E-cigarettes : What is truly happening behind the (brain) fog?
Quit vaping easily thanks to hypnotherapy.
Audrey Vallat - Clinical Hypnotherapist
In this article, you will find:
1. Introduction: How many puffs in ordinary cigarettes and in e-cigarettes?
2. Conscious and unconscious addiction
3. Testimony
4. History
5. EVALI (E-cigarette Vaping-Associated Lung Injury) and symptoms
6. Popcorn lung disease
7. Passive contamination
8. Heart problems
9. Other dangers (babies / DNA)
10. Most common myths
11. Conclusion
+ Description of the main E-liquids
+ Chemical reactions with aromas
+ Channel 7 Video
+ Sources
Introduction
Quick question for you: Do you know how to compare a vape bar (or electronic cigarette) to a pack of standard cigarettes?
Let's see… Let's assume a pack of cigarettes has 20 cigarettes and each cigarette delivers 10 puffs. So we have 200 puffs per pack, right?
A typical vape bar delivers 2300 puffs. Some deliver 1800, others 3500, or even 5500 puffs, but for the sake of our little exercise, let’s use an average bar of 2300 puffs. So if we divide 2300 by 200, that gives us… 11.5 packs of regular cigarettes per ‘e-cigarette’!!! That’s more than 11 packs of cigarettes per vape bar!!!!
Of course, some will argue that they do not vape the 2300 puffs in one day. Sure. So just out of curiosity, how many times do you vape every day? Every hour? Every 15 mn? Every 5 mn? How often do you hit your vape? Or rather, how often does it hit you?!
Shocking, isn't it? It is even more shocking since we now have a perspective and we are beginning to truly understand the perverse effects of e-cigarettes on our body and mind. Yes, our mind as well, because the battle does not only rage in our lungs and our heart (see below), but also in our mind. How? An addiction is anchored in the conscious through the effects of nicotine in the body, granted, but also and above all in the unconscious through a repeated action, which becomes a habit. However, if a cigarette smoker repeats the gesture of putting a cigarette to his mouth 200 times per pack, and a ‘vaper’ repeats it 2300 times per vape bar, you realise how much more your brain is affected, don’t you? A neurological pathway is created through habit. What is a neurological pathway? Let's use this analogy: A thought, gesture or behaviour is barely visible, at the very beginning, in the brain. It is like a person walking through a wheat field, without leaving a trace. But let's say that this person is using the same way through the field, day after day: Then, a path will form. Therefore, if the thought, gesture or behaviour is repeated more and more often, the path will turn very quickly into a country road… a main road … then a highway. It becomes a pattern which is very difficult to get rid of in the conscious mind. So, to treat an addiction, you actually have to kick out the habit from the unconscious mind. How do we do that? Using techniques that communicate with the unconscious, such as hypnosis, EMDR, NLP…
Testimony
Actually, it was José, a French freelance hairstylist at Hairvolution in Bondi Junction, who first opened my eyes to the danger of e-cigarettes. Helping my clients quit smoking was common for me. Helping them stop vaping, I had already done that too, but without really looking into the subject. To me, vaping was just a way to quit smoking - that's what we're told, isn't that??? However, José had mentioned several points that had shocked me, such as the comparison between ordinary cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, described in the introduction above. I started to do some research in order to prepare his ‘quit vaping’ hypnotherapy session, and I was horrified to discover the horrible effects of what is being touted as a 'healthy' alternative to smoking. What a complete lie! So I thank José for allowing me to “see beyond the fog of the electronic cigarette.” Here is his testimony:
“I started 'vaping' during Covid, instead of smoking. At first it was for fun, just to try. But quickly, it became an addiction: I couldn't live without it, from morning to evening, otherwise, I had an anxiety knot in my stomach, waiting for the next hit. I was vaping 2500 puff vape bars… in 3 days! It was the equivalent of more than 12 packs of cigarettes. Crazy!!!
Deep down, I absolutely hated that addiction. I hated the taste that remained in my mouth after the taste of the fruit had gone. I hated being addicted to a chemical thing. It just wasn't me. I was trying to live a healthy and spiritual life, but I was a slave to that crap!
So making the decision to quit vaping was easy. What was less easy was acting on it. I had already quit before, alone, and it had required a very strong will on my behalf. I had fallen for it again, after 7 months. I was quite upset with myself, as for 7 months, I had not fallen for it, I had resisted its call. Then, I thought one hit wouldn't kill me, but it was actually that one hit that led to another one and then another one and another one. That’s how I fell back into the clutches of the 'vape'.
So, I knew that this time, if I wanted to be rid of it once and for all, I needed help.
