Urgent warning to teenagers who vape after shock investigation into confiscated e-cigs
An urgent warning has been issued to teenagers - and anyone who uses e-cigarettes for that matter - about what is actually inside them.
For many, the smoking of e-cigs is seen as a healthier way to smoke, rather than buying bog-standard cigarettes over the supermarket counter.
Some even use them as a way to quit smoking altogether as, using vapes as a way to wean themselves off.
And while studies have found that vaping is somewhat better for you than smoking regular cigarettes, it doesn't mean that vaping is good for you - it's far from it, in fact.
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A recent study has found that toxic metals are lurking inside of cheap vapes - a product that is very popular amongst school kids, teenagers and young adults.
The BBC has displayed the full results of an investigation done by Baxter College in Kidderminster, which tested e-cigs that were confiscated from youngsters.
In their findings, they found that the e-cigarettes contained dangerous levels of lead, nickel and chromium - some that were even ten times above the safe limit, which will come as worrying news to parents.
Exposure to these substances can be fatal, with lead being able to impair brain development and nickel and chromium causing blood clotting.
Alongside that, the long-term effects of e-cigarettes remain unclear, as they haven't been around in the market long enough for researchers to collect enough data on it.
Doctors fear that vaping could see an huge wave of lung disease, dental issues and even cancer in the years to come, as youngsters continue to use e-cigarettes.
David Lawson, the man leading the research behind the confiscated vapes, told the BBC: "In 15 years of testing, I have never seen lead in a device.
"None of these should be on the market — they break all the rules on permitted levels of metal. They are the worst set of results I've ever seen."
Lawson also found that most of the e-cigarettes he and his team tested were illegal and had not been tested before being sold in the UK.
While metals were thought to have been present in the vapes due to the heating element inside of them, the test results actually showed that they were actually in the e-liquid.
Therefore, they are being directly inhaled while smoked, increasing the potential of blood clots and the risk of further health implications like cancer in the future.
Callum Jones