People who want to stop smoking cigarettes use e-cigarettes as a replacement. But, did you know that both vaping and smoking cigarettes are not good for your health? Smoking is considered one of the most preventable factors of non-communicable diseases. It is a practice in which a substance, usually tobacco, is burned and the resulting smoke is breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. The use of tobacco kills up to half of its users and it can also be deadly to non-smokers. Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. In the Philippines, smoking among adults (20 to 59 years old) declined steadily and is evident among male adults and those in rural areas according to the DOST-FNRI Expanded National Nutrition Survey 2019.
Both smoking cigarettes and vaping are harmful to our health. Based on the available evidence, vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it’s still not safe. Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include various smokeless tobacco products, cigars, cigarillos, hand-rolled tobacco, pipes full of tobacco, waterpipe tobacco, bidis, and kreteks. Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body, including the blood (acute myeloid leukemia, bladder, cervix, colon and rectum, esophagus, kidney, and renal pelvis, larynx, liver, lungs, mouth and throat, pancreas, stomach, trachea, lung. and bronchus. It can also increase the risk of developing stroke, lung diseases, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases the risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems with the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.
On the other hand, vaping is popular among teenagers. Vaping involves breathing in an aerosol that contains several chemicals, including nicotine and flavoring, through an e-cigarette or other device. The impact of vaping is much less than tobacco smoking. However, the record shows that there has been an outbreak of lung injuries and deaths associated with vaping. In February 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 2,807 cases of e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI) and 68 deaths attributed to that condition. Vaping may damage your lungs, increase your risk of cancer, weaken your immune system and delay brain development in fetuses, children, and teenagers.
-DMO II Rowence F. Zorilla, RND
References:
- Expanded National Nutrition Survey:2019 Results
http://enutrition.fnri.dost.gov.ph/site/uploads/2018-2019%20ENNS%20Results%20Dissemination_ADULTS%20and%20ELDERLY.pdf
- Vaping vs. smoking: Which is safer?
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/vaping-vs-smoking#quitting
3.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/5-truths-you-need-to-know-about-vaping
4. Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents in Tobacco Products and Tobacco Smoke: Established List
https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/rules-regulations-and-guidance/harmful-and-potentially-harmful-constituents-tobacco-products-and-tobacco-smoke-established-list
- World Health Organization-Tobacco