When Audrey explained that in fact I was a slave to a habit and that a habit was processed at the level of the unconscious, it seemed logical to me. And above all, suddenly, there was hope! She explained to me that we were treating a trauma, a habit, an addiction, a phobia at the unconscious level, using modern techniques such as EMDR, NLP, hypnosis… So… We had an intense 2 hour session, where the 1st part was an exchange around a cup of tea: I explained my problem, my frustrations and my expectations, and Audrey, meanwhile, explained how her techniques worked, and above all, their incredible power. Then the 2nd part was devoted to the use of these techniques: EMDR - instantaneous reprogramming of the brain by eye movement; NLP - setting up my goal in the future; and finally, hypnosis - the best moment of the session, where you completely let go, to wake up an hour later deeply relaxed... And completely "trance-formed"!
The next day, I knew that I had lost all interest in vaping. I forced myself to think about it, but my mind was blank… Clearly reprogrammed!
I haven't touched it for over two months now. But this time it's different. It's much easier than before, since I don't even think about it! I feel free and healthy. La vie est belle !”
History
History repeats itself… In the 1950s, the advertising campaign of the tobacco industry was, literally: “Smoking is good for your health!” Sixty years later, the first electronic cigarette was marketed, with the promise of weaning smokers from smoking… “Vaping is good for your health!”
Even if the electronic cigarette was originally invented in the United States by Herbert Gilbert in 1963, it was the Chinese who finally marketed it: The technology of vaporization by heating resistance, the only technology currently marketed for electronic cigarettes, was invented and patented around 2009 by the Chinese David Yunqiang Xiu, with his Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS). Since then, electronic cigarettes have been largely made in China, with a few models developed and manufactured in small series in Europe and America.
It should be noted that as vaping developed, the tobacco industry has become more and more interested in that market, and each major tobacco player now offers its range of electronic cigarettes... sometimes behind a smoke screen, or even several!
MyBlu: Fontem Ventures is a subsidiary of Imperial Brands (Gauloises, JPS, Winston, Gitanes, etc.)
Vype ePen, eStick, eTank: Vype products are distributed directly by British American Tobacco (Pall Mall, Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Kent, Winfield, Vogue etc.)
Logic: Logic products are distributed by Japan Tobacco International (Winston, Camel, Benson & Hedges, Glamour, etc.)
Juul: Altria (Marlboro, L&M, Philip Morris, Chesterfield, etc.) has held 35% of the capital of the American company Juul since 2019.
The World Health Organisation has declared that the tobacco industry is currently taking advantage of the still unclear status of these products, which allows it to avoid taxes and bans on tobacco. The WHO is particularly concerned about this strategy of promoting electronic cigarettes, under the pretext of supporting tobacco control, while “the available evidence does not support the claim that these products are less harmful than conventional tobacco products”. The WHO would like the electronic cigarette to be the subject of specific regulations, considering that it has not yet been 100% proven for smoking cessation and that it can “undermine efforts to fight tobacco” by constituting a “bridge to nicotine addiction” for young people. Consequently, the insidious marketing strategy of the tobacco manufacturers - which are therefore the same as those of the electronic cigarette - is to make us believe that vaping will enable us to quit smoking, that the e- cigarette will save us from smoking cigarettes. But how could it accomplish this goal, when it contains not only nicotine but also the same chemicals - or even more harmful ones such as diacetyl or cinnamaldehyde, which cause the disease of the popcorn lungs (see below)?
We often hear, “the e-cigarette has nothing to do with the ordinary cigarette. The electronic cigarette is water that turns into vapour, and it contains only a little nicotine. And also, it has cool flavours like mango, strawberry, pineapple, bubblegum, mint, coca-cola etc.” What about those lethal chemicals? Those found in ordinary cigarettes too, by the way? We just forget to mention them. And yet, it is these heated liquid chemicals that are the real culprits of the diseases associated with the electronic cigarette (EVALI - E-cigarette Vaping Associated Lung Injury), not nicotine. “E-cigarettes can kill you the first time you try them,” says Dr. Lucian Durham, an American cardiac surgeon, “because of the liquid chemicals that are so corrosive they can cause damage after just one puff.” The lung damage he has seen in patients is the equivalent to someone smoking cigarettes for decades. “Regular cigarettes can cause lung cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, emphysema and many other diseases. However, it typically takes years, even decades for those conditions to develop. But with vaping, we’re seeing lung damage developing in such less time - often under a year. Patients deteriorate very quickly. They get short of breath, light headed; they pass out, and go into cardiac arrest.”
