Vaping FAQs

can u get secondhand smoke from vaping

by Aubrey Kuhlman Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Secondhand Aerosol From Electronic Cigarettes

  • Secondhand Vaping Just like people around smokers can breathe in cigarette smoke, it’s possible to breathe in e-cigarette aerosol if you’re around someone vaping. ...
  • Potential Health Effects of Secondhand Vaping It’s still not clear how the toxins found in vaping can affect the health of non-vapers, especially long-term. ...
  • Laws Banning Vaping in Public Places ...
  • A Word From Verywell ...

Islam and his research colleagues have found that exposure to secondhand aerosols from e-cigarettes is associated with increased risk of bronchitis symptoms and shortness of breath among young adults, especially among those who don't smoke or vape themselves, the team reported last year in the journal Thorax.May 31, 2022

Full Answer

Does vaping cause secondhand smoke?

Vaping is a little different given that it doesn’t ‘burn’ and there is no ‘smoke,’ Dr, Nakhleh shares, but the process of inhaling these secondhand fumes is essentially the same. “All e-cigarettes heat up this inner battery-charged chamber that is then used to heat up a juice or e-liquid at very high temperatures—which ultimately ...

What are the side effects of second hand vaping?

  • Light-headedness
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Headaches
  • Insomnia
  • Cold sweats
  • Jitteriness or anxiety
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Racing heart

Is second hand vapor smoke harmful?

There isn’t a lot of research done on the health harms of exposure to secondhand aerosol from vaping. Early studies suggest that the risks posed by secondhand vaping are substantially lower than secondhand smoking, but that's a low bar considering how hard cigarette smoke is on the body.

Is secondhand vaping something to be concerned about?

“Vaping and secondhand vaping is just as dangerous,” clarifies Nader Nakhleh, D.O., a board certified pediatric pulmonologist. “Now it is our mission as experts to change the conversation around vaping from being a ‘better’ alternative to smoking to actually being equally as detrimental.”

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What about the Nicotine in Vapor?

Nicotine is an addictive substance, and it’s why people find it so hard to quit smoking, but is it actually harmful to smokers and those who may accidentally inhale their smoke? While ideally it would be great not to want nicotine — the reason many people vape is for the flavor alone, and many choose to vape without nicotine in their e-liquid — it turns out that it’s not all that hazardous to human health, at least compared to everything that’s found in tobacco.

How many people die from tobacco in the US?

In the United States, around 480,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses every year, and this enormous figure includes at least 41,000 people who inhale secondhand smoke. It’s the biggest cause of preventable death here and, indeed, right around the world.

Is vaping good for you?

The top medical authority in England, Public Health England, issued a revised advisory on vaping earlier this year and urged people to start using e-cigarettes as one of the best ways to quit smoking. It said that “vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits,” and that “e-cigarettes could be contributing to at least 20,000 successful new quits per year and possibly many more.”

Is vaping dangerous to others?

But if you are a vaper, just be mindful of others when you’re vaping out in public. Despite posing almost no risk to others, people still might not like vapor being blown in their face.

Is vaping better than smoking?

As Public Health England noted, “there is much public misunderstanding about nicotine (less than 10% of adults understand that most of the harms to health from smoking are not caused by nicotine).” So based on all the evidence we now have about vaping and smoking, the former is certainly much better for your health than the latter, and that includes what’s given off in secondhand smoke and vapor.

How does second hand smoking affect the world?

Secondhand smoking kills tens of thousands of people every year in the United States alone. It can cause sudden infant death syndrome and lung issues in children. In adults, it can lead to serious health conditions later in life, such as stroke, heart disease, and lung cancer—even in people who never smoked themselves. 1

How does an e-cigarette work?

E-cigarette devices use metal coils to heat the vaping fluid, and over time, small amounts of metals can sometimes get into the aerosol after repeated use at high temperatures. 6 . While the person vaping will breathe in the full brunt of these toxins, some will be exhaled into the air.

How many states are banning smoking in 2020?

According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, as of January 2020, 19 states and over 900 municipalities have included e-cigarettes and other electronic smoking devices in their laws and policies banning smoking in certain environments, such as schools or workplaces. 11 .

Is second hand vaping bad for you?

Secondhand Vaping as a Gateway. In addition to the still uncertain health risks associated with breathing in e-cigarette aerosol, being around people who vape could have other consequences—particularly for adolescents who are more likely to be influenced by social norms and visual cues.

Does vaping hurt your lungs?

Short-term studies didn’t find evidence that secondhand vaping hurts lung function , with one notable exception. Researchers found that people who were around vaping aerosol showed increases in the serum cotinine, which is a marker that someone was exposed to nicotine (an ingredient often found in e-cigarettes). 7  Given the long list of health risks posed by nicotine, more research needs to be done on how this exposure could affect someone’s lungs long-term like it can with secondhand smoke.

Can vaping affect non-vapers?

