GRAND Magazine - May/June 2019 - 28

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How does vaping work?

Vaping, like smoking cigarettes, is primarily
a way to ingest nicotine, one of the most highly
addictive substances that exists. Many of the first
vaping devices were called "e-cigarettes" and
that was their appeal to many people: a substitute for cigarettes.
Vaping devices now come in different sizes
and shapes but all work in a similar way way:
There is a heating element, powered by a battery, and there is a liquid that contains nicotine.
(Vaping devices are also used for cannabis).
When the liquid is heated, it vaporizes and can
be inhaled.
LEARN MORE in this You Tube video produced by Veppo Vape Shop

How popular is vaping?

Vaping has really taken off in the past five
years. One of the concerns is that young people
are flocking to it and many of the youngest had
not previously smoked regular cigarettes. The
FDA released data in late 2018 showing that
the use of e-cigarettes is now the most popular
tobacco product among teens and has jumped
28 GRAND

MAY JUNE 2019

Does vaping help people
stop smoking?

78 percent among high school students compared with 2017. An estimated 20.8 percent
(more than 3 million) of high schoolers now use
some kind of vaping device. As a result, you may
hear it referred to as a "vaping epidemic."
One reason vaping is attractive to young
people is that devices are easy to disguise or
hide - one variety even look like a computer
flash drive. Another reason blamed for attracting
young people is the appeal of fruity flavors marketed by vaping
companies - flavors
such as mango,
mint, cream, and
cucumber.
The marketing
and sales of e-liquid has become big
business. Similar
to razors and
razor blades, people get started by purchasing
a vaping device and then continuously buy the
liquid to use in it.

How big is the vaping
business?

Last year, one of the most successful vaping
companies -- JUUL -- sold a 35 percent stake in
the company to tobacco giant Altria for $12.8

billion. JUUL is supposedly cooperating with
efforts to stop marketing to young people and
giving at least verbal support to a bill brought
to the Senate that would raise the minimum age
for anyone to purchase any smoking or vaping
product. This article published by truth initiative.
org tells how JUUL is limiting its marketing of
flavors. Read More

How healthy is vaping?

You won't find just one answer to this question. Vaping proponents point out that since
nothing is burned, people who vape instead
of smoke avoid thousands of toxic chemicals
contained in cigarettes. On the other hand, not
much is known about the long-term effects of
vaping. And some of the chemicals involved in
vaping have their own harmful effects. An article
on physiciansweekly.com discusses the science
of vaping, including studies showing that e-cigarette flavorings may damage blood vessels and
the heart, and other chemicals may harm the
reproductive system.

Not everyone agrees about this either. Several
studies showed that people who used vaping to
stop smoking
were slightly
more successful that people
who used nicotine patches.
Unfortunately,
many people
who switched
to vaping
stayed hooked
on vaping
and remained
addicted to
nicotine. Here
are several articles -- from Harvard.edu, from
npr.org, and from Johns Hopkins, focusing
on whether or not vaping helps people stop
smoking.

Cheryl Harbour is a special
editor for GRAND and
author of Good to Be
Grand: Making the Most
of your Grandchild's First
Year.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnMhQGFIT-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnMhQGFIT-w https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-vaping-help-you-quit-smoking-2019022716086 https://www.truthinitiative.org/news/juul-fails-remove-all-youths-favorite-flavors-stores https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/30/690066777/study-found-vaping-beat-traditional-smoking-cessation-options https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/5-truths-you-need-to-know-about-vaping https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942952325/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1942952325&linkId=915fc1f0f3179643549eae0fd53fe068 https://www.physiciansweekly.com/is-vaping-dangerous-what-the-science-shows/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942952325/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1942952325&linkId=915fc1f0f3179643549eae0fd53fe068 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942952325/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1942952325&linkId=915fc1f0f3179643549eae0fd53fe068 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942952325/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1942952325&linkId=915fc1f0f3179643549eae0fd53fe068 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942952325/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1942952325&linkId=915fc1f0f3179643549eae0fd53fe068

GRAND Magazine - May/June 2019

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