Vaping FAQs

what do doctors say about vaping

by Pete Kertzmann Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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The doctors say vaping impacts young people in at least three key areas: the lungs, the heart and the brain. First, the lungs, where those foreign substances can harm tiny, delicate airways, Deterding said. “If you're going to do it long term?Feb 12, 2020

Full Answer

Should you ask your doctor if you vape?

As a younger pulmonologist aware of the popularity of vaping among teens and adolescents, he asks patients specifically not only whether they vape, but what they vape with, and even asks to see the product — but notes this isn’t common practice among the primary care doctors you see for your annual physical.

Does vaping count as smoking?

Doctors typically haven’t told patients that vaping counts as smoking, or asked them specifically whether they vape, allowing the behavior to escape their notice.

Can vaping cause lungs to collapse?

Smoking — and now vaping — are associated with an increased risk of bursting these blisters, leading to lung collapse. “At Johns Hopkins, we’re seeing a rash of collapsed lungs in younger people,” reports Broderick. “We always ask if they’ve been smoking, and they’ll often say, ‘No, I don’t smoke. But I do vape.’

What are the 5 facts about vaping?

5 Vaping Facts You Need to Know 1 Vaping Is Less Harmful Than Smoking, but It’s Still Not Safe. 2 Research Suggests Vaping Is Bad for Your Heart and Lungs. 3 Electronic Cigarettes Are Just As Addictive As Traditional Ones. 4 Electronic Cigarettes Aren’t the Best Smoking Cessation Tool. 5 A New Generation Is Getting Hooked on Nicotine.

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How many people die from vaping?

Vaping-related lung illnesses have struck hundreds, killing seven. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 530 cases of lung injury in 38 states and one U.S. territory. The CDC has confirmed seven deaths in six states: California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota and Oregon. While most of the patients affected used ...

How many high school seniors have tried vaping?

New research shows that 40.5% of high-school seniors have tried nicotine vaping, adding urgency to President Trump’s announcement that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will take action to ban the e-cigarette flavorings that have proved so attractive to teens and young adults. Meanwhile, federal health agencies are encouraging physicians to report detailed information on cases of vaping-associated lung illnesses. Here’s what doctors need to know.

How many eighth graders have vaped?

And while about 40% of 12th-graders have ever used a nicotine e-cigarette, 36.4% of 10th graders have vaped and 20.7% of eighth-graders have used an e-cigarette, says the survey, “Trends in Adolescent Vaping, 2017–2019,” published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

How long do you have to report e-cigarette use?

The CDC says physicians and other clinicians should “report cases of severe pulmonary disease of unclear etiology and a history of e-cigarette product use within the past 90 days to your state or local health department.” Learn more by reading the CDC’s health advisory, “ Severe Pulmonary Disease Associated with Using E-Cigarette Products .”

Does the FDA report tobacco products?

The FDA, meanwhile, has developed a portal to report safety problems with tobacco products. The agency says it wants reports from health professionals about tobacco products that are damaged, defective, contaminated, smell or taste wrong. The FDA reviews the reports to identify concerning trends.

Is the FDA regulating e-cigarettes?

The AMA has long called on the FDA “to regulate e-cigarettes, particularly banning flavors and marketing practices that enhance the appeal of e-cigarette products to youth, ” said Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, the Association’s president.

Is e-cigarette use an epidemic?

The AMA House of Delegates has declared the skyrocketing use of e-cigarettes to be an “ urgent public health epidemic ” and urged the FDA to take action to address it. Dr. Harris also lauded recent actions by Michigan and New York to ban e-cigarette flavorings.

Is vaping THC safe?

Dr. King: I think that vaping THC, it's safe to say that is significantly less safe than using some of these nicotine containing products. When you look at the series of patients that the CDC has reported on that have developed this severe lung injury in association with vaping, the majority of those people used a THC containing device.

What does vaping do to the lungs?

Dr. Jablonski: There's been a very wide spectrum of types of lung injury that we've seen in response to use of these vaping products. And what we think is that the inhalation of some either toxic substance or substances causes irritation and inflammation in the lungs that leads to these lung injuries that we're seeing.

Are there other additives in vaping products that can affect your health?

Dr. Jablonski: We know that there are carcinogens in these products. And a lot of products contain flavors as well. And those flavors can be various compounds that are used to impart that on the vape liquid.

Andrea King, PhD

Andrea King, PhD, is a psychiatrist who focuses on tobacco and alcohol addiction, assessment and treatment of substance use disorders, and cancer prevention and control.

Renea Jablonski, MD

Dr. Renea Jablonski is a pulmonologist at UChicago Medicine. She takes care of patients with chronic lung diseases, and specializes in patients with diseases related to smoking and lung fibrosis.

Smoking Cessation Program

Everyone’s journey to quit smoking is different, but you don’t have to do it alone. Courage to Quit® (CTQ), a group-based approach to smoking cessation, helps patients like you overcome tobacco addiction and quit smoking for good.

How many people died from vaping in 2020?

As of Jan. 21, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 60 deaths in patients with e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI).

Why are e-cigarettes so popular?

First, many teens believe that vaping is less harmful than smoking. Second, e-cigarettes have a lower per-use cost than traditional cigarettes.

How many chemicals are in e-cigarettes?

E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic. While we don’t know exactly what chemicals are in e-cigarettes, Blaha says “there’s almost no doubt that they expose you to fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes.”

