Know the facts. Use your instincts.
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The only thing that should go into our lungs is air and messages that suggest anything else should be questioned. We take huge issue with the industry promoting vaping versus smoking as if they are our only 2 options. How about the third option… neither!
Even if it seems like everyone around you is vaping, remember, most youth DON’T vape. The media headlines hyping a 75% increase in teen vaping is true; rates have increased from 9% to 16% from 2017 to 2022, but this still means 84% of Canadian teens report they are NOT vaping.3 We need to question where and who we get our info from so that we can make our own decisions based on truths and facts not beliefs.
There are some interesting facts about vaping that most people don’t know. Below we have given you some of the uncensored facts, so you have all the info you need to make the informed choice. Tap or click on each one to learn more.
The term “vape” or “vaping” has helped the industry create the belief that what comes out of electronic cigarettes is just harmless water vapour, when it’s not even vapour at all. The water from the bottle that people spray their plants or pet reptiles with is water vapour; vapes produce an aerosol by heating liquids that contain chemicals4, more like your hairspray which is tacky and strong smelling.
Vape aerosol consists of fine particles, many contain different amounts of toxic chemicals, which have been linked to gum disease, severe lung damage and even death.5
Canada’s leading vape company does not make a no-nic product. One pod contains as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes. The pods contain Nicotine Salts, also known as Nic Salts, a different type of nicotine vs the regular “freebase” nicotine found in cigarettes and e-juices.
Nic salts help the industry because they make vaping easier for users to inhale than the original freebase nicotine and less harsh on the throat. This allows users to inhale higher amounts of nicotine per puff; hooking them faster and longer.
Using nicotine before the age of 25 has a lasting impact on our brain, affecting memory, attention, and the ability to control our actions and impulses.6 Still, the industry targets their products to youth through fun flavours, social media influencers, and even marketing in school classrooms!7
There are more than 7,000 different flavours of vapes on the market, many of which are kid-friendly such as cotton candy and mango. Although many of the flavourings used have been found to be safe in food products, it is unknown if they are safe to breathe into our lungs.
When we eat something, the stomach has a lot of ways to cleanse and get rid of it from the body, but the lungs don’t have the same defenses. The lungs were not built to inhale anything other than air.
Yes, the aerosol that comes out of a vape may not expose non-users to the same level of toxins as cigarettes, but it still exposes them to chemicals that they would not have to breathe if someone wasn’t vaping around them.
Research has tested the amounts of nicotine, carbon monoxide and many volatile organic compounds after vape use and compared it to those from cigarettes. Though emissions from vapes went away more quickly and contained less toxins than cigarettes, it still contained:
These would be most dangerous to children, pregnant women and people with heart disease. We need to consider others like our younger siblings and cousins when making the choice to vape; not only do we risk their health, we are their role models and what we do affects them.
It should not be a secret that vaping nicotine can harm our physical health.4 But many are not aware of the impact of vaping on mental well-being. A recent study of more than 96,000 people found that vapers were 2x as likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and other emotional problems.8
The way it works is that if your brain gets something it has become used to, it calms down for a short time, so we start to believe vaping lessens stress and anxiety. This brief relaxed feeling fades fast and gives way to withdrawal and cravings, making us need to use more. We then vape more to reduce these symptoms which are just like that of anxiety, but it doesn’t reduce anxiety or the reasons someone might feel anxious.
Lots of flavours! Cool gear! There’s a reason why tobacco giant Altria Group, the owners of Philip Morris USA and makers of Marlboro cigarettes bought a 35% stake in Juul Labs.9 Other companies like British American Tobacco have bought start-up vape companies and launched Vype and Vuse brand vapes.9
Getting into the heated nicotine business not only gives Big Tobacco a new billion-dollar income stream but is also a way for them to become relevant again.10
Like cigarettes, vaping also impacts our environment. E-waste from vaping like lithium batteries ends up in landfills, pollutes the environment with heavy metals and damages the developing world. Due to the nicotine present, unused pods and/or liquids would be classed as hazardous waste and should be disposed of responsibly. Just like plastic straws disposable versions of vaping devices pose the most risk to the environment.11
[1] Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario). Current evidence on e-cigarettes: a summary of potential impacts. Toronto Ontario. Queen’s Printer of Ontario. 2018, Nov. Available from https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/literature-review-ecigarettes.pdf?la=en
[2] Mortiz, T. Vaping it’s all smoke and mirrors. United States of America: The America Lung Association; 2018. Retrieved from https://www.lung.org/about-us/blog/2019/03/vaping-smoke-and-mirrors.html
[3] Hammond, D., Reid, JL., Burkhalter, R., & Hong, D. (May 2023). Trends in smoking and vaping among young people: Findings from the ITC youth survey. University of Waterloo.
