Is vaping worse or better than regular cigarettes? In today's video, I'll tell you the latest findings about the health effects of electronic cigarettes. What really happens to the body of someone who smokes vape after years of use?
Is it as dangerous as traditional cigarettes? Finally, science is starting to have these answers about electronic cigarettes. And there's a discovery about vaping that no one is talking about, but I'll tell you until the end of this video.
The vape has already become a common object for more than 2 million Brazilians. And guys, 17% of students aged 13 to 17 have already tried electronic cigarettes. The problem is that something that was created to end smoking is now part of young people's routine and in the atmosphere of bars and parties.
There are people using it even inside the subway and in other closed places where smoking is prohibited. Is it like this in your city too? Comment here if you smoke or know someone who uses came.
What will it cause in the long term? Since the danger of regular cigarettes lies in the toxic smoke from burning tobacco, it was just a matter of creating a cigarette that doesn't use fire or tobacco. This is the vape, a device that uses electricity to heat a liquid and transform it into a type of vapor with suspended particles that the person inhales.
In theory, vape liquid only contains substances that are safe for humans, but in practice this is not the case. Let’s start by looking at the attractive taste of vapes. What gives the aromas of cinnamon, mint, mango and so on are flavorings widely used in processed foods.
Everyone has eaten a candy that has some flavoring. And in small amounts they are indeed safe. To eat and to inhale is not the same thing.
And this is where the story gets worrying. Most flavorings have not even been tested to be vaporized or inhaled. We are beginning to understand the effects of these substances on the respiratory tract.
And the findings are not good. By 2021, scientists had already identified 65 flavorings in vapes that cause everything from irritation to death of lung cells. Not to mention that, analyzing the vapes on the market, scientists found heavy metals such as arsenic and lead and even substances used to manufacture disinfectants and insecticides, all proven to be dangerous and toxic, depending on the quantity.
As the sale of vapes is banned in several countries, there is no quality control, guys. In other words, whoever uses it is inhaling a liquid that could have anything inside. And when this liquid is heated, both substances that should be there and those that shouldn't end up reacting, forming new substances, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and benzene, which are carcinogenic.
Exactly what we see in traditional cigarettes. When all these toxic substances enter the body, they directly harm the lungs and respiratory tract. The injury itself immediately generates inflammation, which is the body's natural response, trying to repair the damage and eliminate toxic substances.
But over time, the lung, which is designed to capture oxygen from the air, becomes a battlefield against toxins from the vein. In an attempt to recover through inflammation, it ends up increasing blood flow in the region, generating swelling and stimulating the production of mucus, which makes it difficult for air to pass through the lungs. This persistent inflammation can cause scarring in the lungs, fibrosis and even irreversibly compromise respiratory capacity.
And as the immune system is focused on inflammation, the person becomes more vulnerable to pneumonia and other infections. This set of complications already has a name: EVAL, an acronym in English that means lung injury associated with the use of vape or electronic cigarettes. A serious illness that emerged along with vaping and is becoming more and more common.
I know this discussion about the dangers of vapes sometimes seems like picking on individual choice. After all, everyone is free to use cigarettes if they want, whether electronic or not. But then I ask you, do 100% of people who try an electronic cigarette know the risks involved?
It's one thing for you to choose to use a vape consciously, it's quite another for you to be convinced that it is safe. And there is a detail that confuses a lot of people. As the electronic cigarette has a modern design, sometimes colorful and even cartoonish, it does not seem addictive.
And this is where electronic cigarettes can be worse than regular cigarettes. Most vapes sold out there contain nicotine, which is precisely the addictive substance in cigarettes. I know there are nicotine-free vapes, but I want to warn you about this nonsense here.
A study in Australia found that 60% of vapes that claimed to be nicotine-free actually had a substance in them. So the person may be tempted to try it thinking that it won't be addictive, but ends up falling into a trap, because having nicotine, electronic cigarettes are also addictive in the same way, or better yet, they may even be more addictive. I was shocked when I first discovered that some vapes have what scientists call nicotine salts, which is modified nicotine.
It needs to be in this state because the vape is vaporized and not necessarily burned. This is how it can be absorbed by the body. But nicotine is absorbed more efficiently by the body and consequently generates a more powerful effect.
In practical terms, they become addictive faster. There is even a discussion that cigarettes with nicotine salt should be given another name, but the name doesn't matter. The truth is that few people say that nicotine ones make it possible for you to put in a greater load of nicotine in the same volume.
If we compare a common cigarette that has a maximum of 1 mg of nicotine and a pack of cigarettes has 20 cigarettes, that is, 20 mg per pack, a single vape with nicotine salt can have up to 900 mg. If a person smokes this every 15 days, it is as if they were smoking 60 cigarettes a day. Look how crazy.
No person with decades of addiction ends up smoking that much. Smoking this amount of nicotine would have been impossible 15 years ago due to the volume of smoke that the person would have to inhale and the time it would take to do so in a day. But with vaping folks, this is possible and this is the news I need you to share.
What we see is technology and innovation being used in favor of addiction so that people can access more and more nicotine at once. Sad, right? And after the addiction appears, there is no point in saying that you just have to stop using.
The brain begins to depend on nicotine to function. As vape nicotine salts are absorbed faster and in greater quantities, dependence appears even faster and more intensely than with regular cigarettes. So it's not just a question of wanting to stop, it's facing a powerful chemical and emotional dependence that requires much more than just willpower, it requires treatment.
If you know someone who uses electronic cigarettes, or even already have one at home, what can you do to protect yourself? Is there a solution to the problem of electronic cigarettes? Leave your like here and let's find out how to act in the face of the dangers of vapes.
Brazil is one of several countries that has a zero tolerance policy on vapes. It is prohibited to manufacture, distribute and sell electronic cigarettes within the country. This is great because it is in line with what science says.
But I ask you, if vaping is prohibited, why is it so present on the streets? And worse, why is consumption increasing? Is there no point in having a law that doesn't work in practice?
Do you agree with me? So, we need to enforce the law. Until this happens, it is up to us to protect ourselves individually.
When it comes to cigarettes, whether electronic or not, the rule is don't try it, don't start using it. And if you are already a user, the sooner you seek treatment and stop using, the better for your health. Some people who smoked traditional cigarettes even say that they only managed to kick the habit when they started using electronic cigarettes, but then they exchanged one habit for another, which is much worse.
If you really want to stop smoking both regular and electronic cigarettes, call 136, which is the health hotline, and ask for information about measures that really work. Or, look for the nearest health center with psychological care or psychiatric care through the SUS or health plan, because yes, there are free treatments to stop smoking. Just like the SUS, it also offers free treatment for those who are tired, but may be iron deficient.
Click here to discover other signs of this disease that you may be ignoring without knowing it. A big hug. Avoid smoking the famous flash drive and say hello to science.
Goodbye.
