Nowadays, it is almost impossible to go into a convenience store, watch a You Tube video or pass a bus stop without coming across ads for vaping and e-cigarettes. And, most of this commercials feature cool-looking people enjoying vaping and e-cigarettes which makes us think that vaping is the healthy alternative for smoking.
Manufacturers claim that vaping allows one to enjoy smoking without affecting those around them due to the absence of tobacco smoke. Plus, there is no ash and unpleasant smells-only vapor. However, the truth is much different- vaping is not entirely harmless as many people think. According to studies, vaping has its side effects.
Vaping: Major Cause for Brain Damage?
According to Ana Maria Rule, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, vaping is not smoking, but it is far from harmless. In fact, the chemicals heated up from the liquid can do a lot of damage.
She worked with a team to investigate the effects of e-cigarettes. This device is made of three parts, i.e. a battery for the powder, a tank with the liquid which heats up and produces aerosol, and a mouth piece to suck in the vapour into the lungs.
The liquid often contains nicotine, glycerine, propylene glycol, and other chemicals, as Rule explains. Nicotine, as you already know, is highly addictive, even though there are some e-cigarettes that offer a nicotine-free cartridge.
For the purposes of the research, 56 participants were asked to bring in their e-cigarettes from different brands. It was discovered that a lot of these devices produced a lead-rich vapour linked with nerve and brain damage as well as chromium, a chemical linked with cancer.
Lead was found in 50 percent of their samples in amounts bigger than the healthy limit suggested by EPA. This is quite problematic as lead is a neurotoxicant that directly affects the brain, especially that of younger adults whose brains are still in development phase.
Moreover, 40 percent of the samples of vapour had a metal known as manganese in levels above the ones considered safe by the EPA. Unfortunately, people who work with manganese can develop a disease known as manganism as a result of excessive exposure. This is a Parkinson’s-like illness which impedes the brain health.
And, anyone who is near a person who is vaping is also inhaling the toxic metals and thus, endangering their health.
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