By: Rural Huertas
Vaping and What You Need to know
Source One: The Risk Of Vaping
This source defines vaping, the dangers, statistics of students who vape,
and the chemicals within a vape. This article is simple and straightforward. It answers most questions that people would generally ask about vaping. It details the chemicals within a vape and how it works. Not just that but how it affects a person and WHO its affecting (teens).
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“Vaping devices, also known as e-cigarettes, vape pens, and e-hookahs among other terms, come in many shapes and sizes. Some look like traditional cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Others are shaped like every-day objects, such as pens or USB memory sticks.
While they may look different, most vaping devices work in a similar way. Puffing activates a battery-powered heating device. This heats the liquid in a cartridge, turning it into vapors that are inhaled.”
“ ‘You’re inhaling propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavorants that were meant to be eaten but not inhaled, and nicotine,” he explains. “And all of those are heated up in this little reactor, which is an e-cigarette. When they get heated up, those components can turn into other potentially dangerous chemicals.’
One harmful chemical may be a thickening agent called Vitamin E acetate, which is sometimes used as an additive in THC-containing vape products. The CDC identified it as a “chemical of concern” among people with vaping-associated lung injuries. They recommend avoiding any vaping product containing Vitamin E acetate or THC, particularly those from informal sources like friends, family, or in-person or online dealers.”
“Marijuana vaping has also increased dramatically among teens. About 20% of high school seniors vaped marijuana in the past year. The rates have more than doubled in the past two years.
New laws are aimed at curbing vaping among teens. People must now be 21 to buy any tobacco product, including vaping products. And companies can no longer produce and sell flavors that appeal to children like fruit and mint.”
Source Two: History Of Vaping
This source defines the history of vaping starting from the 1930s all the way until 2021! It’s very up-to-date and recent and perfectly depicts the history of vaping. Anything specific you want to know and all you have to do is click on the timeline, very simple and easy to understand. A great way of providing information. It has all types of information including who invented vaping, how it first started, the regulations, the bannings, the findings, the studies, etc.
A Screenshot Of The Timeline:
Vaping and Taking Action
Source Three: Journal Of Health and Biomedical Research
This source helps you understand what vaping is and how it became as widespread as it is now. It’s very detailed and also helps you understand what action is being taken against vaping now that the dangers of vaping have been recognized.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“The Juul has become one of the most identifiable e-cigarettes to date. It has been branded as the “iPhone of vapes,” simply for its sleek, slender, futuristic USB memory stick-like design and portability. It is a rechargeable e-cigarette that is compatible with “Juulpods,” a disposable cartridge that comes in various flavors. Each pack of Juulpods contains the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, but without the baggage of the aftertaste and smell. Juul’s popularity increased after heavy advertising campaigns and an influential social media presence. The Juul quickly became popular among all age groups as it became a lifestyle – something that was “cool” to do in public and flaunt on social media, as people caved to social peer pressures.”
“Local and state governments have the power to regulate or pass emergency legislation that is rationally related to health and safety of the public’s well-being. Such action is referred to as state’s “police power.” This power will be held constitutional as long as it does not attempt to regulate a fundamental right and it is rationally related to the goal the legislation seeks to serve (meaning it passes the rational-basis test). One state that has taken such action to combat vaping-related deaths and lung disease is Massachusetts.”
“he government along with the FDA must put specific regulations in place and warn the public of extreme health concerns on the use of these products. There must be a strong movement from all states to support banning these products until all the risks have been determined and communicated to the public. I believe that the young adult population thinks the use of this product is not only “cool socially” but safe to use. Too many lives are at risk, and we cannot sit back and allow these products to be readily available without a warning of all the consequences of using such a product. If we do nothing then more people are going to die. The tar-like substance thought to be caused by vaping products, sticks to the inside of the lungs, causes difficulty breathing and decreases the oxygen flow to the rest of the body. Just this past week, a Michigan teenager received a double lung transplant because of extensive vaping. The damage that vapes cause to one’s lungs are irreversible, and as a society we need to take action and get all the information regarding the risks of using these vaping products. We need to decide what is more important: the freedom to vape, or life itself.”
Source Four:Teen vaping rising fast, research says
This article includes teen vaping and what ation we can take against it. The article itself is more of a conversation with two who are very well educated in this topic, through their conversation they reveal their concerns, ideas, and plans for the future of vaping.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine and conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota, showed that just over 20 percent of 12th-graders reported vaping in the last 30 days. Researchers said that the one-year increase was the largest for any substance in the survey’s 44 years.”
