World No Tobacco Day: Is Vaping A Safe Alternative? What Is GOI's Stance On E-Cigarettes?

On World No Tobacco Day, experts raise concerns about the increasing use of e-cigarettes among young people, highlighting significant health risks.

While smoking rates decline, the use of other tobacco products and e-cigarettes rises, especially among youth. E-cigarettes, often resembling cigarettes, pens, or tech gadgets, produce a vapour-like aerosol, posing health risks to users and non-users.

What Happens When You Smoke And Vape?

Both smoking and vaping involve heating a substance and inhaling the fumes. When smoking traditional cigarettes, you inhale smoke from burning tobacco. With vaping, a device heats a liquid (vape juice or e-liquid) until it turns into vapour for inhalation.

Smoking releases harmful chemicals from burned tobacco, damaging the lungs and other organs. Vaping also releases chemicals from heated e-liquid. Both methods expose you to nicotine, addictive and harmful to health.

What Happens After Smoking and Vaping?

After smoking, the lungs are exposed to harmful mist from burned tobacco, causing damage. Meanwhile, vaping coats the lungs with harmful chemicals, as e-liquids contain flavourings, aromatic additives, nicotine, or THC dissolved in an oily liquid base, posing risks to lung health.

What Is Left Behind In The Lungs After Vaping?

The focus is on vitamin E, used to thicken and deliver e-liquids, found in the lungs of people with severe vaping-related damage. Other harmful substances in e-liquid or formed when heated include diacetyl, used to enhance e-cigarette flavours, it damages small lung passageways, resulting in Popcorn Lungs; formaldehyde, a toxic chemical causing lung and,acrolein, also used as a weed killer, it harms the lungs.

Why Vaping Is Not A Safe Alternative?

Despite lacking some tobacco smoke contaminants, e-cigarette aerosol remains unsafe due to nicotine, harmful substances like diacetyl, cancer-causing chemicals, and heavy metals. The e-liquid itself can be hazardous, and vaping is associated with severe lung injuries and fatalities.

Moreover, despite claims that e-cigarettes aid smoking cessation, there is insufficient evidence to support this. Many users continue smoking alongside vaping, known as "dual use."

Secondhand Vapour Is Not Safe Either

Contrary to belief, secondhand emissions from vaping contain dangerous substances like nicotine, ultrafine particles, diacetyl, and benzene. While not impacting the lungs like direct vaping, it's best to avoid secondhand vapour.

Government Of India's Stance On Vaping

In India, possessing e-cigarettes or similar devices violates the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarette Act (PECA) 2019, covering all electronic nicotine delivery systems, heat-not-burn products, e-hookahs, and similar devices.

What to Do If Your Lungs Hurt?

Don't dismiss chest or lung pain if you smoke or vape. If experiencing pain or symptoms like shortness of breath and chronic cough, consult a doctor promptly.