At first, vaping may have seemed like a good way to kick the habit.
That’s how they sold it to us, anyway.
But the more we’re learning about these e-cigarettes, the more it’s clear that they’re the “new tobacco” of the 21st century. And guess what? They’re now being marketed by the very same companies that brought us Camels, Lucky Strikes, and Marlboros!
One big difference, however, is that these newfangled nicotine machines might cause you to end up in a hospital burn unit if they explode in your face or pocket.
And now, a frightening new study has found that vaping can double your risk of a heart attack. And vaping while still smoking cigarettes will up that risk by five times.
Plus that, the “e-juice” you fill these devices up with can contain a witches’ brew of toxic chemicals. In fact, aside from nicotine, we don’t even know what’s in most of those vaping liquids!
It’s becoming very clear that e-cigs are just as much of a ticking time bomb (literally!) as smoking cigarettes… and can damage your ticker just as much… potentially even more.
So, instead of swapping one bad habit for another — or worse, engaging in both at the same time — why not give some tried-and-true methods of quitting a chance of succeeding?
Hearing about exploding e-cigs was sort of an omen of more bad news to come. As risky as puffing away on a Camel or Marlboro is, I doubt you’ve ever heard of one blowing up in someone’s face!
In May, a man in Florida was killed when his e-cig exploded, burning 80 percent of his body. And that wasn’t the only time that these devices have dangerously malfunctioned.
Just this past week, a security video in Anaheim, California, recorded the moment when one literally detonated inside a vaper’s pocket, sending him to the hospital.
A burn-center doc at the University of Colorado Hospital says that this type of “super-hot explosion” can cause third-degree burns (requiring skin grafts) and loss of vision.
But even if your vaping device doesn’t blow up in your face, puffing away on it can cause plenty of internal damage to vital organs. Just as in the 1950s, when the risks of tobacco were coming to light, the true health damage these e-cigs can cause is just now starting to emerge.
New research out of the University of California, San Francisco, looked at how the devices can affect your heart.
And the findings weren’t good.
Crunching the data on over 70,000 Americans, the researchers found that this supposedly “safer” way to get a nicotine fix can DOUBLE your risk of suffering a heart attack if you do it every day, compared to someone who doesn’t smoke or vape.
But that’s not all. They also found that puffing on both cigarettes and an e-cig during the day – something they estimate that close to 70 percent of vapers do — will up your heart-attack risk nearly fivefold!
Of course, the companies that make these products (some are Big Tobacco manufacturers such as R.J. Reynolds and Phillip Morris) have been trying to sell us on the idea that e-cigs don’t contain the risky chemicals found in cigarette smoke.
But that’s not entirely true, either.
So far, researchers have found toxic metals such as arsenic, chromium, manganese, nickel, and lead in e-liquids. And the heating coils inside the devices themselves have been found to leak toxic metals that are also inhaled.
There are the “ultra-fine particles” that can put you at added risk of developing not just heart problems… but lung disease, too.
The truth of the matter is that vaping is not only unlikely to help you kick the habit, but it may be putting you in even more jeopardy than actual smoking!
That, however, doesn’t mean that you should give up trying to quit – no matter how many times you may have failed in the past.
One good way is with acupuncture, which is offered at places such as the Cleveland Clinic to reduce nicotine cravings. Another is using Chinese herbs (which should be customized by an herbalist).
Research has also found that certain trigger foods and drinks — such as red meat, wine, and coffee — can increase your urge to light up.
Sipping on enough water — or even better, green tea — during the day can also help curtail cravings for tobacco, as can certain supplements, especially one called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which can actually take the pleasure out of smoking.
But whichever method you try, don’t get tricked into Big Pharma’s stop-smoking chamber of horrors!
I’m talking about drugs such as Chantix, which not only can also damage your heart, but cause other side effects such as depression, hallucinations, aggression, and thoughts of suicide.
Remember, be it Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, or maybe even a new one – Big Vape – you don’t want to get burned trying to improve your health!
“The FDA requires a black-box warning for Chantix because the drug increases the risk of serious mental health problems, such as suicidal thoughts.
In addition, some people taking Chantix find their moods changing and they become depressed, irritable, and hostile.
People who already have mood problems, including depression, or who might have attempted suicide in the past may notice these symptoms worsening while taking Chantix”
“Daily vaping tied to doubling of heart attack risk” Robert Preidt, August 24, 2018, HealthDay, consumer.healthday.com
