Sore Throat and Vaping: Mild Side Effect One Can Easily Manage?
Vaping is on the rise, and more smokers and non-smokers are turning into vapers. The alternative to cigarettes is particularly popular with teenagers, which makes its spread even more alarming. Vaping is generally viewed as a safe substitution for tobacco, but it is definitely not true. One of the side effects you can experience is a sore throat. Some say it is easy to fix it, but is it really that insignificant?
A sore throat is one of the reasons tobacco smokers switch to e-cigarettes. In an attempt to get rid of the sensation, they opt for vapors, hoping that a presumably milder substance will not harm their throat that much. However, in many cases, it results in a failure: the very same sore throat persists.
Pro-vaping websites offer solutions to the problem. According to them, a sore throat may strike if the composition of the liquid used is not optimal or when some adjustments to the device itself should be made. They say a little tweaking will solve the issue, and all it takes is to make some changes to the way you vape. Let’s take a look at what they suggest doing.
Sore Throat Due to Vaping
A sore throat results from a throat hit. Even in e-cigs that contain no nicotine, there are chemicals that can cause a sore throat.
- A sore throat can be a symptom of nicotine withdrawal. Actually, it is experienced quite often when a person tries to use vaping as a means of quitting smoking. If you have recently stopped smoking and switched to vaping, the chances are your body is adapting to vapors, as the liquids used for it may have a lower level of nicotine in them or do not have it at all. This way of smoking cessation is not approved by the FDA, given how addictive e-cigs can be due to flavorings which mask the dangers behind vaping. According to experts at Yale, teenagers tend to underestimate the risk of using the Juul and other electronic cigarettes, believing that ‘it’s just flavored vapor’.
- Another problem behind the sore throat is a high concentration of polypropylene glycol. Increasing the concentration of vegetable glycerin could help lower the risk of a sore throat, and staying hydrated is often advised. Of course, hydration is a good thing – regardless of whether you are a vaper or not. But drinking more water will not make vapors safer – by trying to extinguish the fire with water, you can only fuel it: the symptom may disappear, leading you to believe that nothing harmful is affecting your throat. It is not without reason that the body develops the symptom: it signals that something is wrong, that the vapor is hurting the tissues. Masking it won’t negate the danger.
- The vapors inhaled often contain diacetyl and volatile organic compounds, known for causing irritation of the throat. The former is associated with bronchiolitis obliterans, a disease commonly referred to as popcorn lung. As of this moment, there is not enough evidence to conclude that there is a direct link between diacetyl in e-cig liquids and popcorn lung in humans, but it may well be the case, and more research is needed. As for VOCs, these have been found to be carcinogenic.
Vaping is not as benign as it may seem. It can cause quite a large number of health problems, with some rare disease cases reported. A sore throat is a symptom that can be managed, but suppressing it by adjusting the contents of liquids or increasing your water intake won’t make it less dangerous.
In the U.S., there is an epidemic of vaping, a habit that is advertised as something cool and safe. It is only if the dangers behind it are exposed that the rates of its use among both teenagers (the primary target) and adults can decrease.
