Tired out: Is vaping safe and how does it work
If the health effects of regular cigarettes are well studied., there is little known about electronic so far - there are no large studies with unified conclusions on this score. That's because vaping appeared relatively recently - in our country it’s about five years old, and for full scientific conclusions you need several decades. Meanwhile, vaping is gaining popularity, and it is positioned as harmless entertainment - and you can see the clubs of the fragrant couple on the street, in the institutes and business centers. What is it - a real opportunity to quit smoking or a cunning trick of marketers?
Let's try to figure it out with experts: Doctor of Medical Sciences, pulmonologist of the medical center "SM-Clinic" Vyacheslav Ignatiev, member of the European Respiratory Society, pulmonologist of the clinic "Medicine" Maxim Novikov and co-founder of the brand for the URBN fluid, Ilya Kalinin.
Why is everyone vape
Vape is a type of electronic cigarette. The device consists of two parts: a battery pack (battery) and an evaporator, into which a special liquid is poured. The principle of its operation is simple: the current from the battery enters the evaporator heating element, converting the charged liquid into vapor, which is suitable for inhalation and looks like thick tobacco smoke. Often, "electronic cigarettes" are mistakenly called outdated disposable models of these devices, shaped like ordinary cigarettes.
Vape - the next generation of devices. These gadgets are not so compact, but they are much more powerful, they give more steam and are suitable for reusable use - it’s enough to fill them with liquid that suits taste and strength. By the way, a wide range of flavors is why many former smokers prefer vap pack of cigarettes. The shape of the device may resemble, for example, a cigar or a smoking pipe - but more often it is just a cylinder. It is used as a regular cigarette to get a portion of nicotine, or as a device that lets you inhale flavored vapor without a narcotic substance. The process itself received the name from the English "vape" - "inhale and exhale steam", that is, in Russian it can be called soaring.
In fact, vaping is an imitation of tobacco, when you feel an object in your hand, you can take a puff and exhale "smoke", and if you want to get the necessary dose of nicotine. According to Ilya Kalinin, every year vapers become more mainly because vaping, as they say in one of the studies, is much safer than smoking tobacco: there is no burning, and therefore no large amount of harmful substances. This reduces the risk of developing diseases of the respiratory system. The absence of bad breath, yellow plaque on the teeth, clothes burnt with ashes - additional bonuses for refusing ordinary cigarettes in favor of vaping. In the USA, vaping is so popular that a new direction has developed from it - cloud computing, a kind of art of controlling the steam and creating clouds of bizarre forms from it. According to cloudworking, festivals and battles take place where professional vapers compete.
How does steam affect the lungs
Interest in vaping continues to grow in our country, but the idea that soaring is absolutely harmless is a common myth. Pulmonologist Vyacheslav Ignatiev proposes to divide all vapers into two groups. The first is those who started vaping, having stopped smoking tobacco. In this case, the damage to health will indeed decrease (of course, if you do not use vape too often and do not increase the nicotine dosage), although it will not disappear altogether. In the second group there will be those who had not previously been a smoker, but began to vape, succumbing to fashion. And there is not much good in this: vape liquids usually contain nicotine, even if there is not a word about it on the label (electronic cigarettes are certified as electronic devices in our country, that is, the contents of the liquid solution are not checked). In addition, they may contain more than 30 toxic substances (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, acetone, and others), the concentration of which increases with increasing temperature and power of the electronic device.
In a pair of electronic cigarettes there are no combustion products (soot and tar) that cause inflammation and destruction of lung epithelium cells, as is the case with tobacco smoke - but liquid droplets settle on the walls of the respiratory tract, and this makes it difficult for them to work. Less oxygen enters the bloodstream and hypoxia (oxygen starvation) occurs. As a result, all intracellular processes are slowed down, cell division is disturbed, and the processes usually associated with aging are accelerated. At the same time, when you use vape too often, the salivation increases - and in the bronchi the sputum with microbes and their toxins begins to accumulate, which, of course, does not benefit the health.
What is the liquid
The composition of the vape liquid is quite simple. It contains two food additives - glycerin (E 422) and propylene glycol (E 1520), flavors, and often nicotine. The ratio of the first two affects the amount of steam: the more glycerin, the thicker the "smoke" and the softer the soaring process (this is the best option if you use a powerful vape). When heated in an electronic device, food additives begin to evaporate, forming aldehydes. Despite the fact that there are very few of them, they are carcinogens (substances that provoke the development of cancer), which can accumulate in the lungs. In addition, nicotine (albeit in the composition of the pair) remains a drug and causes addiction. Not only respiratory, but also endocrine, cardiovascular, nervous and other systems of the body suffer from its destructive effect. And although vape liquid may contain a minimum of nicotine, vape is usually much longer (15-20 minutes) than regular cigarettes smoke (3-5 minutes), which means that they get about the same amount or more of harmful substances. However, according to Ilya Kalinin, toxic poisoning can be “earned” only in theory - if you evaporate a couple of vials of liquid in a row.
Increasingly, vapers began to see doctors. According to Vyacheslav Ignatiev, with the growing popularity of vaping, the frequency of allergies to soaring also increases. This is a new type of allergic reaction with classic symptoms: cough, nasal congestion, red eyes and itching. It is caused by toxic chemicals: formaldehyde, nitrosamine, zinc, nickel and others contained in the vapor of electronic gadgets. And some flavorings in aromatic solutions, for example, diacetyl, can cause serious changes in the lungs - such as bronchiolitis obliterans (a disease accompanied by respiratory failure). Vyacheslav Ignatiev explains that flavorings are safe when taken orally, but not suitable for inhalation. Vaping can also trigger an asthma attack, pneumonia, or cause acute respiratory failure.
How to choose the safest liquid
In Russia, the liquid for electronic devices is represented by different brands: domestic, Chinese, American and others. According to Ilya Kalinin, there is a lot of counterfeit in this market, so the best thing is to shop in large vap-shops and always read the label. It is necessary to pay attention to the presence of the following four points: the shelf life of the solution, its composition, legal entity and address of the manufacturer, number of technical conditions (in Russia there is no GOST for e-cigarette liquid, which means manufacturers are required to independently develop and comply with specifications). It is necessary to take into account the packaging format. For example, nicotine deteriorates under the influence of direct sunlight, that is, the solutions containing it should be stored in dark opaque glass.
In our country, anyone can buy vap or e-liquid, including those who have not reached eighteen years of age: a law prohibiting such actions does not yet exist. Pulmonologist Maxim Novikov notes that very often there is no exact information on the package about the chemical composition of the solution and the concentration of substances in the smoking fluid, or it is not true. In addition, regular inhalation of even relatively clean vapor can lead to serious health problems, especially during the period when the body grows.
Is it true that vap could explode?
The explosion of an electronic gadget is possible not only in theory. The University of Washington Medical Center publicly published a report on the treatment of victims who suffered severe burns due to the explosion of electronic cigarettes (including wipes) during use. In some patients, the burns were so severe that they required a skin transplant. According to Ilya Kalinin, the cause of such explosions in a failed lithium-ion battery. Moreover, such batteries themselves are safe and are used in many electronic devices - from external batteries to electric cars. To protect yourself and others from a possible explosion, it is better not to use an electronic device with a mechanical mod - it is not protected from overheating. Vape with a computer board - the box mod is safer.
Photo: Ruslan Gilmanshin - stock.adobe.com, Joyetech, Babylon Vape (1, 2)
