Vaping and e-cigarettes are often used to aid in helping smokers stop smoking cigarettes. But what happens if the reverse is true? Vaping can lead to regular cigarettes later?
A Johns Hopkins cardiologist shares his insight into the possible risks of smoking vapes, and why staying clear of smoking cigarettes and electronic cigarettes is the safer option.
Vaping: Is It Safe? Or Just Safer Than Smoking?
Michael Blaha, M.D., M.P.H. is a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins, directs clinical research at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease.
Blaha claims that even though vaping might not be the same as smoking cigarettes but it’s not a sane method.
Does Vaping Lead to Cigarette Smoking?
Some e-cigarettes as well as vape “juices” contain nicotine, an addictive chemical found in tobacco. In 2016 it was the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified e-cigarettes and nicotine-laced vape juices as tobacco products and regulates them accordingly.
Blaha says that even though there is evidence that the FDA has recently adopted an attitude in the direction of what they call “modified risk” tobacco products which cause less harm than smoking cigarettes, vaping is more dangerous than smoking anything in the first place.
“Kids have such a poor understanding of vaping products — it’s extraordinary,” the author states. “Sometimes they don’t realize that they contain nicotine, or what the dosage is or what the effect of the flavorings may be.
“But because using these products is more socially acceptable than smoking, they might think that electronic cigarettes are perfectly safe.”
Are Vapes and E-Cigarettes a Gateway to Smoking for Teens?
Alongside Nicotine, flavorings made from artificial ingredients, and other substances that users inhale Blaha is worried about a few of the negative aspects of vaping.
I’m thinking that the primary concern with smoking electronic cigarettes is the gateway effect, also known as. The research we have conducted indicates that two million teenagers are using electronic cigarettes for their first products containing nicotine. They’re not trying to stop smoking cigarettes, they’ve just never had a smoke before.
Nicotine regardless of form is extremely addictive. Vaping with nicotine-laced items can turn into an expensive and long-lasting habit for kids, and that may have not be done with it.
Blaha claims that there is evidence to suggest that teens who smoke are more likely to consume illicit drugs as well as tobacco products, such as cigarettes.
We may be causing an epidemic of smoking with teens becoming dependent on electronic cigarettes earlier in their lives, he claims.
