What dangers do children who are exposed to secondhand vapour from e-cigarettes face?
The aerosol produced by using an e-cigarette typically receives little, if any, attention. The vaping aerosol, which is normally inhaled and exhaled from a battery-powered e-cigarette, tends to disappear rapidly, even when it is detectable. A classic combusted tobacco cigarette, on the other hand, frequently leaves behind smoke.
The fact that e-cigarettes are discrete and are advertised as potential cessation aids to help people stop smoking may contribute to the idea that vaping has no adverse consequences on those around you, according to experts. Vaping is not fully safe for users, and it may affect nonusers as well, it is becoming increasingly obvious as more research on the detrimental health effects of these unregulated products is done.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine is a highly addictive substance that is included in the majority of e-cigarettes, even those that are touted as being nicotine-free. Numerous more toxic or potentially harmful chemicals are present in aerosol.
The CDC lists the following chemicals as being present in vaping aerosol:
particles that are so tiny they can be inhaled all the way into the lungs.
Having a flavour similar to diacetyl, a substance connected to the dangerous, chronic lung condition known as obliterative bronchiolitis.
Volatile organic compounds, also known as gases released into the air that could be harmful to human health.
substances that cause cancer.
Nickel, tin, and lead are examples of heavy metals.
According to the American Cancer Society, formaldehyde can occur “if e-liquid overheats or not enough liquid is reaching the heating element (known as a “dry-puff”),” for example.
Dr. S. Christy Sadreameli, a paediatric pulmonologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and a volunteer spokesman for the American Lung Association, claims that “people don’t, I think, always recognise that the secondhand smoke emissions from vaping or e-cigarette use might be dangerous.” We are concerned that youngsters who are nearby could inhale the ultrafine particles and chemicals in aerosols.
While the relative dangers of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes are still being discussed, Sadreameli underlines that “we don’t think they’re harm-free” and “we don’t think the secondhand emissions are safe for youngsters.”
Research on the risks of personal usage and the impact on those who may be near others who vape is limited because vaping is a more recent trend than traditional smoking. However, there are several reasons to avoid smoking e-cigarettes in areas where children may be present, according to experts.
According to Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, head of paediatric research at the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, exposure to any nicotine or tobacco product is harmful to newborns and young children. “Nicotine has great sensitivity in the developing brain.” Nicotine can have an adverse effect on the brain’s growing structure, changing the reward pathways that guide positive reinforcement in the brain, making a child more susceptible to developing a nicotine addiction and other drug addictions in the future.
Tens of thousands of deaths are attributed to secondhand smoke from traditional cigarettes each year in the United States. It is also linked to some baby deaths and SIDS. Similarly, the aerosolized toxins from e-cigarettes may also be a factor in second-hand health issues.
Dr. Thomas Houston, a family physician and former chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians Commission on Health of the Public and Science and Smoking Cessation Advisory Committee, warns that those who vape themselves risk lung irritation and asthma symptoms getting worse. We simply don’t know yet whether this will result in youngsters experiencing asthma flare-ups if they are in the same room as adults who are vaping.
However, he adds that certain studies suggest that exposure to secondhand vaping can cause excessive coughing and lung discomfort in bystanders. Additionally, youth with asthma who were exposed to secondhand aerosol without vaping themselves were more likely to experience an asthma attack, according to a study that was published in the journal Chest in January 2019.
Ultrafine particles breathed deeply into young lungs may affect lung development in addition to possibly exacerbating asthma. Both nicotine intake and aerosol exposure from e-cigarettes can have an impact on lung tissue, according to Winickoff.
According to studies conducted on animals, inhaling the vapour from e-cigarettes slows the development of the lungs’ developing alveoli. According to such findings, early exposure to nicotine in kids may result in declines in lung function, however this is not conclusively proven as e-cigarettes have only recently entered the market. Additionally, he adds that much as secondhand smoke can contribute to increased rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, secondhand vaping may also cause issues with hyperactivity and attention.
While experts stress that more research is needed to understand the consequences of vaping aerosol, they also reaffirm that the risk of harm is high enough that parents should never vape around children or in environments where they will be, such as the home or car.
No Smoking Doesn’t Mean No Vaping
According to survey results, more than half of e-cigarette users also smoke cigarettes. According to experts, some dual users of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes vape with the intention of quitting smoking completely. Others use vaping as a substitute for smoking, particularly in places with restrictive smoking legislation or where smoking is less socially acceptable. Although the survey data doesn’t go into detail to illustrate which scenario is the most typical or differentiate between the causes of dual use.
Many more parents indicate that they vape around kids at home and in their cars, even while some parents still smoke around kids despite well-established science proving the detrimental – and even deadly – effects of secondhand smoke.
Winickoff, who was the principal author on research examining this contradiction and which was published in the journal Pediatrics in April, states that “we saw three-fold greater rates of parents using electronic cigarettes within their homes than smoking.” Only 26% of the parents who were interviewed and who were dual users had a vape-free house policy, compared to approximately 64% of the parents who were smokers. In addition, having a smoke-free driving policy was more common among both dual users and e-cigarette only users combined than it was among vape-only users. Nevertheless, just 35% of drivers had a no-smoking policy, and only 22% had a no-vaping policy.
The results appear to support an incorrect belief that e-cigarettes are safe, even though experts stress that they are not. As more and more teenagers pick up the habit, upsetting public health officials, this misconception is increasing kids‘ exposure to vaping not only firsthand but also secondhand and thirdhand.
Experts stress that kids’ environments should be vape-free at all times. Researchers participating in the Pediatrics study say that this is a message that should be stressed by paediatric healthcare providers to parents as well, but is frequently overlooked. “Parents should develop strongly enforced policies that prohibit the use of e-cigarettes at all times in homes and cars to safeguard children from secondhand and thirdhand exposure,” they advise.
A growing body of research demonstrates how nicotine and other dangerous compounds accumulate on clothing as well as surfaces like carpeting, window treatments, and furniture. Even after a person has stopped smoking, these remaining chemicals may still be harmful to third parties. But e-cigarette aerosols can also leave behind chemical residue, making cigarettes not the only problem. Researchers emphasise in the Pediatrics paper that previous research has shown, for instance, that “e-cigarettes leave deposits of nicotine on surfaces when used inside.”
E-juice flavours can be appealing to children despite potential adverse secondary and thirdhand effects. Little kids have popped the vape juice-filled little pods in their mouths, which has occasionally resulted in nicotine toxicity and even child deaths when the pods were ingested. Experts advise keeping these things locked up and out of children’s reach at all times.
The best – and frequently most challenging – solution, according to experts, is to completely give up smoking and vaping.
If you want to stop using tobacco, Winickoff advises utilising the FDA-approved smoking cessation medications first. These include two types of NRT, the patch and either gum or lozenge for intense cravings. “Then discuss other safe medications to aid in quitting with your doctor.”
Quitting is preferable since children frequently imitate their parents, aside from for the sake of their own health. According to him, teenagers who have smoker parents have a four times greater likelihood of using or starting to smoke themselves. However, “social modelling” could reduce the risk that a child will ever start smoking or vaping for parents who are able to quit.
According to Winickoff, “there is a very clear road from using electronic cigarettes to using traditional tobacco products.” Therefore, if parents can stop smoking, and in fact, the sooner they stop, the more likely it is that their children won’t start smoking either.
Ref: https://health.usnews.com/conditions/articles/secondhand-vaping-risks-for-kid
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