How Does Vaping Kill You?

With the vast wealth of information available online about pretty much every topic possible, one would be tempted to believe that misconceptions would be few and far between. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Conflicting information, disinformation, and other such things can lead to people being misguided about certain things. One of these things is the safety (or rather, lack thereof) of using vape products.

A disturbingly high number of people believe that vape products are a safe alternative to smoking. Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as vaping has been linked to a plethora of illnesses and negative side effects, some downright life-threatening in terms of the danger they pose.

In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the two main types of vapes (namely vapes with nicotine and vapes without it) and their chemical composition, what happens to our bodies when we use vape products, what might drive someone to use vape products, comparing vaping to smoking in terms of risk, and finally tell you the best way to quit vaping for good.

Let’s get started.

Vapes With Nicotine Content

Vapes containing nicotine in their juice are commonly used, and marketed as, a tool to “help you quit smoking”. Due to the nicotine present in this type of vape, however, the addiction to the main substance found in cigarettes and other tobacco products, nicotine, remains unhindered.

In fact, some people reportedly end up consuming higher doses of nicotine daily after switching from smoking to vaping, because they believe that since there’s no smoke, it’s safer.

Due to there being virtually no FDA standards set for vape products, alongside the presence of many different brands and flavors of vapes, it is almost impossible to determine what exactly is in each and every vape’s juice.

However, there are some substances that are commonly present in most brands and flavors, although we’ll focus on those in the next section of the article, as this one is mainly focused on nicotine.

Nicotine is, by all professional accounts, considered a highly addictive stimulant. It is obtained from the tobacco plant, and has the same stimulating effect regardless of the way that it is ingested, be it through smoking, vaping, chewing or patches.

E-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, are a type of vape pens primarily meant for nicotine consumption, although there are some other types of vape products which also contain nicotine.

The nicotine is absorbed into the body in aerosol form, as opposed to smoke in the case of cigarettes. How vape products do this is by using the electricity from their battery or batteries to heat up the nicotine-containing liquid placed inside the vaping device, which brings part of it to a boiling point, causing it to evaporate, and the aerosols are then inhaled.

Although by doing this the user does avoid the potentially unpleasant effects of inhaling smoke from a cigarette while still getting their nicotine fix, it does not make the ingested nicotine any safer to our bodies.

Vapes Without Nicotine Content

Vapes without nicotine content are often considered a safe alternative to cigarettes and vapes which contain cigarettes, but that is virtually always untrue, judging by the vast number of dangerous substances, as well as some substances of which the effects on human organisms upon ingestion are still not well-researched.

To provide you with a better understanding of the chemical composition of vape juices, we will list some of them below, which are rather commonly found in vape products. It is important to note that these chemicals are present in both nicotine-free vapes, as well as their nicotine-containing versions.

First off, let’s start with antifreeze. Also known scientifically as diethylene glycol, this is a clear liquid, which produces no odor, and has a sweet taste. Due to its properties, including the taste, it is often used in vape products as a base. It is toxic, particularly to the lungs.

Heavy metals - for example, nickel, lead and tin, among others - are also often added to vape products for an extra, unique boost to flavor. Heavy metals possess a high toxicity in general. In vapes, they are typically found in the form of ultrafine particles which are inhaled by the user without even realizing it. This is because, despite their solid state, the fact that they are present in the form of very small particles, the body does not even notice that it is inhaling them.

Propylene glycol is used in antifreeze products and as a food additive. While typically not incredibly dangerous on its own, when heated in a vaping device, it may result in a chemical reaction in which it produces propylene oxide, which is a known carcinogen (meaning a substance that can cause cancer in the organism). Propylene glycol is typically added as a base, due to being a clear and odorless liquid.

Benzene may also be present in vape products as a flavor agent. Benzene is a VOG (volatile organic compound) that is most commonly found in car exhaust smoke, and it is known to be toxic.

Other ultrafine particles aside from heavy metals may also be present in vape products, some of them more potentially dangerous than others, depending on what exactly they are.

Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen that is also able to be found in some vape products. Formaldehyde is frequently used in the process of embalming the dead by funeral homes, or embalming dead animals by trophy hunters.

Acrolein is a chemical that is used by farmers against weeds, due to its great herbicidal abilities. Unfortunately, it is also present in some vape and e-cigarette products, and is incredibly toxic and harmful to living organisms when ingested.

Cadmium is a metal that is also found in traditional cigarettes. In vapes, it is present in the form of ultrafine particles most commonly, and can be inhaled deeply into the lungs without the vape user even noticing, due to the tiny size of the particles allowing them to pass through the airways unbothered.

