Electronic Cigarettes – A good invention?

E-cigs are a new favorite of teenagers. They think it’s cool to use e-cigarettes like adults because adults smoke in front of these teenagers. Why would a teenager have this in the first place? If you want to know what exactly this product is, and whether it is good or bad, read till the very end to know about this little celebrity.

Today traditional cigarettes rule the adult population, and e-cigarettes have come to take over the teenage population. They are similar in their looks but vastly different in their functionalities. We’ll talk about it in depth.

What are e-cigarettes?

E-cigarettes are the cigarettes that produce non-tobacco smoke. These cigarettes do not burn any tobacco. Traditional cigarettes have tobacco filled in them and are burnt to release smoke that is consumed by the user. E-cigarettes, on the other hand, burn the e-liquid that produces aerosol. This aerosol is taken by the users. E-cigarettes are popular among teenagers because no tobacco is present in them. It makes teenagers gravitate towards it, thinking they are safe. That is not true, and we will show you why that is.

Unlike a traditional cigarette, an E-cigarette has an atomizer, one rechargeable battery source, and a tank that stores the e-liquid. A typical cigarette produces smoke when lit up with fire. These e-cigs produce a vapor that is made when the user presses a button or tries to inhale it. Their biggest flex over Traditional cigarettes is that e-cigs can be reused. All that is left off of traditional cigarettes is butt only.

The e-liquid has a lot of compounds in variable amounts. Sometimes called e-juice or vape, it comes in many flavors. These e-liquids have nicotine in them that is more addictive than tobacco. Let’s discuss some contents of the e-liquid.

·  Nicotine

·  Propylene glycol

·  Glycerin

·  Flavorings

An e-cigarette works differently when the user presses a button, the atomizer heats the e-liquid, and forms the aerosol. This aerosol is inhaled, and the person feels as if he has smoked something in real life. The disadvantage associated with vaping is that nicotine smoking is much more addictive than tobacco smoking.

Popularity of vaping

Can you guess which country has the highest number of vaping teenagers? It’s China, followed by the US and Europe. When they were introduced back in 2003, the demand shot up rapidly, and in a blink of an eye, millions of users were ‘vaping.’ 7 million adult users in 2011 who vaped, were 68 million in 2020. At the time of this data, there were 1.1 billion cigarette smokers. This rise in vape users was dependent on the targeted marketing strategy that saw teens and adults as potential buyers. The cost of e-cigs was less than actual cigarettes. They were believed to be safer than cigarettes with tobacco. These reasons made vaping a popular culture trend that was accepted by the majority of the population.

Various reasons led to the development of e-cigarettes. The main one is the urge to quit smoking. If vaping was not available, people had to do some recreational activities to get through the quitting process. Another factor that led to its popularity was the absence of tobacco odor.

The getaway theory was also a factor of luck for the success of e-cigarettes. The theory states that when you use less harmful drugs, it pushes you to use the more harmful drug. So going for nicotine addiction led to the withdrawal from tobacco.

For youth, e-cigarettes have been a savior. Youth vaping is increasing annually, and the tobacco consuming youth have decreased by 75%.

Health impacts of vaping

The effects of vaping are not known as of now, but certain adverse effects are less impactful. E-cigarettes are generally safer than tobacco cigarettes. Under professional supervision, one can use it to quit smoking completely. The less serious impacts of vaping include:

• Abdominal pain
• Blurry vision
• Headache
• Throat and mouth irritation
• Vomiting
• Nausea and coughing

Smoking during pregnancy is not recommended at all. Be sober, be good. Smoking has some toxins in it that can affect a fetus in a way that might be irreversible. Even if a mother loves vaping, she should avoid it when carrying a child. Even if you choose to smoke, go for light vapes and avoid smoking. This vaping can keep them away from smoking and save the fetus from the adverse effect of smoking tobacco.

Vaping isn’t always good; nicotine will affect you and your lungs in the same way as tobacco. Vaping for long durations will develop a disease called ‘popcorn lung.’ This disease may sound funny but is life-threatening. It makes the appearance of the lungs look like popcorn and reduces the air intake by the lungs. It causes an asphyxiation-like condition and can lead to death.

Vaping or E-cigarettes is good when done in moderation, but it will harm you if you get addicted to vaping. Using it to quit smoking is good, but using it for guiding yourself in life will be drastic, and it must be avoided.