Flourish Health & Wellbeing Magazine May 25 - Flipbook - Page 12
THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF VAPING
Vapes are rela琀椀vely new
compared to cigare琀琀es, so we
are yet to see all the long-term
e昀昀ects vaping may have on the
body (it took decades before
some of the long-term e昀昀ects
of smoking became evident).
What we know now is that
vaping can damage many parts
of the body, including the
cardiovascular system, lungs
and airways, and the brain and
nervous system. Here’s what
we know about how vaping
e昀昀ects the body:
Lungs
Vaping can cause serious
and sometimes fatal lung
disease. Some people who
vape have signs of lung
damage and reduced lung
function. This damage
increases their risk of lung
disease in the future.
Addiction
Many vapes contain nico琀椀ne
(even if they aren’t labelled
that way) which is highly
addic琀椀ve. Teens become more
easily and rapidly addicted to
nico琀椀ne than adults. Being
addicted to nico琀椀ne can
make you feel like vaping is
controlling you and can impact
your daily life.
Brain
Many vapes contain high
concentra琀椀ons of nico琀椀ne,
even if it doesn’t say so on the
label. This high level of nico琀椀ne
causes seizures in some people
who vape. Nico琀椀ne harms the
way a teenage brain grows,
which may a昀昀ect memory
and concentra琀椀on.
Teeth & gums
Vaping may harm the teeth
and gums. People who vape
are more likely to have gum
disease (periodon琀椀琀椀s), which
leads to tooth loss.
Pregnancy and
developing baby
Nico琀椀ne exposure during
pregnancy can harm a
developing baby. Babies whose
mothers vape during pregnancy
are more likely to be born at
lower size. This is called “small
for gesta琀椀onal age”.
Heart and
cardiovascular system
For people who also smoke,
vaping can increase their
heart rate and blood pressure,
and harden arteries. People
who smoke and vape are
also more like to get nausea,
coughing, headache, and sore
throat from vaping.
Risk of cancer
Due to the short 琀椀me that
vapes have been around,
their long-term health
e昀昀ects are not known.
Health organisa琀椀ons are
concerned that long-term
use of vapes might cause
cancer because:
• There are chemicals found
in vapes that are known
causes of cancer. These
include acrolein, arsenic,
benzene, benzo[a]pyrene,
cadmium, formaldehyde,
styrene, and toluene.
• In people who vape, there
are signs of cell damage
and of a higher cancer risk
in the future.