How Does Vaping Kill You?

Now, let’s take a look at some of the negative side effects that may arise as a direct result of vape product use, and how some of these may lead to an untimely death. This includes both nicotine vapes and nicotine-free vapes, although the nicotine vapes are slightly more dangerous due to the additional harmful substance that is nicotine.

First of all, vaping can lead to developing asthma. Asthma is a chronic condition which causes episodes of inflammation and muscle tightening around the airways, which in turn makes it more difficult for the sufferer to breathe. Depending on the severity and type of asthma, some asthma attacks can be deadly without immediate access to emergency medicine such as an emergency inhaler or an epinephrine injection.

In people with existing asthma, the severity of the condition may be worsened as a result of using vape products.

Due to the diacetyl present in some vape products’ flavorings, a condition commonly referred to as “popcorn lung” can develop. The clinical name of this condition is bronchiolitis obliterans, and yes, it is as serious as it sounds. It manifests as scarring of lung tissue, which can be severe and reduce the lungs’ ability to properly expand, process oxygen, and more. This can be deadly, depending on the damage already done. Scarring resulting from this condition is irreversible.

In vapes with nicotine, the nicotine poses a significant risk to the body, particularly to the heart and brain. Nicotine is known to stunt brain development in people whose brains have not fully finished developing, as well as causing arteries to narrow and increasing the blood pressure. This can lead to death from heart attack or stroke.

Due to some chemicals present in vape juices being carcinogenic, this means that developing cancer as a direct result of vaping is possible. Needless to say, cancer is a highly dangerous illness, no matter where it develops, and depending on the specifics, the survival odds may not be great whatsoever.

Finally, EVALI, or e-cigarette and vaping associated lung injury, is a very serious condition characterized by extensive damage to the respiratory system, and has led to quite a few deaths, particularly during the EVALI epidemic in 2019-2020. This condition bears its name due to it being a relatively new health condition, uniquely caused by e-cigarette and vape products.

While there are many more possible health conditions that one may develop as a direct result of using vape products, I believe that the examples listed above serve as a sufficient example of the dangers potentially posed by vaping to its users, and as an answer to the question of how does vaping kill you.

What Drives People To Use Vape Products?

There is, potentially, an unlimited number of possible reasons for why someone may choose to start vaping. It is impossible to name a singular reason that covers each and every vape user like a blanket reason, and as such, we will instead go over a number of the most common reasons that people may choose to start vaping because of.

First of all, let’s take a look at peer pressure. Peer pressure is, as I’m sure many of us are aware of, especially from our teenage years, an incredibly powerful catalyst for a lot of decisions, some of a more questionable nature than others.

In the case of vaping, particularly starting to vape, peer pressure can play a significant role, particularly in teenagers and children, but even adults are not immune to peer pressure. We’ll imagine two scenarios, one for an adult and one for a teen.

Let’s say there’s this office worker who has no history of smoking or vaping. They are in their early to mid 30s and have a decent career, and no extraordinarily high levels of stress or anything like that. On their own, they might have never chosen to, or even been curious about, vape.

However, let’s say that a significant number of their coworkers, whom they interact with daily, are users of vape products, and use them frequently in either the break room or in the parking lot. One day, one of them invites our “scenario protagonist” to inhale from their vape pen. While at first, they may deny to do so, if others join in and the peer pressure builds up, they may eventually end up picking up the habit as a result of the peer pressure.

In the case of a teen, let’s imagine a similar scenario. Let’s say the teen has no outstanding problems with stress and no history of smoking or vaping whatsoever. Now, same as above, their classmates start peer pressuring them into partaking in vaping until the teen does so, caving to peer pressure.

Peer pressure often works because, as humans, we are social animals and experience the need to feel like we fit in with our crowd, so to speak.

Next, let’s look at stress as a catalyst.

Stress often leads to people looking to all sorts of avenues to reduce said stress and its effects. Some people turn to things like meditation, others to smoking, some to vaping, others to working out, etc.. Basically, coping mechanisms against stress vary greatly, including in terms of how healthy (or unhealthy) they are.

Comfort habits are often picked up by people suffering from high stress levels, as the sense of familiarity and, well, habit, that it gives them, helps them calm their nerves. One such comfort habit can be vaping, albeit an unhealthy and dangerous one, but a comfort habit nonetheless.

Next, let’s look at plain old curiosity as a reason for some people starting to vape.

