All the parts of your body that are affected when you vape
By now you should know that vaping is not good for you.
With it being found that chronic vaping causes the same risk of heart disease as smoking cigarettes, disposable vapes could now be made illegal on health and environmental grounds as of next week.
And while plenty of studies have shown that using vapes is better than smoking cigarettes, they still contain a number of chemicals and, of course, nicotine that can impact your health in the long run.
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"Nicotine vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking," the NHS explains. "It's also one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking.
"Vaping is not recommended for non-smokers and young people because it is not completely harmless."
Lots of research has gone into this topic as a whopping 4.7 million people in Britain use e-cigarettes, as of 2023, which is a big jump from just 700,000 in 2012.
And now, one study has revealed how vapes can affect different parts of the body.
Texas Department of State and Health Services of Texas Health and Human Services has looked into the extent of the damage vapes could be causing to people's bodies.
The US service states: "Research suggests that vaping may affect the way cells in the respiratory tract (nose, throat, lungs) react to germs and may increase the chance of disease and infection from bacteria and viruses, like the virus that causes COVID-19.
"Vaping may also make it harder to recover from infections and increase the possibility of complications."
According to the research, vapes emit 'an aerosol that includes at least 31 chemicals and compounds that affect different parts of the body'.
But what parts of the body are impacted?
Well, we all know every time we lock our lips round one of the multicoloured bars and puff some pineapple-flavoured air that we're definitely not doing any favours for our lungs.
Indeed, Texas Department of State and Health Services explains the flavouring chemicals - such as diacetyl - used to give the vapes their fruity puff can 'permanently injure the lungs'.
"Breathing in ultra fine vapor particles can cause asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath," it adds.
Vaping also has an affect on not only your throat, but your eyes and nose too.
The research notes: "Chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, severe headaches, nausea, and organ damage.
"Formaldehyde irritates the eyes, nose, throat, and skin and may cause lung and throat cancer over time."
And your organs get a battering when you inhale the fruit-flavoured vapour and nicotine as well.
Affecting your brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and liver, the 'heavy metals' in vapes can 'build up in the blood and organs and cause damage'.
The most important organ in the body - the brain - is also impacted when you keep hitting a vape, particularly if you're in your teens.
Texas Department of State Health Services states: "The brain is still developing until about age 25. Using nicotine in adolescence can permanently harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control."
You may not have considered how your face may have been affected, but the batteries in vapes could end up causing 'serious burns' to your skin if they explode and the department even warns there's even been one death recorded as a result of this too.
So, maybe it's time to call it quits for good this time.
Anish Vij