Health Side Effects of E-Cigarettes

Pass Me The Juul Bro

 Since the turn of the new century, especially this current decade, young people have been trying to find a healthy, creative, and innovative way to smoke cigarettes. The main alternative, most popular, is an e-cigarette called a Juul. A Juul is supposed to be a healthy alternative to smoking cigarettes. It has helped a lot of people slowly get off cigarettes and their nicotine. But with Juul becoming very popular over the last year, some studies that it can actually be more harmful and even more additive.

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E-cigarettes have been taken over the smoking market of the past couple years, and leading the charge is a device called a Juul. A Juul is a small e-cig that lightweight and kind of resembles a usb flash drive. This e cigarette uses a vape juice called salt nic (salt nicotine). Salt nicotine is a different form of nicotine that you can get from smoking cigarettes, but it is very popular because it delivers an almost instant affect. Salt nicotine contains benzoic acid, it has faster absorption than regular nicotine, and you can vary the strength of salt nicotine, unlike regular nicotine (Medium). There any many health benefits to smoking a Juul or any e-cigarette over a cigarette. For example, “Our results also suggest that while e-cigarettes are not only safer, the amount of nicotine they provide is not noticeably different to conventional cigarettes. This can help people to stop smoking altogether by dealing with their cravings in a safer way.” (UCL) This study was conducted explaining why people believe that vaping is a health alternative to smoking. According to Forbes the article stats, “This is good news for smokers as vaping products, which do not burn tobacco and thereby release dozens of carcinogens, are much safer than cigarettes. As a result, smokers who switch to vaping have improved lung function, blood pressure, cardiovascular health, and lowered risk of pneumonia.” (Satel) The last quote is showing that when you are smoking cigarettes it releases harmful gasses into the environment. People that are vaping have better lung function than cigarette smokers and other health benefits. According to the University College of London their studies have showed that, “…the levels of toxic chemicals in the body from e-cigarettes are considerably lower than suggested in previous studies using simulated experiments. This means some doubts about the safety of e-cigarettes may be wrong.” And it continues saying, “Our study adds to existing evidence showing that e-cigarettes and NRT are far safer than smoking and suggests that there is a very low risk associated with their long-term use.” (UCL) The university is not the only people who have been conducting studies proven that e-cigarettes are a better and health alternative to smoking cigarettes. According to government of the United Kingdom their research says, “The current best estimate is that e-cigarettes are around 95% less harmful than smoking,” and it continues saying that, “nearly half the population (44.8%) don’t realize e-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking” (Gov.UK). They are many benefits to smoking e-cigarettes compared to smoking regular cigarette. Most of these benefits people are not noticing and is flying under the radar but it is proven by research to be less harmful. For example, “the evidence is that smokers who switch to vaping remove almost all the risks smoking poses to their health.” (Gov.UK) Overall there is proven research that e cigarettes are better for you than smoking regular cigarettes.

