"Vaping" is buzzword among smokers, but inhaling the vapor e-cigarette is as safe as it seems?

"Vaping" is buzzword among smokers, but inhaling the vapor e-cigarette is as safe as it seems? Pose questions to our way through the smoke of the doubts.

Smoking back . Smoking rates in 2013 are the lowest in decades. Experts say do not drop the beat would be desirable, but it is a fact: we smoke less. And when we were about to take the bells ringing , someone asks : " Do you smoke or vapeas ? " . Let no one run to the dictionary, the buzzword is not coming, but the verb " vaping " could be defined something like this : said of the action of using an electronic cigarette that emits vapor instead of smoke .wholesale electronic cigarette
The tents of these devices begin to proliferate and sale has tripled in the past two years . Vapean famous on television while attending an awards or grant an interview , the couple 's table next to the restaurant and even the woman who gives you the time in the tail of the fish . That's one of the advantages that have made it so popular, the absence of regulation can dodge bans snuff and can be used anywhere ( although some have already started to put a stop ) . Furthermore, the fact that inhale the vapor instead of smoke causes perceived as a healthier option than cigarettes , and many use it as a first step to quit smoking. However, there are no certainties and many other questions about each of these aspects . Only one thing is clear : the legal vacuum and the lack of studies that support or discourage their use.
But the bottom line is be clear about what medical experts warn that " vaping " is not as harmless as it seems and that is not a risk-free alternative to snuff . The electronic cigarette is a stylish stainless steel cylinder that may have the same appearance as a cigar or bold colors and sophisticated designs. But what matters is what's inside : a cartridge containing a liquid mixture of chemical substances. When inhaling a resistance that heats and converts these liquids in the vapor that the smoker sucks as if it were the cigarette smoke and the released components are absorbed by the lungs lights .
95% is propylene glycol, glycerol or a mixture of both , and other additives ( snuff , mint , fruit, coffee ... ) , flavor , water , coloring ... Usually also contain nicotine in varying concentrations . Pulmonologists believe that there are still significant gaps in knowledge about the effects of the ingredients in the medium and long term. " It should be noted that some brands do not contain nicotine and that that they do contain a smaller percentage than in the usual cigarettes. Propylene glycol and glycerin are safe when used orally. However, when inhaled , its safety has not been clearly demonstrated , "says dr . Carlos Jimenez , director of the Tobacco Research Program of the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery ( separ ) .
harmful substances
But besides liquid substances must also consider that occur as a result of heating of the electronic cigarette and appear in the steam. These found formaldehyde , acetaldehyde and acroleínas , which are also present in the smoke of cigarettes classics , though in greater numbers than in this new format . On the other hand , metals such as chromium, lead and nickel (the latter at levels higher than in normal smoke ) are also detected . The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies these substances as carcinogenic without determining a safety threshold for consumption.
More warnings : the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) of U.S. states that have also been detected levels of nitrosamines , anabasine , and b- nicotyryna myosmina , and other dangerous toxic chemicals to health, such as ethylene glycol, used in antifreeze for cars. These compounds are potentially toxic , carcinogenic and harmful , causing sore throat or respiratory tract, causing coughing and choking in some cases. Yes there is a recent study indicating that e- cigarettes can cause changes in the lungs in the short term that are very similar to those caused by conventional cigarettes .
This paper evaluated the impact on lung function and the main results showed that immediately address the increased airway resistance and decreased power driver air through it, its effect being greater in the group of non-smokers and healthy smokers .
Is it less bad than the snuff ?
Is Carlos Jimenez pulmonologist who replied : "Definitely . In the toxic substances contained in the steam and releasing no fewer toxic substances in snuff , but can not be considered safe , are able to cause serious illness , are dangerous to health. Less than cigarettes, but they are. " Conclusion : If you have carcinogenic components are potentially responsible for causing cancer , at least until proven otherwise , and major national and international medical authorities , in the absence of conclusive studies of its effects, have chosen to be governed by the law of prudence.
The World Health Organization advises against using " until there is data showing that they are safe, effective and of acceptable quality products , and this is certified by a competent national regulatory authority ." In Spain , the separ " does not recommend or endorse e-cigarettes in the absence of scientific evidence showing that they are safe in the long term."
Will it help to quit smoking?
Beginning of every year to leave the snuff is the firm intention of many electronic cigarette gains followers as a support . But does it work? Uncertainty is again the answer. Some studies have found that both nicotine-containing and those not , can help people who want to quit smoking and relieve symptoms of withdrawal . However, the dr . Carlos Jimenez explains that " the results are promising and we would like to investigate further but , today , there are no guarantees to recommend its use ."
There can therefore be equated with patches, gum , sprays or other methods because all these other treatments are proven tobacco who have passed the quality controls required of any medical product . In addition , smoking cessation motivation and willpower is needed, and pull electronic cigarette helps perpetuate the habit , which goes beyond the physical addiction to nicotine. And is also largely the like to have a cigarette in hand, inhale and exhale, to use it at certain times or under certain circumstances. In this sense , the use of e- cigarettes perpetuates the gesture and reduces the motivation to quit completely and forever.
From separ also warn of an added risk : although most of its members are people who want to quit or former smokers , a small number of non- smokers also use these products . In many cases it is a dangerous door to start smoking younger .
What does the law say?
Nothing, because there is no governing that . The electronic cigarette was born in China 10 years ago and it is still unclear what this contraption . Not snuff , so he mocks all restrictions imposed by the smoking ban , nor is a therapeutic product , which also avoids the health and quality controls to which the products undergo smoking cessation .
In this legal limbo grows and new habit of " vaping " plays : there are dozens of different brands on the market and no regulations governing or manufacturing, the quality or quantity of their components, or their sale and distribution , or minimum age for use, or places where you can use ... It is sold in tobacconists, in malls , in open places "ad hoc " and even pharmacies. Announced in press and television , famous faces put face to campaigns for some brands , with the risk , experts warn , that the act of smoking again be socially glamorous and cigarette , electronic or not , a fashion . What would be a step behind all the progress in the fight against smoking, a habit that kills 53,000 annually Spaniards.
The Minister of Health has included the issue on its agenda and intends to equate e- cigarette with the other snuff products and , therefore , regulate its sale and prohibit advertising and use in public spaces. Meanwhile and in the absence of national regulations , some communities like Catalonia and Andalusia have taken the initiative and have already been banned in schools and children's rooms , public administration , health care and transportation .
Meanwhile, from medical authorities advocate regulate as a drug product . Thus, in the director of the Program in Tobacco Research Review , three developments will be delivered: and second, it would ensure quality standards , " First, their consumption would be monitored , where and how and thirdly , scientific research of this device , which can offer advantages over traditional snuff consumption has positive aspects and processes of addiction " would be provided .
In other countries around
In Canada , Brazil, Argentina and Australia , for example, marketing is strictly prohibited . Others, like France, have subjected to the same law as the snuff , while in Austria, Denmark, Hungary , Portugal , Estonia , Germany and Slovakia consider the electronic cigarette as a therapeutic forcing therefore spending controls any medicine before being offered for sale . In Belgium and Luxembourg, curl curl and if the load contains extract of snuff is considered a product of snuff , whereas if only contains nicotine is regulated as a drug.
in numbers