The Dangers of Vaping [Video]

More than two million youth currently use e-cigarettes. “Vaping is like, in my line of work, we call it Cancer Express. Each one puff of a vape can contain ten times the nicotine of a regular cigarette. And what that does to young minds is get them really addicted to the product,” said Pulmonologist Dr. Shayam Kapadia.

The FDA estimates more than 1 in 4 students use e-cigarettes daily. Dr. Kapadia said each puff contains chemicals and carcinogens. “These added chemicals, we don’t know what they contain, diacetyl, nickel, chromium, things that are getting launched into your lungs over time…your lungs are like, what is this stuff? This isn’t stuff that was meant to be in my body. And so they start changing the cells that line your alveoli, which are the little sacs that take oxygen out of the air for us to breathe.”

Dr. Kapadia is concerned about what vaping could do long term. “Right now in my line of work, I have patients that smoke cigarettes, and they’re presenting with their cancers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. But what’s going to happen with something like vaping is, I’m afraid, that they’re going to present much sooner with lung cancer.”

Quitting vaping stops permanent damage. “Damage that’s done is going to be done, however, over time that can resolve and improve, like your lung function, as you continue to stop vaping,” said Dr. Kapadia. Speak with your physician to help come up with a quit plan that’s right for you.

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