Vaping: A safer smoking alternative or a new health crisis?

The rise of vaping has renewed concerns about nicotine addiction. Initially marketed as a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes, e-cigarettes have fueled a nicotine epidemic, particularly among young people.

E-cigarettes have introduced a new pathway for people to get hooked on nicotine. While some adults view them as a safer alternative to smoking, stories like Kev Wong’s show how complete the switch to vapes can be. 

Health risks of vaping

Although e-cigarettes lack tar and other harmful byproducts of combustion, health professionals say they are far from being harmless. 

According to Dr. Stanton Glantz, a retired professor from University of California, San Francisco Department of Cardiology, said the idea that non-combustible tobacco products like vapes are not harmful is “just oversimplified and wrong.”

“There’s a lot of heavy metals in e-cigarettes that aren’t in cigarettes, or at much lower levels,” Glantz said, such as the heating of the metal coil in vapes. But on the flip side, many of the chemicals that are present in traditional cigarettes and tobacco products are absent or at a much lower level than e-cigarettes, which is why, Dr. Glantz says that vaping is “just a different toxic exposure than a cigarette.” 

In addition to the heavy metals that come from heating the vape coil, many flavored vapes contain flavoring agents like cacao oil, butter flavoring (also known as diacetyl), or cinnamon oil that is safe to consume but are toxic when inhaled through vaping. 

Glantz co-published a paper in February that conducted a general population study comparing the effects of e-cigarettes in comparison to cigarettes. The study found that the risk of “cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease and stroke are just as bad as a cigarette.” While rates for lung disease can be lower than cigarettes, it is still not significantly healthier or lower. 

Using just a vape can be estimated to be on average about 10-15% healthier than a traditional cigarette. However, Dr. Glantz points out that nearly 30-60 are dual users of e-cigarettes and combustible tobacco products, demonstrating that vaping is not a good way to quit smoking, according to Dr. Glantz. 

He points out that clinical studies of e-cigarettes do have efficacy and increase the likelihood of quitting smoking, but since in these clinical studies patients are under medical supervision and are often combined with smoking cessation counseling, vapes alone cannot be attributed to individuals quitting in a clinical study. 

“Almost everyone who uses these cigarettes is going to a store and buying them and using them however they want,” Glantz told Oakland Voices. Without clinical intervention and medical supervision, Glantz attests, it’s difficult to quit smoking just by vaping. “In the short run, they don’t help people quit smoking, and in the long run, they prompt relapse,” Glantz said. 

From cigarettes to e-cigarettes

Kev Wong, 30, from East Oakland, began smoking at 14 while attending Oakland High School. He recently switched to vaping after he tried it with his girlfriend.

“I trashed on vaping because (it) ain’t gangsta,” Wong said. “After my girl shared them with me, I realized it wasn’t that bad and before I knew it I quit smoking (cigarettes).”

Wong said that he was spending on average between $20-30 a week for two packs of cigarettes. Since switching to vaping, he’s averaging $40-50 a month for two vapes. Although he feels “healthier” and also sees a financial benefit, Wong expressed concerns that younger generations that are around the same age as when he started smoking could pick up the habit easily and get addicted to nicotine.

“Smoking cigarettes is like drinking liquor, even though it tastes bad, we find reasons to make it feel good,” Wong said. “Even though there’s a flavor ban on cigarettes and vapes in California, people today still find a way to get them and I think when you have access to something that looks cool and tastes good it’s easier to follow along and get addicted to it.”

Vaping among youth

The impacts of vaping are even more worrisome among the youth. Nicotine consumption among today’s is the dominant form of nicotine consumption, according to Glantz. He also points out that many kids who are addicted to nicotine from vapes are not cigarette smokers.

“The market penetration into youth for e-cigarettes is way higher than among adults,”  Glantz said, noting that social media and tech features like games and Bluetooth connectivity make vapes especially appealing to youth.  Social media is commonly used to market vapes and other illicit substances to kids. 

How has flavor ban impacted vape sales?

Efforts to like California’s flavor ban have already contributed to decreasing rates of youth vaping, Glantz believes. Oakland banned flavored tobacco sales in 2017, and City Council voted to close a loophole in 2020 for adult-only smoke shops. It’s unclear how the flavor ban has impacted vaping in Oakland. Oakland Voices contacted multiple smoke shop owners in Oakland; however, all of them declined to be interviewed or were unavailable at the time.