Most young people won’t bother to ask, “Are e-cigarettes harmful to your lungs?” Unfortunately, a consensus study report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine that look at results of more than 800 studies found the lungs and heart are at risk of damage from vaping.

How Can E-cigarettes Be Harmful?

One study from the University of North Carolina determined that two of the main ingredients in e-cigarette vaping juices are toxic to cells. The two dangerous chemicals, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, even have a greater toxicity when the concentration of the ingredients is higher in the vaping juice. Most vaping juices also contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance with multiple known adverse health effects.

Do E-cigarettes Really Contain a Weed Killer?

Many e-cigarettes allegedly contain acrolein, which is an herbicide, also known as a weed killer. The toxin has been linked to acute lung injury, COPD, asthma and lung cancer.

Are Young People Getting Sick?

Currently, 94 cases of an undiagnosed lung disease have been associated with vaping in 14 states. Nearly all of those involve teens or young adults. State and federal health officials are investigating because many of these young people have required hospitalization, intensive care, and can only breathe while on ventilators.

What Are Symptoms of This Lung Illness Linked to Vaping?

Most of the reported illnesses indicate shortness of breath, fatigue, cough, chest pain and weight loss, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ investigation notice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with state officials to find out what the root cause of the illness is. Thirty of the 94 lung disease cases have been seen in Wisconsin residents.

What Have People Who Have Become Sick Been Vaping?

Health care workers say sick patients have vaped different substances, including nicotine-based juices, marijuana-based products and self-created “home brews.”

Are E-cigarettes Harmful to Your Lungs and Your Heart, Too?

The lungs and heart are particularly vulnerable to vaping because of the number of toxins that enter the body through the inhalation of nicotine and aldehydes (acetaldehyde and formaldehyde), which have been linked to both lung disease and heart disease.

The Stanford School of Medicine also found that vaping liquids may increase the risk of heart disease because of the damage they inflict on the cells that make up the lining of a blood vessel. Vaping liquids have been shown to cause DNA damage to endothelial cells, which are the important strengthening cells that form a blood vessel’s lining.

My Son Said He Only Vapes Non-Nicotine Substances So He Will Not Become Addicted. Is That Possible?

Young people often don’t know that their vape liquid contains nicotine.

According to a report from NBC News, researchers surveyed 500 young people who said they only vape nicotine-free vaping products. Of those users, 40 percent had urine tests that tested positive for nicotine. The study was published in the Aug. 22, 2019, medical journal Pediatrics.

The lead professor said the urine tests indicated almost every child was inhaling as much as or more nicotine than he would with traditional cigarettes.

Are the Vape Juice Flavorings Dangerous?

The University of California – Riverside parsed 99 different chemical flavorings from the 20 most popular vaping liquids. One packet alone contained between 22 and 47 different chemicals. Ethyl maltol, a toxin, was found to be an ingredient in more than half of all vaping juices tested. []

Are Secondhand Emissions from E-cigarettes Harmful to Your Lungs and Heart?

The U.S. Surgeon General and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine warn that secondhand emissions from e-cigarettes should be avoided. The Surgeon General released a report in 2016 that said secondhand emissions expose others to “nicotine; ultrafine particles; flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease; volatile organic compounds such as benzene, which is found in car exhaust; and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead.”