Discover the Ways Vaping is Connected to Oral Cancer

Originally meant to help regular smokers quit, new evidence shows that vaping can severely increase your risk of developing cancer.

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In the last decade, vaping has become a popular form of nicotine intake. Originally advertised to help regular smokers wean themselves off of cigarettes, long-term use is not necessarily the safer choice.

Did you know that the earliest form of this smoking alternative can be traced to the use of hookahs from around the 15th century? People at that time thought, incorrectly, that passing smoke through water before entering the lungs could minimize the intake of toxins.

In truth, water does little to filter out toxins. Moreover, vaping can severely increase your risks of developing cancer. This alternative to traditional smoking has been linked to new lung illnesses and the possibility of oral, lung and even bladder cancers. 

What are e-cigarettes?

Today, portable devices like e-cigarettes and vaping devices have taken over the market with their smaller and more convenient products. E-cigarettes are electronic cigarette devices that have a heated coil. This heated coil produces an aerosol from the liquid in the container, which a person then inhales. The aerosolized liquid usually contains some amount of nicotine and often has appealing flavors. 

What are the effects?

Because the e-cigarette has less nicotine than a traditional cigarette, it has been marketed as a “safer” alternative and one that could help someone quit smoking. However, in addition to nicotine, there are other dangerous chemicals found in the liquid that users inhale.

A 2019 study of mice showed that e-cigarette vapor caused cellular damage to the lungs and bladders of the mice and inhibited the repair of DNA in lung tissue. Over the course of a year, the mice developed lung cancer and precancerous bladder lesions. According to the CDC, this is caused by the chemicals in the vape liquid, as well as the heavy metals from the vape coil leaching into the vape liquid.

When these chemicals are aerosolized and breathed into the lungs, it causes heavy metal poisoning and ultra-fine particle pollution, which causes tissue damage. It is theorized that the unrepaired tissue is what leads to cancer. Most e-cigarette users are under the age of 35, but lung and oral cancer isn’t usually diagnosed until they are 65 or older

Although vaping has brought about a new lung risk known as E-cigarette or Vaping-use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI), it may be a few decades before we see the full effects of vaping. 

Great American Smokeout - Smoking cessation

Make Better Habits

It’s never too late to break the habit of nicotine use, whether you are vaping or smoking traditional cigarettes. The act of vaping itself will not quell the addiction to nicotine—the desire to quit needs to come from the user. If you are looking to quit smoking, consider downloading these helpful apps, or join an online forum to talk with others going through a similar experience.

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