It’s still not clear how the toxins found in secondhand vaping can affect the health of non-vapers, especially long-term. The limited research available so far has largely focused on immediate health effects. That said, there are some concerns about how repeatedly inhaling e-cigarette aerosol over an extended period of time could affect bystanders’ long-term lung function and risk of allergic reactions.

Can vaping cause lung injury?

UPDATE: Recent illnesses have been associated with use of e-cigarettes (vaping). Since the specific causes of these lung injury cases are not yet known, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends refraining from all vaping products.

What is secondhand vaping?

Secondhand vaping is exactly what it sounds like: if you're near a person breathing out vapor from an e-cigarette, you generally breathe in the same air that they're exhaling and can inhale the same vapor.

What to do if someone uses e-cigarettes?

If someone close to you, like a parent, caretaker or coworker, uses e-cigarettes, you can kindly ask them to stop while you're around. Frame it as a way to protect both your health and theirs, and hopefully they'll respect your wishes.

Is vaping a health risk?

E-cigarettes can emit a huge cloud of vapor that can affect an entire crowd of people. Getty Images. When vaping first gained popularity, it was marketed as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. However, a recent surge in illnesses, hospitalizations -- and even deaths -- has shown that there may be much scarier health risks associated ...

Does vaping harm the lungs?

The vapor can also harm bystanders ' lungs and contribute to lasting damage ...

Does vapor contain nicotine?

Another study from 2018 found that the vapor not only contains nicotine, but also heavy metals, aldehyde and glycerin, even though vaporizer companies try to paint these products as healthier in every way. These chemicals contribute to the health risk posed by secondhand vaping.

Is vaping a teenager phenomenon?

E-cigarettes are becoming more and more of a teenage phenomenon. With more teens than ever now vaping, it seems like the younger folks who are more at risk. A third of high-schoolers and middle-schoolers reported that they were exposed to vaping aerosol in 2018.

Can you vape with your friends?

If you really want to avoid the negative health effects of secondhand vaping, you may just want to not hang out with your friends while they're using e-cigarettes. Or, if you're reading this and you are an e-cigarette user who's not ready to give it up yet, at least don't vape around other people (especially kids).

Can you smoke with a vape?

The sweet-smelling cloud may remind people of shisha pipes, but vapes are much less harmful, and you can comfortably sit with other vapers and not feel suffocated. When a person is smoking a traditional cigarette, the smoke drifts from the end of their lit stick, even if they are just holding it and not inhaling.

Is vaping safe in Dubai?

Vaping in dubai is not a hundred percent safe and can cause coughing, wheezing, respiratory infections, asthma, or allergies. The vapour released from e-cigarettes does contain emissions that may lower the air quality in closed rooms.

What is secondhand vapor?

Secondhand vapor (which is technically an aerosol) is the vapor exhaled into the atmosphere by an e-cig user. Like secondhand smoke, it lingers in the air long enough that anyone in the same room (assuming the room is small enough) is likely to inhale some of the exhaled aerosol. As the name indicates, the bystanders are not inhaling secondhand (or passive) smoke—because secondhand e-cigarette vapor simply isn’t smoke.

Who studied the dangers of second hand vaping?

Igor Burstyn’s study of the possible dangers of secondhand vaping attempted to “estimate potential exposures from aerosols produced by electronic cigarettes and compare those potential exposures to occupational exposure standards.” His conclusion: “Exposures of bystanders are likely to be orders of magnitude less, and thus pose no apparent concern.”

What is the difference between e-cigarettes and vapor?

E-cigs heat e-liquid with a small metal coil housed in an atomizer , and the heat turns the e-juice into the vapor you see. E-cigarette vapor doesn’t have any carbon monoxide or tar, and the particles in the aerosol are liquid rather than solid. Dangerous chemicals and metals are found in vapor, but only in tiny quantities.

Is third hand nicotine inhaled or exhaled?

What isn’t inhaled falls to the ground quite rapidly. Those concerned with “thirdhand nicotine”—the unabsorbed nicotine that lands on floors and furniture—might make a case for not vaping around kids or pets who might lick the surfaces. But there’s not much nicotine left in the settled residue. According to a 2016 University of California-San Francisco study, 93.8 percent of the inhaled nicotine is retained by the user, and is not part of the exhaled vapor.

Does vaping contain VG?

Aside from propylene glycol and glycerin (PG and VG) —the two glycols that make up the base of virtually all e-liquids—what vapers exhale into the air doesn’t contain high levels of anything. According to Drexel University toxicologist Igor Burstyn, while the contents of e-cig vapor inhaled by users “justifies surveillance,” there is so little contamination in exhaled vapor that there is unlikely to be any risk for bystanders.

Can you vape inside a house?

If you encounter people vaping inside a house, all of the secondhand vapor you see comes out of the mouths of the vapers in the room. There is no side stream “vape smoke” like there is side stream tobacco smoke from cigarettes—no constant emission of vapor pouring from the device when it’s not being used.

Is nicotine in vapor residue?

But there’s not much nicotine left in the settled residue. According to a 2016 University of California-San Francisco study, 93.8 percent of the inhaled nicotine is retained by the user, and is not part of the exhaled vapor.

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