[4] Centre for Disease Control. Quick facts on the risks of e-cigarettes for kids, teens, and young adults. Atlanta, GA. US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019 Mar 11. Available from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html
[5] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Public health consequences of e-cigarettes. Washington , DC.; The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; 2018. Available from https://www.nap.edu/read/24952/chapter/1
[6] Goriounova N, Mansvelder H. Short- and long-term consequences of nicotine exposure during adolescence for prefrontal cortex neuronal network function. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2012;2(12):a012120.
[7] Kaplan, S. Richtel, M. Juul illegally marketed e-cigarettes, F.D.A says. New York Times [Internet]. 2019 Sept 9 [cited 2019 Oct 8]. Woodstock and Region. Available from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/health/vaping-juul-e-cigarettes-fda.html
[8] Napoli, N. . E-Cigarettes linked to heart attacks, coronary artery disease, and depression. Washington, D.C: American College of Cardiology; 2019 Mar 7. Available from https://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2019/03/07/10/03/ecigarettes-linked-to-heart-attacks-coronary-artery-disease-and-depression
[9] University of Bath. E-cigarettes, Tobacco Tactics; 2023 Feb 19. Available from https://tobaccotactics.org/article/e-cigarettes/#:~:text=BAT%20went%20on%20to%20acquire,Vuse%20Go%20(see%20below).
[10] Zaleski, O., & Kary, T. Altria invests $12.8 Billion in e-cigarette maker Juul. Bloomberg [Internet]. 2018 Dec 20 [cited 2019 Oct 9]; Woodstock and Region. Available from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-20/altria-invests-12-8-billion-in-e-cigarette-maker-juul-labs
[11] Krause, M., Townsend, T. Hazardous waste status of discarded electronic cigarettes. Waste Manag, 2015; 39, pp. 57-62. Available from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.02.005
[12] Czogala,J., Goniewicz, M., Fidelus, B., Zielinska-Danch, W.,Travers, M., Sobczak, A. Secondhand exposure to vapors from electronic cigarettes. Nicotine Tob. Res. 2014; Volume 16, Issue 6, Pages 655–662. Available from https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntt203
i Truth Initiative. (Jun. 15, 2023). “Tobacco-free nicotine” labels for e-cigarettes increase purchase intentions among teen e-cigarette users. Accessed Oct. 28, 2023 from: https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/tobacco-free-nicotine-labels-e-cigarettes-increase
ii Marsh C. (Jun. 23, 2023). “How much nicotine is in a cigarette compared to a vape? Accessed Oct. 18, 2023 from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/23/how-much-nicotine-is-in-a-cigarette-compared-to-a-vape
iii U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2016. Accessed Oct. 21, 2019 from: https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/documents/2016_sgr_full_report_non-508.pdf
iv National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). Public health consequences of e-cigarettes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24952
v American Lung Association. (2023). The impact of e-cigarettes on the lung. Accessed Oct. 18, 2023 from: https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/e-cigarettes-vaping/impact-of-e-cigarettes-on-lung
vi Napoli, N. (March 7, 2019). E-Cigarettes linked to heart attacks, coronary artery disease, and depression [internet]. Washington: American College of Cardiology. Accessed October 21, 2019 from: https://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2019/03/07/10/03/ecigarettes-linked-to-heart-attacks-coronary-artery-disease-and-depression
vii Hammond, D. (2023, February 9). The effects of vaping in Canada [Conference presentation]. National Conference on Tobacco and Vaping 2023.
viii Pisinger C. (December 2015). A systematic review of health effects of electronic cigarettes. Document prepared for The World Health Organization. Accessed October 21, 2019 from: http://www.who.int/tobacco/industry/product_regulation/BackgroundPapersENDS3_4November-.pdf
ix Czogala, J., Goniewicz, M., Fidelus, B., Zielinska-Danch, W., Travers, M.J., Sobczak, A. (2014). Secondhand exposure to vapors From electronic cigarettes. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 16, Issue 6, (pg. 655–662). https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntt203
x Diaz, M. C., Silver, N. A., Bertrand, A., & Schillo, B. A. (2023). Bigger, stronger and cheaper: growth in e-cigarette market driven by disposable devices with more e-liquid, higher nicotine concentration and declining prices. Tobacco control, tc-2023-058033. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2023-058033
xi Zaleski, O., & Kary, T. (December 20, 2018). Altria Invests $12.8 Billion in E-Cigarette Maker Juul. Bloomberg. Accessed October 21, 2019 from: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-20/altria-invests-12-8-billion-in-e-cigarette-maker-juul-labs
xii Hammond, D., Reid, JL., Burkhalter, R., & Hong, D. (May 2023). Trends in smoking and vaping among young people: Findings from the ITC youth survey. University of Waterloo.
Hamilton’s leading youth health advocacy group. Using creative engagement strategies to provide peers with the unfiltered facts about health issues that affect them.