Since vaping is the new hot crazy, more colleges are studying the side effects that everyone may not know about dealing with e-cigarettes or things people choice to ignore. Even though some studies proof that e-cigarettes are helping people stop smoking, The FDA and other say not. Smoking over the last couple years has been on a steady decline. For example, “In England in 2015, 16.9 per cent of people described themselves as smokers, compared with 19.3 per cent in 2012. About a third tried to give up in the past 12 months.” (Ahuja) But with this steady decline the FDA is now looking into e-cigarettes and vaping, because a lot of young people and adults are switching to it. Currently in the new the FDA is starting to ban Juul flavors in hope that it will make younger people stop smoking in all. “In order to close the on-ramp to e-cigarettes for kids, we have to put in place some speed bumps for adults,” (Kaplan) one doctor reported from the New York times. When they are talking about speed bumps they mean, “…require age-verification measures for online sales to try to ensure that minors are not able to buy the flavor pods.” (Kaplan) The FDA believes that most e-cigarette companies, mainly the Juul, is appealing to under age kids which will have negative effects on their growth and development.  According to US Surgeon General it stats that, “E-cigarettes can contain harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including: ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs, flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead.” (US Surgeon General) The last quote was explaining most of the side effects from smoking a e-cigarette. It is saying that overtime some chemical can cause lung disease or something you may be inhaling are bad for you and you inhaling those compounds deep into your lungs. Nicotine is the main product inside of most, if not all, e-cigarettes and it is very addictive. Starting to smoke nicotine at a young age of sixteen or seventeen can harm very important organs in your body for example the brain. One study stats that, “Brain development begins during the growth of the fetus in the womb and continues through childhood and to about age twenty-five. Nicotine exposure during adolescence and young adulthood can cause addiction and harm the developing brain.” (US Surgeon General) The last quote is just showing how harmful Nicotine can be to the human body. The article continues saying, “users risk exposing their respiratory systems to potentially harmful chemicals in e-cigarettes” (US Surgeon General). Too much nicotine in your body can be very harmful to different organs and organs system in the human body. For people with acid reflux, nicotine, which is found in e-cigarettes, counter acts the medicine people to take to hold the acid down. When you inhale on a e-cigarette it relax muscles in your lower throat which can cause often heartburn and acid reflux. Another study was conducted in the United Kingdom saying that, “Toxic chemicals in the flavorings used in the devices have been found to damage a man’s fertility, new findings suggest.” Then it continued saying, “In particular cinnamon flavored e-cigs were found to make sperm slower swimmers, the latest study to raise health concerns about the devices found. And, another popular flavor, bubblegum, kills off cells in the testicles which help produce sperm” (Downey).  The last quote was so new research done in the United Kingdom talking about how different flavors are having a effect on the male sperm count and how strong it is. It talked about how certain specific flavor are a big cause to it. The FDA is also looking into the same thing dealing with flavors but with its effect on young adults. The FDA is trying to ban all type of fruity Juul pod, like mango, because of the popularity amongst young adult. Since they are doing this and are trying to ban any flavored pod beside mint, menthol, tobacco flavored pods. They believe it will help keep the young crowd from wanting to get a Juul and start recreationally using it.

In conclusion, the Juul and e-cigarettes are a very popular and controversial topic that has not yet been deeply explored. For example, the positive health side effects to smoking a e-cigarettes compared to smoking regular cigarettes. And, the negative health benefits of smoking from the different flavor effect on humans to how some studies say that it can be even more addictive than a regular cigarette. The Juul, or e-cigarette, has it benefits and its downside, but no one really knows or fully understands yet. Juul and e-cigarettes are still very new to the smoking industry, so only time will tell how their effect on society will be. 

 Works Cited

• Ahuja, Anjana. “Is It Better to Vape than to Smoke?” Financial Times, Financial Times, 9 Feb. 2017, www.ft.com/content/5d0a6ab6-ed33-11e6-ba01-119a44939bb6.
• Downey, Andrea. “E-Cigarettes ‘Damage a Man’s Fertility – and THESE Flavours Are the Most Dangerous’.” The Sun, The Sun, 6 Jan. 2017, www.thesun.co.uk/living/2549322/e-cigarettes-damage-a-mans-fertility-and-these-flavours-are-the-most-dangerous/.
• “E-Cigarettes around 95% Less Harmful than Tobacco Estimates Landmark Review.” GOV.UK, GOV.UK, 2015, www.gov.uk/government/news/e-cigarettes-around-95-less-harmful-than-tobacco-estimates-landmark-review.
• Health Cabin. “7 Things You Need to Know About Nicotine Salts – Health Cabin – Medium.” Medium.com, Medium, 14 Sept. 2018, medium.com/@marketing_14194/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-nicotine-salts-5a62f323d928.
• Kaplan, Sheila. “F.D.A. Plans to Ban Most Flavored E-Cigarette Sales in Stores.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Nov. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/health/vaping-ecigarettes-fda.html.
• “Know the Risks: E-Cigarettes & Young People | U.S. Surgeon General’s Report.” Know the Risks: E-Cigarettes and Young People | U.S. Surgeon General’s Report, US Surgeon General, 2018, e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/.
• Satel, Sally. “Why The Panic Over JUUL And Teen Vaping May Have Deadly Results.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Apr. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/sallysatel/2018/04/11/why-the-panic-over-juul-and-teen-vaping-may-have-deadly-results/#6148adbbea48.
• Ucl. “-Cigarettes Safer than Smoking Says Long-Term Study.” UCL, University College London, 15 Nov. 2018, www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2017/feb/e-cigarettes-safer-smoking-says-long-term-study