August 19, 2015 at 4:05 p.m.
Vaping: An alternative to smoking?
Northwoods Tobacco Free Coalition raises questions about the dangers of e-cigarettes
Vaping: An alternative to smoking?
By By Nancy Cipollone-
Vaping was introduced back in the 1960s. Herbert Gilbert filed the first electronic cigarette patent in 1963. While his intent was to offer a smoking alternative, there simply wasn't enough interest at that time in something as new and unique as an electronic cigarette.
In the early 2000s, Hon Lik, a pharmacist in China, had the same addiction that killed his father: cigarettes. In 2003, Lik filed a patent in China and is considered the founder of the e-cigarette. In 2006, he introduced his invention which consisted of a battery, plastic cartridge and an ultrasonic atomizer. The e-cigarette hit the market.
E-cigarettes are devices that emulate smoking and produce an aerosol of nicotine and other substances. They are generally battery-operated and use a vaporizer to heat refillable cartridges that release a chemical-filled vapor. Each e-cigarette is different. There is the cartridge-style e-cigarette that looks similar to a regular cigarette and there is the refillable tank style which uses a built-in atomizer.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), potentially harmful constituents have been documented in some e-cigarette cartridges including inkling irritants, genotoxins, and animal carcinogens. Besides the e-cigarettes, there are e-cigars, e-hookahs, e-pipes, tape pens and hookah pens.
Most e-cigarettes contain three things: a battery, an atomizer and a replaceable cartridge. The cartridge is what holds the liquid nicotine. The liquid, also known as e-juice, comes in many flavors and different levels of nicotine or zero nicotine. When a user inhales on the device, the liquid heats up and turns into vapor that has identified chemicals in it known as carcinogens. The carcinogens have been found in mainstream and secondhand e-cigarette vapor.
Smoking is the old trend and vaping is the new trend. But questions remain: what are the hidden dangers of e-cigarettes? What is vaping and why is it so popular?
Members of the Northwoods Tobacco Free Coalition answered those questions and more when they invited the public to a Community Lunch and Learn Aug. 11. The dangers of e-cigarettes were discussed and the luncheon included several presenters: Lincoln County Drug Free Coalition, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Northern Lakes, Oneida County Health Department and Sen. Janet Bewley.
Concern about this growing trend focused on the health affects and attraction to the younger generation. With flavors like cotton candy, caramel cheesecake and buttered popcorn, the younger generation may be tempted to experiment. Even before the influence of e-cigarettes, there was the influence of the hookah-smoking caterpillar in Walt Disney's rendition of "Alice in Wonderland."
According to the CDC, more than a quarter of a million youth who had never smoked a cigarette used e-cigarettes in 2013. The study also showed that kids who had never smoked conventional cigarettes but who used e-cigarettes were almost twice as likely to have intentions to smoke conventional cigarettes as those who had never used e-cigarettes. Brain development of an adolescence is crucial and exposure of nicotine may have a lasting damaging affect on the brain.
The Oneida County Health Department says the number of youth using e-cigarettes has tripled. In Wisconsin you must be over 18 years old to buy e-juice. However, if there is no nicotine in the e-juice, there is no age requirement for the purchase. According to the CDC, e-cigarette experimentation and recent use doubled among U.S. middle and high school students during 2011-12.
Corie Zelazoski, community health specialist at the Oneida County Health Department, offered more information about the nicotine.
"The nicotine is addictive, which is in the e-juices," she said. "You can get varying levels of nicotine put into your e-juices. There are no ingredient disclosure requirements, which results in not knowing what's in the e-juices."
"The FDA does not require any disclosure on the e-juices, Zelazoski added. "The FDA is behind the times."
Some believe e-cigarette vapor is less damaging than the smoke of a traditional cigarette, but there is debate as to how safe e-cigarettes truly are. When asked if e-cigarettes cause cancer, Zelazoski responded, "At this time, there is not enough research to determine that. There are 10 toxic carcinogens that come front the vapor when it is secondhandedly induced."
Zelazoski added that e-cigarettes are not regulated by the FDA and it has not been proven that e-cigarettes are a smoking cessation device. "You have to apply to brand your product as a smoking cessation device," she said. "As of right now, no e-cigarette companies in the country have applied. If e-cigarette companies are trying to help people to quit smoking, you would think that they would apply for the FDA approval to label e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation device."
Bewley expressed her gratitude to the Northwoods Tobacco Free Coalition for educating the community on issues relating to public health. "We are in most need of concrete information about what is being sold and what are the health affects on the population that is using them," expressed Bewley. "Mainly because they are being marketed to children."
Bewley referenced the vaping mechanisms as a "delivery system" for nicotine and while the item may not be labeled as a nicotine system, the device might end up in the hands of someone who doesn't understand the effects, she said. "We need to have a clear understanding of what these devices are and what kind of affects occur," she said.
Vaping is a common alternative for smokers who want to quit, said Matt Herrick, a vapor technician at All American Vapor, LLC. Those who have weaned off cigarettes and are vaping often express how their sense of taste has improved and there is no more bad breath or smelly households, or dirty ash trays.
Herrick shared his own story. "I quit smoking over a year ago using e-cigarettes. I smoked for about 17 years and I tried multiple times, unsuccessfully, to quit. The one thing that e-cigarettes allow you to do is regulate the amount of nicotine that you take in. You may start out at a higher level of nicotine and gradually you can lower it," he said.
Herrick added that he believes e-cigarettes give people a healthier alternative to tobacco products. When asked to prove the science behind his claim that e-cigarettes are healthy alternative, Herrick responded, "It's not to say that this is 100 percent safe, but the ingredients are all FDA-certified and FDA-approved: food flavorings, propylene glycol and the nicotine."
Christy Amour, owner of All American Vapor, reiterated the point. "We felt opening a vapor shop was an opportunity to bring a healthy alternative (to smoking) to the area," she said.
A healthy alternative based on what? "I want to see the science that says 'here's the proof that these don't cause harm,'" Bewley said. When the senator was told that vapor stores are saying e-cigarettes are a healthy alternative, she responded, "That's crazy. A healthy alternative to what, not smoking? There's a need to create a new market as smokers are declining, so [they] need to create a new market. In order to do that, you have to look to kids. The first thing you have to do is get the kids addicted to nicotine or the culture and behavior of smoking by vaping or using the device." Introducing the youth to the device can be easily done if the device does not have nicotine in the cartridge and there isn't an age requirement labeled by the FDA, she noted.
A study was done by the U.S. National Library of Medicine to evaluate sweet-flavored e-cigarette liquids for the presence of dactyl (DA) and acetyl propionyl (AP), which are chemicals approved for food use but are associated with respiratory disease when inhaled. Both DA and AP were found in a large proportion of sweet-flavored e-cigarette liquids with many of them exposing users to higher levels that can be safely inhaled.
Bewley added that there is a bill in the process of being introduced to allow vaping in public places in Wisconsin. "Why would you want to allow something that hasn't been tested? There's no scientific evidence that these are safe and why would we want to take the risk, not only of the person using it but the people who are in the immediate area," said Bewley, "There are chemicals in these implements and for government to make a ruling without the scientific evidence, is irresponsible."
Bewley encouraged the public to speak out against vaping.
"When you hear that someone is introducing a bill in the state to make it legal to smoke in public places, reach out to the state legislature and say 'don't you dare threaten the health of our kids and people by allowing something you have no proof that is safe," she said.
Nancy Cipollone may be reached via email at ncipollone@lakeland times.com.
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