Dentist explains why smoking Elf Bars is not the same as smoking flavoured air
A dentist has explained why smoking a disposable vape is not the same as simply breathing in ‘flavoured air’ and is actually much more damaging.
The popularity of vapes has exploded in recent years, and while it can be a helpful tool to get people to quit smoking, concerns have been raised about people - particularly children and young people - picking up the habit despite not previously having a nicotine addiction.
In an attempt to combat children vaping, the UK’s most popular brand of disposable vape Elf Bar, and its sister company Lost Mary, have announced it will be dropping its dessert and soft drink flavoured vapes.
Advert
Elf Bar has already ditched several flavours including Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, and Rainbow Candy, with a spokesperson telling the BBC more will be dropped but that the change will ‘take some time to filter through the supply chain’.
The company also called for tighter restrictions on the sale of vapes including a new licensing regime similar to the ones in place for cigarettes and alcohol.
Puffing away on a vape may trick you into thinking you’re basically just inhaling a scented, flavoured air - but one dentist has explained why that really isn't the case.
TikToker and dentist Dr Vikas Prinja, who goes by The London Dentist on social media, has offered a few simple reasons why using vaping products isn’t ideal for your teeth, and certainly isn’t without risks to your health.
In the TikTok video, he explained: “Smoking Geek and Elf Bars are not the same as smoking flavoured air - here’s what it’s doing to your mouth.”
He continued: “They have two percent nicotine salts, which is equivalent to 20 milligrams of nicotine, so they’re super addictive.
“It gets absorbed quickly and one vape bar is equivalent to 48 to 50 cigarettes, which means higher rates of gum disease and even tooth loss.
“The liquid also has propylene glycol which absorbs the moisture out of your mouth and leading to dry mouth, and this leads to higher rates of bad breath.
“The liquid also contains vegetable glycerine which makes your teeth more sticky to cavity causing bacteria leading to holes like this.”
At that point in the video, a picture appears on the screen showing a tooth with a pretty nasty looking hole right in the middle of it.
Not what anyone wants, right?
Hopefully the knowledge that they are not without adverse health effects and certainly not the same as inhaling ‘flavoured air’ will convince some that they should pack the whole thing in, or convince others not to pick up the habit in the first place.
Claire Reid