While we don’t have accurate, exact numbers, this seems to be one of the most common causes for people vaping. Person A sees Person B use a vape, gets curious, asks Person B about it, Person B explains what they’re doing, Person A gets further intrigued, tries it, likes the flavor and goes out and buys their own vape device.

While there are countless more possible reasons, ranging in uniqueness, I believe that the examples given above are common enough that they paint a pretty clear image of why most people who vape have started doing so.

Vaping Versus Smoking Health Risks

While e-cigarettes and vaping products are not yet fully understood by science, particularly when it comes to the long-term health consequences they bring to their users, the science already shows that vaping is not a healthy alternative to smoking at all.

First of all, let’s start off by saying that, based on the information we currently have available, vaping seems to be less dangerous than smoking, but merely slightly so. And it is also very important to keep in mind that smoking has been around for centuries and we’ve had plenty of time to discover all the bad things it does to our bodies, whereas vaping hasn’t been around long enough for us to know its long term effects as much as we know those of smoking.

Knowing this, the answer to this section’s question should be: who knows? Depending on the evidence and research that will appear within the next few decades, both smoking and vaping have a roughly equal chance to turn out to be more potentially deadly than the other.

Since we’ve already covered the potential damage that can be done by vaping in a previous section of this article, let’s now examine how smoking, another deadly vice, can affect the body negatively, in potentially fatal ways.

CDC research shows us that smoking cigarettes can cause, among others, extensive damage to every organ of the human body, ranging from the lungs and heart, all the way to the brain and liver.

In the United States alone, almost half a million deaths per year are attributed to smoking by CDC data, with smoking as a direct cause for the condition or conditions which ultimately led to these deaths.

Around 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths, and 80 percent of all COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, an incurable lung condition) are caused by smoking, according to the same CDC data mentioned above.

In men, smoking leads to reduced sperm count and sperm production in the testicles, and it can also lead to erectile dysfunction, due to decreased blood flow throughout the body.

In women, smoking increases the risk of infertility, for similar reasons. During pregnancy, the mother's smoking increases the risk of birth defects and stillbirth.

Heart disease and stroke risks increase with smoking, due to poor cardiovascular health resulting from smoking cigarettes. Both of these can be fatally dangerous.

Smoking also increases the risk of cataracts, increasing the risk of preventable blindness, which requires a surgery to fix.

The immune system’s ability to defend the body from infections is also hindered by smoking, making it less effective at fighting off threats such as bacterial, viral and/or fungal infections and cancer cells, for example.

Smoking can lead to developing chronic lung illnesses, such as COPD and asthma, and can worsen existing lung conditions. The same goes for the heart, as smoking may lead to developing new heart conditions, and can worsen pre-existing cardiac conditions.

Cigarette smoking may also lead to blockages in the arteries and veins, which increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke, and gangrene, among others. In the case of gangrene, part of a limb or the entire limb loses adequate blood supply due to the blockage in the arteries and veins, leading to tissue in that limb beginning to die, which in turn can cause sepsis and death. Amputation of the affected limb is sometimes done to save the patient’s life.

Smoking also increases the risk of cancer in almost every part of the body, including the stomach, lungs, liver, blood and bones.

It can also lead to general inflammation, causing unpleasant side effects that may have serious consequences health-wise.

Disruptions in the chemical balance of the brain that can lead to depression and bipolar disorder have also been attributed to smoking cigarettes.

Knowing all this about smoking, it paints a pretty clear, although brutal, picture of just how damaging this deadly vice can be. It is important to keep in mind that both vaping and smoking are harmful and dangerous, and should be avoided and discarded in favor of a healthier life.

A very quick recap before we move on to the next, and final, section of this article: How does vaping kill you? In a lot of ways. How does smoking kill you? In a lot of ways, too.

Neither option is “better” than the other, in the same way as being shot in the head isn’t “better” than being shot in the heart.

The Best Way To Quit Vaping (And Smoking)

Before I show you the best way in which you can drop both vices (vaping as well as smoking), we need to go over a bit of information, which will make it more clear as to why quitting using this method is the most effective way to quit available.

Let’s first consider what vaping and smoking addictions are. There are two parts to either of these addictions, namely the physical addiction (in the case of cigarettes and vapes containing nicotine), and mental addiction.

Physical addiction is a direct result of nicotine, and quitting can cause physical withdrawal symptoms ranging in severity from slight headaches and cravings to head-splitting migraines and nearly irresistible cravings, among others. The intensity of the symptoms of physical withdrawal from nicotine depends on a multitude of factors, including but not limited to length and frequency of nicotine use.