“we have seen vaping products where we’ve identified some constituents that may be harmful to human health, for example formaldehyde in some higher-voltage vaping products. We’ve seen toxic heavy metals in a number of products. We’ve seen contaminants that don’t need to be in there, such as diethylene glycol, diacetyl compounds, and so on. We can regulate these products to ensure those toxic constituents are eliminated.”
“Smoking is a global problem, with an estimated 7 million deaths related to it annually, according to the World Health Organization. The challenge, Rees said, is to devise strategies to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of youth without demonizing a technology that has the potential to be a powerful tool in the fight against smoking-related harm.”
Health Issues From Vaping
Source Five: Understanding the Implications of Vaping and E-Cigarettes
This article provides a bountiful amount of information, however I focused much more on the effects of e-ciggarettes on your health. This sticks out more due to the sheer amount of information and statistices that the article provides.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“While the idea of teens smoking e-cigarettes may not seem so serious, research conducted by USC director of Health, Emotion and Addiction Laboratory, Adam Leventhal, has shown that teens who smoke e-cigarettes with a high level of nicotine are more likely to use other nicotine products, such as traditional cigarettes.
There are several different levels of nicotine concentrations sold for e-cigarettes. Smokers can purchase anything from zero mg/mL to 25 mg/mL, where anything over 18 mg/mL is considered high. The USC research conducted shows that for every level-up in nicotine strength that e-cigarette users purchase, users are two times more likely to smoke conventional cigarettes three days or more in a month.
Another USC study, which was published in JAMA Pediatrics in October 2017, found that 43 percent of the students surveyed who used high-nicotine e-cigarettes at the start of the study were smoking traditional cigarettes at least three times a month at the end of the study six months later. The conclusion of the study was that the use of e-cigarette liquid that contains concentrations of nicotine over 18mg/mL can lead to an increased and more frequent use of e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes.”
“According to Life Science, e-cigarettes create a vapor rather than a tobacco smoke, which means they generally deliver less nicotine than cigarettes. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re safer. One of the most dangerous things that has been discovered about e-cigarettes is that they may keep people smoking traditional cigarettes longer, instead of encouraging them to quit. Research shows that anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of e-cigarette users are still smoking traditional cigarettes.
Regardless of whether users are smoking traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes, nicotine is still being delivered the body. In its concentrated e-liquid form, nicotine is poisonous. Nicotine has been shown to have effects on reproductive health, and when pregnant women are exposed to it, even at low levels, it can harm the developing fetus and lead to babies born with low birth weights. Nicotine has also been shown to be toxic to the still-developing brain of young people. Children who have been exposed to nicotine have more respiratory problems.
Nicotine is a cardiovascular stimulant and has the potential to worsen heart disease in people who have severe heart conditions. As Life Science mentions, there is also evidence that e-cigarettes can have a substantial effect on blood vessels and can increase people’s risk of heart attacks”
Source Six: Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults
This article is as the title says. It’s very simple and easy to understand. It prodives a lot of good information.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“
Most e-cigarettes (vapes) contain nicotine—the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products.
A CDC study found that 99% of the e-cigarettes sold in assessed venues in the United States contained nicotine.1
Some vape product labels do not disclose that they contain nicotine, and some vape liquids marketed as containing 0% nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.
Nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain.2 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.2
Each time a new memory is created or a new skill is learned, stronger connections – or synapses – are built between brain cells. Young people’s brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Nicotine changes the way these synapses are formed.
Using nicotine in adolescence may also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs.2”
“
When a person is dependent on (or addicted to) nicotine and stops using it, their body and brain have to get used to not having nicotine. This can result in temporary symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Nicotine withdrawal symptoms include irritability, restlessness, feeling anxious or depressed, trouble sleeping, problems concentrating, and craving nicotine.3 People may keep using tobacco products to help relieve these symptoms.4
Youth may turn to vaping to try to deal with stress or anxiety, creating a cycle of nicotine dependence. But nicotine addiction can be a source of stress.
What may start as social experimentation can become an addiction.
Youth e-cigarette and cigarette use have been associated with mental health symptoms such as depression.9,10”
“E-cigarette aerosol is NOT harmless “water vapor.”
The e-cigarette aerosol that users breathe from the device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including:
Nicotine
Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs
Flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease
Volatile organic compounds
Cancer-causing chemicals
Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead1
The aerosol that users inhale and exhale from e-cigarettes can expose both themselves and bystanders to harmful substances.
