I was a smoker of about 15 years, and while I don’t currently smoke, I know a lot of people who still do. One of the biggest trends lately is Vaping. Vaping has hit the market by storm claiming to be a healthy alternative to standard tobacco, and because I treasure my friends and family that smoke, and those who are jumping onto the vaping bandwagon, I decided to do a little research on my own to find out what exactly is vaping and the potential health risks to this new trend.

What is Vaping

Created by a Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik, vaping was a solution to his father dying of lung cancer. Electronic Cigarettes Collection Isolated On WhiteVaping is by definition the inhalation of water vapor through an e-cigarette or other vaping device. A combination of ingredients, including nicotine is loaded into your device and inhaled by using a battery that atomizes the ingredients creating a mist, or vapor.

How is Juice Made

The main factor of vaping is using a liquid to ingest levels of nicotine as opposed to the traditional means of getting your fix through tobacco. With so many different types of juices out there on the market, I wanted to know how this stuff was actually made, if there were any regulations and how one can find the most pure form of liquid to stay safe.

  • What’s In It – typically a juice cartridge is composed of four basic ingredients; water, nicotine, PG (propylene glycol) and VG (vegetable glycerin). We all know what water and nicotine is, but what are these other two ingredients? PG is an organic compound that is colorless, odorless compound that offers a hint of sweet flavor. VG is a simple polyol (or sugar alcohol) that is also colorless, odorless and offers a sweet hint of flavor.
  • Regulations – for the most part, the juices that make up your e-cigarette are not regulated by the FDA. Did I just read that right? Millions of people are smoking vapors that are not fully supported and monitored by the Federal and Drug Administration? Only certain e-cigarettes that are marketed for therapeutic purposes are currently regulated. To learn more about this topic to go their website for more information.
  • Safe Choices – with the fact of the matter that this product is not approved or regulated by the FDA, I found it quite hard to find a reputable place that I could count on for “safe” production. And while I am sure that most companies follow the standard practice of juice production, making sure I could get 100% safely manufactured juices didn’t seem to be available.

What Are The Risks

3D rendering of a pair of e-cigarettes with a box with a red croSo you are worried about your health and decided to go healthy with an electronic cigarette? But how healthy are these contraptions? Looking into the topic further I discovered a variety of health risks currently being investigated when it comes to this new form of smoking.

Addiction – Everyone knows that nicotine is addictive, and if you are choosing to ingest nicotine through tobacco or liquid forms, this risk still poses a threat to your body.

Long Term Effects – Simply put, no one knows the long-term potential risks of vaping. For one, the product hasn’t been out in the world long enough to have substantial long term content, and second many are not putting the focus and attention it deserves to actually investigate this new trend. Think about the fact that the FDA is not actively supporting this drug.

PG Impact – It has also been reported that prolonged exposure to PG (propylene glycol), one of the main ingredients in juices, can cause upper respiratory irritation. Combined with eye irritation, and other ailments associated with this compound.

 

 

 

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