Recently, there have been many posts on social media about the adverse effects of smoking e-cigarettes or vaping. This habit is triggered because some people think that e-cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes, especially among teenagers. A young man from Klaten experienced lungs collapsed due to e-cigarettes combined with conventional cigarettes. Similarly, a young man in the United States almost died due to the effects of e-cigarettes and had to have a lung transplant to continue living.
dr. Aditya Wirawan, Ph.D., Sp.P., a lecturer at the Department of Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia (UI), said that the opinion that vape is safer than conventional cigarettes is quite common. One of them is because vape does not involve the combustion process, so there is an assumption that vape consumption is safer than conventional cigarettes. However, dr. Aditya emphasized the importance of looking at the available scientific evidence to understand the extent to which these claims are true.
He explained that the main differences between vape and conventional cigarettes are in the chemical content and combustion process. Some toxic ingredients in conventional cigarettes are not present in vape and some toxic substances in vape are not present in conventional cigarettes. “However, this does not make vape safe. Scientists are still learning more about the short-term and long-term health effects of vape use,” said Dr. Aditya, who is also a Lung Specialist at RSUI.
dr. Aditya further said that vape or e-cigarettes can cause various health problems, including respiratory irritation, acute bronchitis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and E-cigarette or Vaping Associated Lung Injury (EVALI). “The time it takes for a person to feel the effects of vape can vary depending on various factors, such as an individual’s sensitivity to nicotine and how much inhaling from the vape,” says dr. Aditya.
Some effects can be felt quickly after inhaling vapor from a vape, especially if the vapor contains nicotine. These effects can appear within seconds to minutes after inhalation. Some of the effects include increased energy, calming, or other nicotine sensations, depending on the individual’s sensitivity and tolerance to nicotine.
In addition, people who inhale the vapor or what is called secondhand vaping are also affected. Secondhand vaping exposure is not the same as secondhand smoke exposure from conventional cigarettes. According to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), most of the harmful substances present in conventional cigarette smoke are not present in vape, if they are present they are much lower (<1%).
“While the effects may be different from conventional cigarette smoke, exposure to vape aerosol still carries health risks. The effects of exposure to vape smoke include airway irritation, bronchitis, shortness of breath, asthma exacerbation, and so on. Secondhand vaping exposure can lead to an increased risk of respiratory health problems, especially in children and individuals who already have respiratory health problems,” said dr. Aditya.
Meanwhile, exposure to vape does not only affect humans but also the environment. dr. Aditya said that vape emissions and waste contain a number of nicotine and other toxic chemicals that can be a source of environmental pollution. Vape can increase nicotine and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels in indoor air, albeit to a lesser extent compared to conventional cigarettes. In addition, vapor also contains volatile organic compounds and metals that can contribute to indoor air pollution.
“Although there are not many studies that specifically address the impact of vape vapor on plants, some of the chemicals in the vapor, such as heavy metals and volatile organic compounds, can potentially damage plants if they accumulate in high concentrations. As for the impact on animals, nicotine contained in vape vapor is toxic to many animals and can cause poisoning if inhaled continuously in large amounts or ingested,” said dr. Aditya.