The mental addiction results from the acquired familiarity with the actions associated with vaping or smoking. Once you form a habit, especially one that becomes part of your daily routine and is repeated numerous times each day, it leads to feelings of discomfort and unease when that habit is stopped. This can make it more difficult to successfully quit your vices.

In the case of physical addiction, meditation can be a great tool to fight the cravings and headaches resulting from the withdrawal.

When it comes to the mental side of the addiction, a very effective method to quit is called habit replacement method. This method involves replacing the habits associated with the vice with equivalent but healthy alternatives, which do no harm to your organism. This allows you to keep the habits which have come to bring you comfort and a sense of familiarity, while cutting out the negative health effects at the same time.

There are three main habits associated with the mental side of the addiction to both vaping and smoking, namely:

1. The object holding habit - This habit is the habit of holding the object of your addiction in your hand, ready to use. Before quitting, this is either a cigarette or a vaping device. Holding this item in your hand has come to bring you a sense of calm, and it feels comforting to hold it due to being so used to it.

1. The hand to mouth habit - This refers to the habit of moving the object of your addiction in your hand up to your mouth, in preparation for a drag from it. This has the same calming and comforting effect, as it is also part of the mental addiction.

1. The inhale, exhale habit - This is the habit of inhaling the smoke or aerosol from your addiction’s preferred object, and then releasing it. This is usually the most important element of the psychological addiction, as it is the culminating point in the process, as your brain is used to this being the time that gets you the calmest, as it is the culmination of all three habits or steps.

That is all about this information. Now, let us go over the best method to quit vaping and smoking that is currently available on the market, the Bliss Eden.

The Bliss Eden is a marvelous little tool that has helped, and continues to help, many people to quit vaping and smoking, as well as achieve generally calmer states of mind, and, for those inclined to do so, to embark on their spiritual journeys.

Being that the Bliss Eden is carefully crafted from medical grade 316 stainless steel, and is devoid of any harmful chemical or material in its composition, it is completely safe to use as needed, without needing to fear any negative side effects in terms of your health.

The Bliss Eden is small in size, and light as a feather in terms of weight, a fact that makes it very easy and comfortable to keep on your person at all times and carry around to use whenever and whenever you may need to do so.

Shaped in the shape of a pendant, it can be worn around your neck as a necklace, allowing it to add to your fashion style while also being just the tool you need whenever you require it, should those pesky cravings arise.

The Bliss Eden helps you quit vaping and smoking by replacing all three habits which are habits of the mental side of the addiction or addictions. It is custom machined to allow for slow, deep breathing through its mouthpiece and hollow interior, while also making performing deep breathing techniques far easier, even for complete beginners.

When breathing through the Bliss Eden’s mouthpiece, one does not need to be concerned about making noise and drawing attention to themselves because of that, as using the Bliss Eden is whisper silent.

Deep breathing techniques can be used as a way to both replace the third element of the mental addiction, as well as a way to reduce stress, further helping alleviate the intensity of cravings.

The way that deep breathing exercises work is the following: one is supposed to breathe in deeply and slowly for a number of seconds, hold that breath in for an equal number of seconds, and then slowly letting out the breath for an equal number of seconds yet again.

The other two elements of the mental addiction can simply be replaced by holding the Bliss Eden, and bringing it up to your mouth in your hand, effectively allowing you to keep all three habits associated with your addiction, and the comfort that these habits bring, while cutting out any negative substance or chemical.

As a bonus, deep breathing exercises facilitated by the Bliss Eden, when combined with meditation, help you achieve much lower stress levels overall.

The Bliss Eden can be used even while walking, and in public. Due to its small size, inconspicuous shape and whisper silence when in use, it is very hard to draw attention to yourself while using it.

The Bliss Eden comes together with a beautiful necklace, to be worn around your neck. You also get to choose from four different colors: gold, rose gold, matte black and silver.

Additionally, when purchasing the Bliss Eden, you also receive a cleaning cloth and brush, stickers, and a chakra bracelet to help guide you on the start of your spiritual journey, should you be so inclined.

Finally, you also get a money-back guarantee should you not be satisfied with the product for whatever reason, alongside excellent customer support and 3-day shipping across the entirety of the continental United States.

All of this makes the Bliss Eden the best method available out there to quit vaping and/or smoking.

I wish you the best of luck in taking your life back from the vices, and gaining the healthy and calm life you deserve.