It is difficult for consumers to know what e-cigarette products contain. For example, some e-cigarettes marketed as containing zero percent nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.3”
Source Seven: Vaping and Electronic Cigarettes (E-cigs)
This article is mainly about vaping in general. However, this article specifically provides information about alarming statistics of people dying or being injured by the effects of their vaping.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“A congressionally mandated panel from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examined more than 800 peer-reviewed scientific studies. In its report, the panel concluded that evidence suggests that while e-cigarettes are not without health risks, they are likely less harmful than combustible cigarettes.
Long-term health effects of vaping are unknown.
Researchers at Marquette and reporters at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel collaborated to test popular e-cig juices: Lab Tests of E-cigs Reveal Harmful Chemicals
Vaping devices with THC can be deadly.
In the United States:
As of February 18, 2020, a total of 2,807 hospitalized EVALI cases or deaths have been reported to CDC from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands).
Sixty-eight deaths have been confirmed in 29 states and the District of Columbia (as of February 18, 2020).
Most of these deaths have reportedly involved vaping THC with vitamin E acetate.”
“A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found youth who vaped were nearly 4 times more likely to smoke.
Free webinar: Vaping Evolved: What Parents Need to Know, November 17, 2021
Nicotine alters the adolescent brain. It increases their risk for:
Impulsivity.
Mood disorders.
Stunted learning and recall.
Diminished enjoyment of activities they normally adore.
To view a poster by high school student Anna T., click here”
Source Eight: What's really in vape juice?
This article contains information regarding the chemicals that are exhaled when you vape and how those same chemicals can be the same ones that will lead to your demise. Alarmingly, there are way more harmful substances than non-harmful, and that speaks for itself.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“First up, some legal stuff. Some vape liquids can contain nicotine. E-cigarettes that contain nicotine are illegal in Queensland.
Nicotine is a poisonous and highly addictive chemical that some plants developed to stop animals and insects eating them. It was widely used as a natural insecticide to kill pests.
There is also no way to verify what’s in vape liquids purchased online from overseas. Many of them contain nicotine even if they’re labelled ‘nicotine-free’.
Most vape juices contain some of the following:
propylene glycol – a common food additive
vegetable glycerine or glycerol – also food additives
in some cases, water
other chemicals (including those used to create flavours).
The first three ingredients are usually harmless when eaten, but their effects when inhaled as an aerosol are currently unknown.”
“Vapes—especially those bought online from overseas—also can contain unspecified and uncontrolled amounts of other substances, some of which are known to be really harmful, particularly when inhaled, such as:
diacetyl – used in popcorn flavourings for its buttery taste. It can cause ‘Popcorn Lung’ (bronchiolitis obliterans) if inhaled in large concentrations.
diethylene glycol – a toxic chemical used in antifreeze that is linked to lung disease
lead, tin, nickel - heavy metals
cadmium - a toxic metal that causes breathing problems and disease
acetylaldehyde and formaldehyde - cancer-causing chemicals
acrolein - a weed killer that can cause irreversible lung damage and cancer
benzene – a volatile organic compound found in car exhausts that is cancer causing and causes harm to bone marrow, reducing red blood cell numbers and leading to anemia.
Some chemicals in e-cigarette aerosols can also cause DNA damage
ultra-small particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs
“Other vape liquids can contain:
THC – the main psychoactive compound in cannabis
CBD – cannabidiol – another chemical from the cannabis or hemp plant
Vitamin E acetate – a chemical of concern among people with e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI)
Other, or unknown, chemicals”
Source Nine: EVALI: New information on vaping-induced lung injury
This article provides amazing information about EVALI, which is a sickness that is associated with vaping specifically. We have yet to know more information about EVALI due to how new it is.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury) is an inflammatory response in the lungs triggered by inhaled substances. Given a huge range of products — many illicit or counterfeit — and many different ingredients, it’s not surprising that EVALI varies, too. It may occur as pneumonia, damage to tiny air sacs in the lungs (alveoli), or an inflammatory reaction called fibrinous pneumonitis.”
“It has been hard to pinpoint the causes of EVALI. There are thousands of vaping products with varying ingredients, including illicit substances. Most likely, more than one specific product or substance is causing severe lung problems. No one knows why some people get EVALI and others do not, but part of this is probably due to the different ingredients they have inhaled.
The most common brand associated with EVALI is Dank Vape, a brand of products containing THC, the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
Exclusively using products with THC increases risk for EVALI. (It’s unclear whether people who used nicotine-only vapes also were exposed to vape products with THC, or whether other ingredients caused the lung injury.)
