When it comes to vaping, there is more that we don't know than what we do know about how it will affect your health long term: Vaping is not harmless - both the short and long-term health effects are still being studied.
Vaping is not recommended for non-smokers and young people because it is not completely harmless. Here you will find the facts on vaping, based on scientific evidence and research, plus advice on how to use vapes (sometimes called e-cigarettes or e-cigs) as a tool to quit smoking.
There's evidence that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand vape aerosol absorb similar levels of nicotine as people exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke. Along with nicotine, nonvapers are also exposed to ultrafine particles from secondhand vape aerosol, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Some vape product manufacturers claim that vaping is a completely safe alternative to smoking. However, early research into the safety of the practice suggests this is not the case. In fact, it appears that vaping, even without nicotine, can have harmful effects on the body.
Breathing in the harmful chemicals from vaping products can cause irreversible (cannot be cured) lung damage, lung disease and, in some cases, death. Some chemicals in vaping products can also cause cardiovascular disease and biological changes that are associated with cancer development.
Nicotine in e-liquid goes quickly from your lungs to your bloodstream. It causes your body to release adrenaline, a hormone that raises your pulse, blood pressure, and breathing rate. This could play a role in raising your heart attack odds. You may also feel more alert and need to cough.
Benefits of vaping
Vaping can help some people quit smoking. Vaping is usually cheaper than smoking. Vaping is not harmless, but it is much less harmful than smoking. Vaping is less harmful to those around you than smoking, as there's no current evidence that second-hand vapour is dangerous to others.
Besides nicotine, e-cigarettes can contain harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including: ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease.
Yes, second and third-hand smoke and vaping aerosols contain harmful, toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that can be breathed in. They can go into the body through the skin. These chemicals can be swallowed, as many children put their hands or other objects into their mouths.
The basics of vaping and nicotine amount in Disposable Vapes
A disposable vape with a 2ml tank (the legal max size in the UK) with a 20mg nicotine or Nic Salt, contains 40mg of nicotine in the entire disposable (2ml x 20mg). This is why most disposables are suggested to be the equivalent of a pack of 20 cigarettes.
Regular smoking exposes users to around 7000 chemicals, and about 70 are known to be carcinogenic. E-cigarette solutions have far fewer chemicals and some experts estimate that they might be about 95% less harmful than cigarettes.
When we transfer it into puffs on average, it means that you will have to take 500 hits of vape to smoke as much nicotine as you would with a single cigarette. This is a big difference in nicotine intake! Bear in mind that there are e-juices with even less nicotine.
Stress and anxiety can trigger vape cravings, and make it harder for you to quit for good. You may be tempted to reach for your vape when you have these feelings, but vaping is not an effective way to cope. There are healthy and effective ways to deal with stress and anxiety.
1: Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it's still not safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic.
Disposable vapes make use of nicotine salts which have a lower pH and offer a smoother and more flavourful vaping experience as opposed to the traditional freebase e-liquid used with refillable vape kits, which is much harsher on the throat.
Although initially advertised as safe, studies have shown that vaping can have systemic effects on multiple organ systems including the heart and the lungs. Vaping may reduce repolarization reserve directly in the heart thereby providing a possible mechanism for vaping-induced sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
Exposure for just three days was enough to incur sufficient damage to their lungs, setting the stage for long-term chronic lung damage.
“Regular cigarettes can cause lung cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other diseases. However, it typically takes years, even decades for those conditions to develop. But with vaping, we're seeing lung damage developing in much less time; often under a year.
Andrew Sauer, Cardiologist and Director of the Heart Failure Program at The University of Kansas Medical Center. "Vaping creates toxicity, inflammation, and stress on the arteries of the heart that appear to be worse than smoking tobacco."
A maximum penalty of $10,000 applies for those who use, sell, supply, prescribe, or purchase nicotine vaping liquid, without proper authorisation, as per section 27. As across Australian jurisdictions, it is permissible for retailers to sell e-cigarettes without nicotine.