Respiratory expert delivers warning to those who vape
A respiratory health expert from Oxfordshire has warned parents of the damage vaping can cause after the World Health Organisation confirmed 15 million children globally use e-cigarettes.
Dr Rachel Hoyles, a consultant at Welbeck Health Partners, wants parents to be mindful of the harm vaping from an early age can cause – adding that adults who use vapes as an alternative to cigarettes must plan to come off them in the long-term.
Her message has been issued as part of Stoptober, which has helped 2.5 million people quit smoking since the campaign’s launch in 2012.
In Oxfordshire, it’s estimated more than 66,000 adults are regular vapers.
Dr Hoyles said people can consider therapy strategies such as patches, gums, nasal sprays and nicotine inhalers to get out of the habit of using cigarettes and vapes.
“Ultimately, we don’t know what the long-term consequences of vaping are,” said Dr Hoyles. “There is an unknown, just like there was with smoking.
“The concern is how vaping will affect a developing lung when a person has unknown inhalational compounds, which leads to question marks of long-term health concerns.
“Vaping can make a person feel tremulous and anxious, it reduces attention too. Plus, devices allow a person to choose the strength they’d like and children are especially vulnerable to select the highest strength to get that nicotine hit.
“It’s a real concern in school age children, who couldn’t possibly concentrate after vaping.
“Vaping is very successful at getting people off cigarettes, but the wider message needs to be linked with stopping vaping too.”
Dr Hoyles also warned vapers against purchasing products from unregulated sources owing to additional health concerns.
Diacetyl and Vitamin E Acetate are illegal substances in the UK and have been linked to causing irreversible lung conditions such as bronchiolitis obliterans, or popcorn lung – and aggressive lung inflammation, EVALI.
She added: “You can still access vapes containing both substances from non-reputable sources online.
“Diacetyl has a buttery flavour, and was originally used to coat popcorn. But the damage both elements cause can be permanent.
“Vaping can be a great stepping-stone to helping people in quitting smoking for good. But we’d strongly advise against non-smokers being lured into using vapes by the flavours available and brightly coloured packaging which is an issue.”
Dr Hoyles will lead a team of respiratory health experts at Welbeck’s state-of-the-art £30m medical practice in Jordan Hill when it opens in the north of the city next year.
The centre will deliver on-the-day checks of people’s lungs to understand any damage that has been caused, with breathing tests also used to determine if a smoker is suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.