It seems that over the recent past more and more parents are asking me to talk to their children about vaping when they come in for their yearly physicals.

 

As vaping is a relatively new phenomena it has required me to do my homework. I will share some of the facts that I have come to learn.
 

E cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol that is then inhaled into the lungs.

 

Most of the devices have a battery, a heating element and a pod or place to hold the liquid. These come in many different types and shapes. They are known as vape pens, E-cigs, mods or tank systems.

 

Vaping has become especially popular with the youth in America for a variety of reasons.

It is felt to be safer than smoking cigarettes and it may be in some respects. It does not carry the stigma of smoking and is odorless. One’s clothes do not reek of the smoke and it is cheaper than using traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette use is higher in high school students than in adults.
 

The dangers of traditional cigarette smoking are well known since this has been studied for many decades.

There is the direct link with lung cancer and the 7,000 toxic chemicals that are inhaled. There is the correlation with chronic lung disease and high blood pressure, and the highly addictive properties of nicotine. All of this let alone the tremendous cost has been well documented.
 

Vaping is relatively new and more and more is being learned and revealed about its negatives.

 

The solutions used in vaping contain nicotine, flavorings, and additives. Nicotine is highly addictive and virtually all vape products contain it, even if advertised as not. It is well documented that nicotine is harmful to the developing brain, especially parts of the brain that control mood and impulse plus the pre-frontal area that controls our attention and learning. It is a fact that the brain is developing until one reaches 25 years of age. The effect of nicotine use on the brain of a teenager is not without consequence.

Some of the flavorings in vape products contain Diacetyl, used to give a buttery flavor to the solution. Diacetyl is very safe if eaten. But when it is inhaled into the lungs it has been known to cause a serious lung condition called bronchitis obliterates or “popcorn lung”. It got this name due to an outbreak in a microwave popcorn factory where Diacetyl was used as the butter flavoring. A number of factory workers breathed in the fumes and developed this devastating lung condition. Diacetyl has been banned for use in vape products in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. However, as of 2019 it still can be used in the U.S. In addition to the nicotine and flavorings that are ingested, there are ultrafine particles and heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead that are harmful to the normal lung tissue.
 

E-cigs and vaping are frequently the vehicle used to inhale marijuana.

 

The active chemical that gives the high is THC. When used in this form to deliver the THC, quite often a thickening agent called Vitamin E acetate is also employed. In February of 2020, the CDC confirmed 2807 cases of a lung condition called e-cigarette or vaping use associated lung injury (EVALI). Of the 2807 cases reported 96% required hospitalization followed by 68 deaths. These patients presented with shortness of breath, fever, chills, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, rapid heart rate and chest pain. This was felt to be directly caused by the Vitamin E acetate. Most interesting was that the severity of the illness did not correlate with the length of time they vaped or how much they vaped.
 

As a pediatrician counseling young patients about vaping, all that I can do is present them with the facts that we currently understand and know to be true.

 

There is so much more that we have to learn about it, but what we do know so far should be enough to give pause and make them want to research this in more detail before they choose to go down that path.