What All Women Need to Know About Vaping - The Stir

We all know smoking cigarettes is bad news. Keep doing it and your lungs will turn black and you'll end up having to hold a little device up to your voice box to speak -- a look that even the Kardashians couldn't pull off. So thank goodness for e-cigarettes, right?


Um, maybe ... not.

These battery-powered devices, which turn nicotine into a vapor that you then inhale, are still fairly new, and the research about them is scant. And that means that whether or not they carry serious health risks is still being sussed out.

The Stir asked several experts to share what we know so far about vaping:

The Maybe-Not-So-Bad News:

"The main benefit to vaping is that it's an alternative to cigarette smoking, which is the leading preventable cause of death in the US," says Sherry Ross, MD, an OB/GYN and women's health expert at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

In fact, says Dr. Ross, "a recent study by Public Health England found that e-cigarettes are around 95 percent less harmful than smoking."

So there's that.

The Signs That "Hmmm, Maybe This Isn't Such a Great Idea":

But! Vaping isn't approved by the Food and Drug Administration. "Nor have there been adequate studies done to know what health risks truly exist," points out Dr. Ross.

Some common side effects of vaping, in case you didn't know, are dry skin, dry mouth, a rash or burning sensation on your face, puffy or dry eyes, and even a bloody nose.

And we don't need science to confirm all those are kind of icky and gross.

More from The Stir: 5 Signs Your Kid is 'Vaping'

Okay. Maybe You Should Back Away From That E-Cig, Nice and Slow, Before Someone Gets Hurt:

"Vaping has been marketed as 'safe,' almost the same way that cigarette smoking had been marketed 'safe' in the early 1930s," warns Homayoon Sanati, MD, medical oncologist and medical director of the MemorialCare Breast Center at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.

The added ingredients to enhance e-cigs' flavor, says Dr. Sanati, "can cause tissue damage to the airway and lungs, and the nicotine itself can continue to cause known effects increasing blood pressure and the risk of coronary artery disease."

Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy at the American Lung Association, agrees that vaping's full dangers are not yet known. "There are literally hundreds of different brands and flavors that you can buy," says Sward, "and because they're unregulated, we don't know what's in them."

Almost all e-cigarettes do contain nicotine, "a drug we know is not safe," Sward says. And research shows that applies even to brands that are specifically labeled nicotine-free.

Because of that, vaping is obviously "not safe or effective for helping tobacco smokers quit," says Sward.

And although vaping doesn't produce smoke, you're still exposing yourself --- and others -- to chemicals that could be potentially dangerous. Some research has ID'd nasty chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde in e-cig emissions. So, obvs, Sward strongly cautions against vaping if you're pregnant, nursing, or around children.

The Bottom Line:

True, when you compare e-cigs against traditional cigarettes, they're most likely not as deadly. But that's true when you compare most things against tobacco, Sward says. "The real questions is, how dangerous are e-cigarettes?"

Since there are no hard and fast answers yet, you might do well to play it safe and cut back on, or even cut out, the vaping.

Need help quitting? Contact the American Lung Association at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Image via Oleg Baliuk/Shutterstock

 

I like that there are good points of this article, and then the bad points as well. Of course putting anything into your body that is a chemical of some sort is bad for you. The intention when someone starts vaping in place of smoking cigarettes should be to eventually quit that all together once the vaper is down to 0%, which is my goal. I fully intend on making this my one and only year of vaping, and then I'm done for good. Kick one addiction because of another, ya know what I mean? When I buy juice, I buy locally owned and locally made at a shop that I can talk to the owners about the ingredients that they use so I have a better understanding and comfort of what they put into their juice. It makes me feel better knowing what's in there, but at the same time, I still know that it's not a permanent, nor necessarily healthy option. It's just the lesser of 2 evils.

 

Women aren't the only ones that should be concerned about the bad effects of vaping -- dry skin looks terrible on anyone, after all. Everyone should take note of the potential dangers and assume the risk of eventual complications. Of course, it is safer not to do it, but each to their own. That doesn't excuse not being informed about what you're putting in your body, though.

 

Oh, come on. I know how media likes to keep them frightened by the diseases that could possibly affect their pregnancy. It makes use of them as a pressure tool. Same old story again and again.

 

I would suggest pregnant women not vape. We know how bad smoking is during pregnancy but we don't know much about vaping during pregnancy. Plus, most vape juices are hand made at vape shops so we don't always know exactly what they're putting in it.

 

When reading articles about the effects of vaping, the number one thing to check for is who funded the research. As the saying goes, there are lies, darn* lies and statistics. You can put a positive or negative spin on just about anything using exactly the same information. It's also worth remembering that the biggest losers in the e-cig revolution are the tobacco companies, and we all know exactly how honest and trustworthy these guys are :S

 

Even with the potential negative effects of vaping, it can't possibly be worse than cigarettes. There's over 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes. I'd be shocked if there were anywhere near that amount in e-cigs.

 

That's pretty much how I see it. It is clearly the lesser of two evils. If it helps people get off cigarettes, then I'm all for it.

 

Inhaling any type of smoke is probably not very good for your lungs. I wouldn't recommend pregnant women to vape. We still have to see further research.

 

That's true. I think women should take a hiatus from consuming nicotine/alcohol/eating junk food while they are pregnant. This will help them in a long run.

 

Completely agree. Most research articles seem to be paid and, therefore, biased.

 

How much is it in e-cigs? Like 2 times less, right?

 

Well the title of this got my goat. What women need to know.. Hmm. Why only women?! But then I read on and my feminist monster chilled out. Obviously no method of inhaling nicotine is great for you. But as someone above said, it's the lesser of two evils. I know that vaping isn't good for you. But at the same time, is it really that bad? I think everything in moderation can't be a bad thing (discounting stupid stuff like heroin etc obviously ). I don't drink, I don't smoke cigarettes, I need one outlet! So regardless of how much scaremongers out there try to put me off, I will wait until actual evidence is out there for me to actually think.. Oh dear. Until then, I'm happy as a clam vaping away in my little shell.

 

Just little pieces. You could focus on anything and talk about the bad, the reason anyone does is usually just for views. What is this writer hoping to achieve by telling people about vaping, but why do they not focus on cheeseburgers at the same time? It is a disconnect... just a little piece.

 

Mmm.. Cheeseburgers. I want one now! Thanks for that haha.