Vitamin E acetate is strongly associated with EVALI. It is found largely in counterfeit brands (and recently in Juul products from South Korea). Vitamin E is a supplement considered safe when ingested or applied to the skin. Vitamin E acetate is an oil derivative used in vaping products as a thickener. It is found in about half of the products associated with EVALI. A recent small study found vitamin E deposits in the lung tissue of EVALI patients.
Other chemical components, including triglycerides, plant oils, petroleum distillates, and diluent terpenes have been found in bronchoscopy specimens of EVALI patients. But none are present in all patients.”
“Naturally, severe illness and death from vaping-related lung injury has received a lot of attention. But there are other causes for concern about the long-term health effects of inhaled vapors, including humectants, flavorings, the heating process, and metallic coil corrosion.
Humectants are additives used to produce vapor, such as propylene glycol or glycerol. Human respiratory cells exposed to humectants in lab experiments show increased inflammation and decreased survival. This raises concern about lung damage when people inhale humectants.
Thousands of vape flavoring products have been reported. Because these are inhaled, not ingested, they are not regulated by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA). Diacetyl, which gives food a buttery or creamy flavor, is one example. Factory workers exposed to high levels of diacetyl in popcorn factories have developed lung injury known as "popcorn lung," so it is regulated in the workplace by OSHA. Yet diacetyl is used in over 60% of sweet-flavored vapes, and just three to four puffs a day far exceeds exposure limits set by OSHA.
Heating ingredients to create vapor causes their chemical components to decompose, which may also be a health hazard. For example, heating propylene glycol produces aldehydes, which expose users to five to 15 times the levels of formaldehyde vapor — a known carcinogen — found in tobacco cigarettes.
Additionally, repeated use of refillable cartridges can causemetal heating coils to decompose, which could lead to inhaling or ingesting heavy metals. The toxic metals manganese and zinc have been isolated from used vaping devices. These can cause illness when ingested at high levels. There are also case reports of lung injury linked with cobalt in vaping liquid. This has been attributed to coil corrosion.”
Source Ten: Vaping and Mental Health
This article provides information aout the correlation between Vaping and Mental health. As mentioned in the article itself, the effects vaping has on someone mentally is generally not talked about to the point that most people believe otherwise.
The Following Are Important Citations From The Source (It’s color-coded to know the difference between the citations.):
“Mental health concerns related to vaping (other than addiction) have been generally neglected. This is perhaps not surprising when one considers that strong evidence of adverse mental health effects of combustible tobacco smoking have also been neglected (Williams & Ziedonis, 2004). Smoking is one of the risk factors most consistently associated with poor mental health, e.g. (Colman et al., 2011; Goodman & Capitman, 2000; Jorm et al., 1999). Reasons for this tendency to underemphasize smoking as a potential determinant of mental health are unknown. Perhaps the mental health effects have been overshadowed by concerns about its physical effects. There may also be a tendency to view smoking as a self-medication strategy, a perspective that situates the behaviour as an epiphenomenon rather than as a core contributor to diminished mental health. These perceptions may be augmented by perceptions held by smokers themselves. Smokers tend to view smoking as way of improving dysphoric symptoms, without recognizing that this improvement may actually be due to treatment of nicotine withdrawal (Williams & Ziedonis, 2004). There is now compelling evidence, summarized in a systematic review by Taylor et al. that smoking cessation leads to better, not worse, mental health (Taylor et al., 2014). Consistent with this, evidence of improvement is also seen after smoking cessation in observational data collected from population representative samples (Patten et al., 2017). Notably, the effect sizes identified for smoking cessation in the systematic review by Taylor et al. resembled those typically seen for psychiatric treatments (Taylor et al., 2014).”
“Vaping also leads to exposure to nicotine and may amount to adoption of a passive and emotion-focused coping strategy, as does smoking. An important concern is that some vaping devices may deliver higher concentrations of nicotine than do combustible tobacco cigarettes, with unknown effects on the developing brain. Accumulating evidence suggests similar associations of vaping and smoking with indicators of negative mental health. Mood and anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms and negatively perceived mental health are all associated with e-cigarette use (Pham et al., 2020). These associations are likely bidirectional, and e-cigarette use in response to psychiatric symptoms may account for a component of the cross-sectional associations reported. Retrospective epidemiologic data, however, suggest that smoking cessation followed by continued vaping may not have the same mental health benefits as smoking cessation that is not followed by continued vaping (Dahal, Adhikari, & Patten, 2020).”
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