependence. But nicotine addiction can be a source of stress. In young kids, e-cigarette and cigarette use has been associated with mental health symptoms such as depression.

The most common reason kids or teenagers give for using an e-cigarette is? A friend used them? 

'I am feeling anxious, stressed, or depressed.'

E-cigarettes or vape devices look like everyday objects, like a pen or a USB device, and are therefore easier to hide. They come in fruity flavours, masking the typical smell of nicotine. As a result, parent often do not realise their kids are smoking or vaping until it's too late.

ABOUT QUITTING

Smoking has a higher addiction rate. The addiction rate for smoking is much higher than the addiction rate for alcohol, marijuana or cocaine.

Nicotine is highly addictive. It causes changes in your brain, so you want more and more nicotine.

You might not be able to stop vaping if you want to or if it starts causing health problems.

When a person tries to quit smoking, the levels of nicotine drop drastically, making the smoker want more. The body becomes physically dependent on this drug, making it tough to stop smoking.

Chewing sugar-free gum or lollipops can help distract them from cravings.

Talk to a healthcare provider, therapist, or counsellor about quitting. They can help you make a plan that works for you and gives you support in the process.

Learn to relax with yoga, meditation, and deep or rhythmic breathing. Avoid temptations and triggers. Try to avoid situations where you normally vape or replace them with other activities.

TO SUM IT UP

Roughly, 1 out of 3 young smokers dies prematurely from smoking-caused diseases. Every cigarette that one smokes reduces the expected lifespan by 11 minutes. So, it is wise to stay away from Smoking and its different kinds. 

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