Vaping: A Threat to Public Health in the Age of Smoking Awareness

Introduction 

A lot of people smoke for it makes them calm when they had a very tiring or sad day. How sure are you? That smoking relieves your stress. That it comforts and helps you to cope up with the pain and problems you have experienced from this world? This is harmful effects of smoking essay where I want to reveal this topic to show the truth about smoking. 

First of all, smoking is a habit or practice wherein a person possibly can be addicted to it. The cause of addiction depends on what kind of compelling chemicals it have. Those types of drug is highly addictive and conceivably can cause a person to suffer from health issues that would be difficult to bear with. However, there are still some rationale why people choose to use or inhale this type of substances in which some are: tobacco covered in pipes and cigarettes.

The most commonly harmful effects of what smoking can do to your health are: blindness, cancer, diabetes, bad breaths, and etc. I doubt that the harmful effects of smoking can start within the teenage years; which unfortunately, a teen tends to be careless or imprudent on their lives and believes that life is a mere “Yolo.” This word is a short term for you only live once. It also causes people to have more dental plaque which often leads to gum disease. If the smoker already has gum disease, their habit causes it to get worse further quickly than in non-smokers. It can also cause lung diseases and asthma. The following cause might be a peer pressure or influence from either their friends or someone they know that smokes or uses a vape and an e-cigarette. It also causes a lack of oxygen in the blood and makes the heart work harder. Although e-cigarette vapor may not result in the obvious smell and visible smoke of a traditional cigarette, it still harms the quality of the air, especially when you use it indoors.

Cause and Effect

I can’t help but to agree on what the Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo told the radio DZMM, he said that the young people who are vape users are getting addicted to nicotine. I think that the government should be more strict with the people who’re selling products and other stuff that involves vapes, and that they should apply a law: where it says that no one below 18 are not allowed to use vape products. Vapes and e-cigarettes can also be harmful in the human body, because it also had chemicals that was used in the making of cigarettes or tobaccos which is dangerous through our body. Like the amount of nicotine, it can be the same or even more than the amount found in cigarettes. Are e-cigarettes safer than smoking? Yes, based on what the experts know so far.

Vaping has not been associated with any serious health risks, whereas smoking is associated with a high number of very serious health risks to the smoker and the others, who inhales the air that was mixed with the smoke exhaled by the smoker. They also said that when you start to smoke it will be hard to refrain yourself from using it, well it is true. Also, e-cigarettes are potentially dangerous for our health. Nicotine is an addictive type of drug that can cause nausea and vomiting. Smoking increases the risk of developing liver cancer. The difference between the two is that cigarettes are addictive and known to have extremely serious long-term health effects formed from abusive use. Although e-cigarettes were made as a safer and better alternative to smoking cigarettes, its safety is uncertain. E-cigarettes uses vapor rather than smoke, no combustion is involved which makes it a lot safer than tobacco since the alternative use of vapor saves a person from harmful constituents such as tar, ash, and carbon monoxide.

The long-term effects of e-cigarettes are still yet to be discovered although some studies conclude that its aerosol contains harmful solvents, flavors, and toxicants which are described as either harm or potentially harmful. According to a2016 report by the World Health Organization (WHO), rapid heartbeat, disorientation, congestive heart failure, chest pain, seizure and hypotension were linked to the use of e-cigarettes. Although e-cigarettes poses less danger than tobacco, it is clearly seen that it has its own consequences. Multiple companies stated that this alternative is safe, there is no scientific evidence that exists to support their claims. Companies also market their products as a safe and cool alternative coming in different flavors, producers are clearly trying to attract teens and adolescents. According to another report by WHO in 2014 that there are potentially risks to youth and pregnant women regarding the use of e-cigarettes.

The use of e-cigarettes are a public health concern because of the rapid increase in the consumers of the product even though there are uncertainties in its safety and effect on humans. Another concern regarding vaping is that it could lead to people initiating smoking that can be cause by the saying that nicotine leads to smoking or by making smoke look acceptable again. Great caution should be imposed in using these products, since its effect are yet to be found, it is better to take precautions to avoid another nicotine crisis. The use, production and promotion of these devices should be regulated as it may lead to an increase in nicotine independence all over the world which would increase rather than decrease the usage of tobacco products. Another factor is its effects on the environment and the non-smokers. Even though e-cigarette vapor contains lower concentrations of chemicals, concerns arise that some of the vapor exhaled by users may pose a threat to those who inhale it. There is little to none information available to people that relates e-cigarettes to environmental problems but it is obvious that the disposable of non-reusable e-cigarettes would contribute to electronic waste. There are also several issues reported that some of the vape products explode; however, it can either be pinpointed to the use of an improper charger, or charging the battery too much. It is said that “When you can stop, you don't want to.And when you want to stop, you can't. That's addiction.” 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, e-cigarettes are far safer and better alternatives than the use of tobacco but consumers should not overlook its consequences. Since scientific data and information is missing to support the claim that e-cigarettes are safe, we should consider the fact that it is uncertain and should be regulated to avoid another nicotine crisis. We should also start to restrict companies in promoting claims about e-cigarettes being harmless when no evidence is there to support it which makes it a violation of the law and is a part of false advertising. The advancement of technology has brought us good and bad results. Everything has its consequence, we are still in the dark, we are not fully aware of its dangers to our health therefore we should restrict if not regulate the production, promotion and most importantly, its usage for the betterment of mankind.

References

• The History Of E-cigarettes: Electronic Cigarettes the Past, Present and Future. Retrieved from https://www.dentalcare.com/en-us/professional-education/ce-courses/ce451/the-history-of-e-cigarettes.
• Vaping - A JourneyThrough Its History. Posted by Christina Matthews. Retrieved from https://vapingdaily.com/what-is-vaping/vaping-history/
• 10 Health Effects Caused By Smoking You Didn't Know About: State Of Tobacco Control. Retrieved from https://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/tobacco/reports-resources/sotc/by-the-numbers/10-health-effects-caused-by-smoking.html.