Already 15 deaths in the USA: why vaping is so popular and why smokers die

The fifteenth e-cigarette user has died in the United States. Doctors are talking about a “vaping epidemic”; manufacturers of electronic cigarettes claim that their health hazard is still less than the harmful effects of traditional smoking. Writes about this “Present Time”.

Фото: Depositphotos

The expert said that science knows about the dangers of vapes and whether they should be banned, and also found out how governments, doctors and tobacco companies look at this problem.

According to the latest data, 15 people have already died from vaping. Against the background of these reports, the head of one of the largest American manufacturers of electronic cigarettes, the company Juul Labs, announced his resignation. And the US Congress has created a special group that is developing a draft mass ban on electronic cigarettes.

Total in the united states over 530 cases of lung disease have been reported, associated with the use of vapes. More than half of all cases are younger than 25. In addition to deaths, there are cases of coma and disability.

“The lungs of 18-year-old Adam Hergenroeder became like the lungs of an xnumx year old man“say the doctors who saved a vaping smoker from Illinois. His smoking experience is one and a half years.

What happens to the lungs

Vape-induced lung disease (also called “vape-associated disease”) is distinguished by an acute onset. Disease develops suddenly and is accompanied not only by standard symptoms - coughing and general weakness, but also specific: shortness of breath, growing respiratory failure and the formation of bilateral lung infiltrates.

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"Thus, the clinical picture somewhat reminiscent of pneumonia, so initially such patients receive an appropriate diagnosis and antibiotic treatment. The problem is that antibiotics in the case of vape disease do not work, because the cause of its occurrence is not infectious, ”explains pulmonologist Vasily Stabnitsky.

According to him, as a result, the majority of patients were helped by systemic hormones: a powerful anti-inflammatory drug that can stop a fairly aggressive inflammatory process and prevent its transition to a severe stage, leading to irreversible changes in the respiratory system.

“From the point of view of anatomy, the described changes in the lungs so far do not fit into the options for diseases associated with classical smoking,” the doctor emphasizes. “Although cigarettes, in addition to the long-term health effects of lung cancer and emphysema, can also, in rarer cases, lead to diseases that are acute, including in the early stages of smoking, such as respiratory bronchitis and interstitial pneumonia.”

In order to find out the cause of the disease, patients underwent bronchoscopy, lavage and biopsy. As a result of studies, fat molecules were found in their lungs: as it turned out, their accumulation also causes tissue damage and active inflammation.

Unknown substance

Doctors believe that the molecules get into the lungs when vaping, but they have not yet figured out which substances are hazardous to health. Neither the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could find a single source of problems that would be present in all cases.

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Experts cite glycerin, aromatic additives, an oil solution of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of marijuana) and vitamin E acetate as possible versions. THC has long been the main “suspect”, but after a case in Georgia, medical officials admitted: some of those people whose disease ended in death, smoked a vape with TCG, others smoked both TCG and nicotine, and still others smoked only nicotine.

Complicating the situation is the fact that during heating, components from the liquids of electronic cigarettes can decompose, and then form new chemical compounds in the lungs, the authors of a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggest.

As Oleg Zykov, director of the Russian Institute of Narcological Health of the Nation, notes, the production of electronic cigarettes is not regulated - at least as much as tobacco or alcohol - and therefore there can be a variety of substances inside the cartridges, “including spice in smoking form.”

“Vaping is a fashion and a way of consumption. And what exactly is a question for the manufacturers. There are no restrictions or strict controls during their production, so we can assume that everything is put inside that somehow contributes to addiction,” says the expert.

Vaping as a ritual

In addition to the fact that the composition of commercially produced vape liquids can be anything, it is known that some users mix them and “invent” their own combinations. The goal is to obtain more spectacular and dense vapor clouds, as well as new flavor effects. One of the discussed versions of the death of the sick: victims of vaping modified electronic cigarettes and poured into them substances that were not intended for this method of use. “I think that manufacturers of electronic cigarettes will actively use this loophole,” believes Vasily Shtabnitsky.

Experts note that the key difference from the marketing strategy of tobacco manufacturers is the promotion of the “culture” of vaping as a process. Young people, including schoolchildren, smoke vapes not periodically, but for hours; the ritual turns out to be more important than the habit.

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“Such behavioral patterns are extremely important for young people. They are the ones who form the habit: it is difficult to give up not nicotine, but the ritual, especially in a social context, says Oleg Zykov. “It will be difficult to get out of the habit, because you will have to change your mode of behavior.”

Ban on vape

According to the US Department of Health, vapors in the country use more than 5 million high school students, and only in the last year their number increased by 20%. In total, there are about 35 million vapers in the world.

To stop the “vaping epidemic” among teenagers, the administration of US President Donald Trump promised introduce a ban on flavored mixtures without nicotine.

The next day, the FDA sent letters to manufacturers and distributors of electronic cigarettes stating that it was unacceptable to use methods involving teenagers and youth in smoking. Authorities believe that the flavored mixes themselves, as well as the wording and images that companies use to promote vapes, violate US advertising laws.

The first FDA complained about was Juul, which offered electronic cigarettes as a safer replacement for tobacco cigarettes.

Lack of data. What does WHO say

Juul is part of Altria, an American tobacco holding, part of which is also a major tobacco producer Philip Morris. In addition to Philip Morris International (PMI), other tobacco companies also produce electronic cigarettes: British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco Group, Japan Tabacco International and so on.

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They also fund research confirming the “benefits” of vaping for quitting smoking. The key message from tobacco companies is that they do not market e-cigarettes to non-smokers, but only want to reduce harm for those who already smoke.

There are many modifications of electronic cigarettes, simplifiedly they all consist of a battery pack (heater) and an atomizer (vaporizer). However, the liquid in the evaporator (also called a cartridge), the type of evaporator itself, as well as the design of the battery pack are significantly different. Devices for heating tobacco like iqos and glo are also electronic cigarettes, although their smoking is not accompanied by the formation of dense puffs of vapor, and the use does not involve mixing liquids.

According to manufacturing companies, when tobacco is heated, which occurs in electronic cigarettes, fewer harmful substances are released than when burned, as in a regular cigarette. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO), in a review released in May 2018, noted that “there is no evidence to suggest that heated tobacco products are less harmful than conventional tobacco products.” Although e-cigarettes were patented in the 1960s, production and use began after 2004, and studies on long-term effects do not yet exist. “All forms of tobacco use are harmful,” insists the WHO.

Where and why vapes are not forbidden

While in the US, lawmakers are thinking about how to limit vape sales, EU countries are not talking about prohibitive measures. In the UK, scientists even supported the use of electronic cigarettes: according to Public Health England, vaping can be considered 95% safer than regular cigarettes. Any difference in position with the United States can be explained by the fact that in the UK there are no registered vape-associated diseases. And this, in turn, is associated with a restriction on the advertising of electronic cigarettes and more stringent regulation of the nicotine content in vapes.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Flavored Electronic Cigarettes officially banned in new york state. The ban will be valid for at least 90 days.
• Prior to this ban on electronic cigarettes was introduced in san franciscothat made it the first city in the US to do this.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Scientists have found a possible cause of death due to electronic cigarettes: now vapes want to ban in the US

The fight for the lungs: in the United States may ban electronic cigarettes

Research: vapes cause smoker's circulatory changes from first use

Personal experience: how does medical cannabis work on your body?

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