As of 2019, 28% of high schoolers and 11% of middle schoolers had vaped within the past month. This problem has become so rampant that the FDA calls it an epidemic among teens.
There are so many risks of vaping that adults and young adults need to know. Keep reading our list of dangers of vaping, health risks of vaping, and when to seek treatment for yourself or your child.
What Is Vaping?
Vaping is an alternative to cigarette smoking that is commonly used by teens and young adults.
E-cigarettes are also commonly known as vape pens, e-cigs, tank systems, and more. Rather than lighting a cigarette, e-cigarettes are powered by a battery that vaporizes the liquid inside. This vapor is then inhaled.
Dangers of Vaping
Is vaping dangerous? While many people assume that vaping isn’t addictive and isn’t as bad as smoking, they are wrong. Vaping includes many addictive additives, including nicotine. Here are some of the dangers of vaping.
With the assistance of state and local health departments, the CDC is investigating the recent outbreak of lung diseases related to vaping.
The United States had reported 380 cases of this lung illness as of September 2019. The subjects in all of the reported cases smoked cigarettes.
Nicotine Is Addictive
When you vape, you are inhaling vaporized liquid that includes nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals.
Many people falsely believe that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking. While they don’t include many of the cancer-causing chemicals that come from smoking tobacco cigarettes, they still have the addictive nicotine that is also found in tobacco.
There are many teens addicted to vaping. Nicotine can negatively affect their brains and development. Eventually, vaping could lead to other forms of substance use.
Dangerous Additives for Flavor
Most vape flavors are targeted toward young adults and children. For example, some commonly popular flavors are gummy bear, bubblegum, and cotton candy.
While these may not seem dangerous, it is never a good idea to breathe additives into your lungs. These can be seen as foreign objects and may lead to issues with your lungs.
Includes Heavy Metals
Many e-cigarettes include toxic heavy metals. In fact, there are more metals in e-cigarettes than there are in smoking cigarettes.
These metals include lead, arsenic, nickel, and more.
Not only can metals damage your lung tissue when you inhale them, but they can also lead to other diseases. Metal inhalation and exposure increase the risk of cancer in those who vape.
Harmful For Brain Development
When you are a teenager, your brain is not fully developed. This is especially true concerning the parts of your brain that are responsible for impulse control, decision making, and more.
When young adults and teenagers use e-cigarettes and are exposed to nicotine, it can cause many types of permanent issues.
For example, it can lead to nicotine addiction, worse impulse control, and can even cause mood disorders. Nicotine prevents your brain from developing properly and can create problems with attention and learning.
Bad For Your Heart
Vaping is not only bad for your development, but it can cause serious damage to your heart as well. When you vape, your skin, mouth, and lungs absorb the vapors and particles you are breathing in, and they can enter your bloodstream.
If you vape, you are more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke than those who don’t vape.
Another thing that vaping can do is cause issues with your heart rate and blood pressure. While vaping gives you a temporary feeling of pleasure, it also spikes your adrenaline. This means that your blood pressure and heart rate will increase and can lead to serious medical issues.
Vaping can be very dangerous for your heart because it can also cause blood clots to form. The preservatives and other chemicals that are found in e-cigarettes can almost immediately cause issues with blood clotting.
If you vape, you can be setting yourself up for worse health problems in the future.
Is Vaping a Gateway Drug?
Another danger of vaping and exposing yourself to these products is that it can cause other worse behavior in the future.
When teenagers use e-cigarettes, there is a strong correlation that they may also use other harmful products.
These harmful products include regular cigarettes, marijuana, tobacco, and more.
When kids are exposed to and addicted to nicotine, it can cause worse issues in the future. By preventing this exposure in the first place, you can keep yourself or your child safer from drugs, alcohol, and the use of other dangerous products.
Studies have shown that nicotine use is a gateway to the use of marijuana and cocaine in human populations. The Kandels had previously observed that nicotine greatly enhanced the effects of cocaine in mice.
It appears that nicotine may also work the same way in humans, based on Diane’s research.
Those who use cocaine are also more likely to smoke. Additionally, those who began using cocaine after smoking cigarettes had the highest rates of cocaine dependence.
Cocaine use before smoking and an inability to smoke more than 100 cigarettes were significantly associated with lower dependence than people who started using it before they began smoking.
When to Seek Professional Help
Nicotine is dangerous for anyone, but it is even worse for youth and young adults. Because nicotine is so addictive, you may have to seek help if you are trying to quit. Besides the list of dangers of vaping above, you may also experience withdrawal and other serious issues.
If you believe you are addicted to vaping or nicotine, you can find help!
Inland Detox is a premier rehab center in Temecula, California. If you or your child is experiencing vape addiction, contact our team today to learn more about our programs and how we can help.