About E Cigarettes
E cigarettes are being marketed as a safe alternative to smoking. But they’re not because e cigarettes are still putting nicotine a highly addictive drug into the body.
Electronic cigarettes are battery powered smoking devices often designed to look and feel like regular cigarettes. They use cartridges filled with a liquid that contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. A heating device in the e cigarette converts the liquid into a vapor, which the person inhales. That’s why using e cigarettes is known as “vaping.”
Because e cigarettes don’t burn tobacco, people don’t inhale the same amounts of tar and carbon monoxide as with a regular cigarette. But anyone using an e cigarette still gets an unhealthy dose of nicotine and other chemicals.
Electronic cigarettes started out being marketed to smokers as a way to help them quit. Now that e cigarettes have gone mainstream, regulators and scientists are taking note. Expect to see more information coming out about e cigarettes and their health effects.
The Risks
E cigarettes don’t fill the lungs with harmful smoke, but that doesn’t make them a healthy alternative to regular cigarettes.
Anyone who uses (“vapes”) an e cigarette is still putting nicotine which is absorbed through the lungs into his or her system. Besides being an addictive drug, nicotine is also toxic in high doses. It was once even used as an insecticide.
Nicotine affects the brain, nervous system, and heart. It raises blood pressure and heart rate. The larger the dose of nicotine, the more a person’s blood pressure and heart rate go up. This can cause an abnormal heart rate (arrhythmia). In rare cases, especially when large doses of nicotine are involved, arrhythmias can cause heart failure and death.
After the initial effects wear off, the body starts to crave nicotine. An e cigarette user might feel depressed, tired, or crabby (this is nicotine withdrawal), and crave more nicotine to perk up again. Over time, nicotine use can lead to serious medical problems, including heart disease, blood clots, and stomach ulcers.
Quit smoking: 23 ways to stop cigarettes for good
Whenever you re tempted to light up, take a look at all the ways smoking can damage your health
&bull Increases risk of lung, bladder, pancreatic, mouth, esophageal, and other cancers, including leukemia
&bull Increases risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure
&bull Increases risk of diabetes
&bull Reduces levels of folate, low levels of which can increase the risk of heart disease, depression, and Alzheimer s disease
&bull Affects mental capacity and memory
&bull Contributes to thin bones
&bull Increases likelihood of impotence
&bull Reduces fertility
&bull Affects ability to smell and taste
&bull Results in low birth weight, premature babies
&bull Increases risk of depression in adolescents
&bull Increases your child s risk of obesity and diabetes later in life if you smoked while pregnant