How many people want to quit smoking?

If you have thought about trying to kick a smoking habit, you’re not alone. Nearly 7 of 10 smokers say they want to stop. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health — smoking harms nearly every organ in your body, including your heart. Nearly one-third of deaths from heart disease are the result of smoking and secondhand smoke.

What is the best way to protect your health?

One of the best things you can do to protect and improve your health is to stay informed. Your Health is a FREE e-newsletter that serves as your smart, simple connection to the world-class expertise of Johns Hopkins.

Is nicotine a substance?

Nicotine is the primary agent in both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and it is highly addictive. It causes you to crave a smoke and suffer withdrawal symptoms if you ignore the craving. Nicotine is also a toxic substance. It raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack.

Can you use THC in a vape?

The CDC recommends that people: Do not use THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products. Avoid using informal sources, such as friends, family or online dealers to obtain a vaping device. Do not modify or add any substances to a vaping device that are not intended by the manufacturer.

Do doctors ask if you smoke?

The rise of vaping has complicated matters, though. Doctors typically haven’t told patients that vaping counts as smoking, or asked them specifically whether they vape, allowing the behavior to escape their notice. But amid an outbreak of a lung illness apparently related to vaping — which has affected at least 530 and killed seven people in the US, per the Centers for Disease Control — it’s suddenly pretty important for us to be honest with our doctors about vaping.

Can vaping cause asthma?

Being upfront about your vaping habit can allow your doctor to inform you exactly about how it can affect your livelihood — including the less dire scenarios that can result, which are still pretty terrible, says Jamie Rutland, a pulmonary and critical care physician and professor at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine. Even if it doesn’t end up giving you lung disease, vaping can cause a ton of inflammation in your airway, which may trigger an asthma attack or asthma exacerbation, according to Rutland. As a younger pulmonologist aware of the popularity of vaping among teens and adolescents, he asks patients specifically not only whether they vape, but what they vape with, and even asks to see the product — but notes this isn’t common practice among the primary care doctors you see for your annual physical.

What is a vape pen?

With vaping, a device (typically a vape pen or a mod — an enhanced vape pen — that may look like a flash drive) heats up a liquid ( called vape juice or e -liquid) until it turns into a vapor that you inhale. “Vaping is a delivery system similar to a nebulizer, which people with asthma or other lung conditions may be familiar with,” says Broderick. ...

What is the condition called when you get sick from eating popcorn?

“Popcorn lung” is another name for bronchiolitis obliterans (BO), a rare condition that results from damage of the lungs’ small airways. BO was originally discovered when popcorn factory workers started getting sick. The culprit was diacetyl, a food additive used to simulate butter flavor in microwave popcorn.

What to do if your lung hurts?

What to Do If Your Lungs Hurt. If you smoke or vape, don’t brush off chest or lung pain as something that’s normal. If you have pain or other symptoms associated with breathing difficulties, such as shortness of breath and chronic cough, it’s important to see a doctor.

What is the food additive used to deepen e-cigarette flavors?

Diacetyl: This food additive, used to deepen e-cigarette flavors, is known to damage small passageways in the lungs.

Does vaping affect the lungs?

Instead of bathing lung tissue with a therapeutic mist, just as a nebulizer does, vaping coats lungs with potentially harmful chemicals. E-liquid concoctions usually include some mix of flavorings, aromatic additives and nicotine or THC (the chemical in marijuana that causes psychological effects), dissolved in an oily liquid base.

Is second hand vapor safe?

Secondhand Vapor Isn’t Safe Either. It’s a myth that secondhand emissions from e-cigarettes are harmless. Many people think the secondhand vapor is just water, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The vapor emitted when someone exhales contains a variety of dangerous substances, which may include: Nicotine.

Is it safe to take vitamin E?

And, while it’s safe when taken orally as a supplement or used on the skin, it’s likely an irritant when inhaled. It’s been found in the lungs of people with severe, vaping-related damage.

EIHYPI Moved On ECF Veteran

Does their opinion matter? That's a question that I got in my head when I visited this doctor for the first time today. She asked me if I smoke cigarettes so I told her not for about 3 and a half years. Although I did mention after that I had been using electronic cigarettes for about 3 and a half years. Her reaction upset me very much.

Beamslider Vaping Master Verified Member ECF Veteran

I have spoken to my primary care doctor, a urologist and a cardiologist about my vaping. They all told me it was better than smoking.

EIHYPI Moved On ECF Veteran

I have spoken to my primary care doctor, a urologist and a cardiologist about my vaping. They all told me it was better than smoking.

Tonee N Vaping Master Verified Member ECF Veteran

I have spoken to my primary care doctor, a urologist and a cardiologist about my vaping. They all told me it was better than smoking.

ScottP Vaping Master Verified Member ECF Veteran

Threads with this same basic topic pop up all the time. Print out some of the real reports, like the ones from Dr. F, or the new one from Scotland where real Dr's are saying that vaping is 95% safer than smoking. Take these print outs with you when you go in again. Or better yet drop them off asap.

dennism Ultra Member ECF Veteran

After I told her 4 years no smoking but vaping for the same time, she gave me a high five.

ScottP Vaping Master Verified Member ECF Veteran

Unfortunately I didn't. She seemed the type that was a little hard headed. Plus it was my first time seeing her so I didn't want to possibly get into an argument with her about it. I definitely thought about educating her but my intuition told me it's not a good idea.

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