Vaping: Did you know?

There is allot of information out there about vaping. Its on the news everyday and is now linked to lung illnesses associated with several reported deaths. But what do you really know about vaping? Vapes and e-cigs are names of devices used to inhale most popularly the drug nicotine. Most young people who use these- don’t even know that they are using a drug! Instead of burning tobacco, like traditional cigarettes, vapes heat liquid nicotine to make “vapor”. Vape companies say vaping is safe, but as we are very quickly learning, it is NOT. Here are a few very important things you need to know about vaping.

• 1.      Vapor is NOT just water. It’s actually an aerosol (a fine mist of tiny particles) that contains the drug nicotine, toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Examples are: Formaldehyde, Nickel, Acetaldehyde (a chemical used in paint stripper). Plus, many other chemicals- some of which are known to cause cancer.
• 2.      Vapes contain the drug nicotine. JUUL has the highest nicotine content of any other vape on the market. Nicotine can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine to the growing brain. Especially in the high amounts that are in vapes. Nicotine affects your heart rate, blood vessels and brain development. Liquid nicotine is extremely poisonous and can even be deadly when swallowed or absorbed through the skin. (report of small children and pets being poisoned by these are on the rise).
• 3.      Vaping can lead to the following health issues; asthma attacks, shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, fever, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, popcorn lung and throat irritation. Very serious unexpected respiratory illness is possible and should be treated by a doctor immediately.
• 4.     Vape companies want you to think that their products help people to stop smoking traditional tobacco products. There is no evidence that vaping helps people to quit at all. In fact, most vapes have higher levels of nicotine than cigarettes.

• 5.      Vape companies are marketing to youth just as big tobacco did before them. They use lots of tricks and tactics like kid friendly flavors, ads that make vaping seem cool and safe and tech- trendy devices. 

The Indiana State Department of Health has a new lung injury webpage for updates specific to Indiana. 

The CDC released the following on the latest findings from the investigation into lung injuries associated with e-cigarette use, or vaping.

Most of the people (77%) in this outbreak reported using THC-containing products, or both THC-containing products and nicotine-containing products, according to a report published today in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

Though the investigation is ongoing and the cause remains unknown at this time, today’s report provides the first national comprehensive data on the characteristics of cases reported to CDC, including sex, age, and select substances used in e-cigarette, or vaping products. A second MMWR released today from Wisconsin and Illinois had similar findings regarding THC use and contains more details on the characteristics of cases in those states, including demographics, as well as substances and product types used.

Stay up to date with CDC’s web page dedicated to the response in English and Spanish and general website on e-cigarettes.