The symptoms are therefore to be watched carefully, because people suffering from an illness caused by electronic cigarettes present symptoms likely to be confused with those of the flu, but which may in fact be signs of lung damage, due to inhaling these heated e-liquids. Furthermore, it goes without saying that vaping can aggravate asthma and other lung diseases that are already present.
So… If you experience the following symptoms, see a doctor. Seriously. Don't wait until it's too late, like in the video at the end of this article. Dr David Roy, a surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney who specialises in interventional heart surgery, says he is seeing more and more youths being treated in intensive care for cases of EVALI.
Symptoms:
Shortness of breath
Persistent fatigue
Sore throat, cough
Constant headaches
Chest pain
Abdominal pain
Nausea, vomiting
Diarrhoea
High inflammatory marker levels in the blood
Depression
Popcorn lung disease or bronchiolitis obliterans
Although the term “popcorn lung disease” can make you smile, it is actually an extremely serious chronic lung disease that affects the bronchioles, the small airways of the lungs. It was first diagnosed in workers at a popcorn factory -hence the name popcorn- where toxic chemicals, such as diacetyl, were once used to flavour cooked popcorn in the microwave. Diacetyl is one of the products currently found in e-cigarettes; it is frequently added to flavour e-liquids to enhance the taste. Inhalation of diacetyl causes inflammation, which in the long term can cause irreversible necrosis of lung tissue, causing increasingly serious breathing difficulties.
To give you an idea of the severity of these chemicals, here are some other toxic substances that can cause bronchiolitis obliterans :
Fumes from industrial or cleaning chemicals (ammonia or chlorine)
Hydrochloric acid
Acetaldehyde (found in cannabis and vapour from e-cigarettes)
Formaldehyde (used to keep corpses from decomposing, but also found in adhesives, building materials, and e-cigarette smoke)
Mustard gas, a chemical agent which caused internal and external bleeding and had horrific consequences in World War I trenches.
In the case of e-cigarettes, the symptoms of bronchiolitis obliterans appear 2 to 8 weeks after exposure to a given chemical and will worsen over time:
Shortness of breath, especially on exertion
Cough (dry or wet)
Wheezing
Unexplained tiredness
Rapid breathing
Fever
Night sweats
Itchy skin
Popcorn lung disease, or bronchiolitis obliterans, is irreversible. It can be treated but not cured, and once the lungs are affected, you can only try to stop the progression, in particular by removing exposure to the chemicals. The care will, unfortunately, be lifelong. So, the sooner you quit electronic cigarettes, the better for yourself… And for those around you. Indeed, the issue of passive vaping must be raised, just like passive smoking finally got recognised.
As of 2019, the WHO has been reaffirming its position against electronic cigarettes, describing them as ‘unquestionably harmful’. The WHO recommends banning electronic cigarettes for under-age individuals and would like to see vaping banned in closed public spaces, worried about passive contamination such as THA (Thirdhand e-cigarette aerosol), i.e potentially contaminating residues that are chronically deposited on the skin, hair, clothing and materials in our environment.
Heart problems
From the moment you start vaping, the nicotine rush causes your adrenaline levels to rise: your heart beats faster and your blood pressure goes up, which then increases your heart's oxygen needs. Hence chest and heart pain.
There is now evidence that e-cigarettes can increase abnormal heart rhythms and the risk of stroke. A study published in March 2017 in JAMA Cardiology found that habitual e-cigarette users had abnormal heart rhythms similar to cigarette smokers. Abnormal heart rhythm is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and sudden death in people with or without known heart disease.
Other dangers of e-cigarettes
Other potential long-term (long-term = one year or more) side effects of e-cigarettes include reproductive problems and low birth weight in babies born to women who used e-cigarettes during pregnancy.
Vaping also alters DNA. E-cigarettes were found to cause the same degree of DNA damage as regular cigarettes - more than double than in non-users. DNA damage is higher in those who vape or smoke more frequently. It is also higher in vapers who prefer sweet flavours, fruit flavours or mint flavours. The DNA sequence of a gene can be altered in many ways, and mutations can have varying health effects, depending on where they occur and whether they alter the function of essential proteins. See https://www.drugwatch.com/e-cigarettes
What are the most common e-cigarette myths?
There are electronic cigarettes without nicotine. True... But... The fact is that there are many e-cigarettes whose labels do not mention 'nicotine', and which nevertheless contain some. A study carried out in June 2023 by Spotlight/Channel 7 revealed that out of 43 e-cigarettes sent to the laboratory for analysis, only one mentioned on its label that it contained nicotine. The other 42 had nicotine as well… but didn't mention it! (see the video at the end of the article).
The electronic cigarette without nicotine is safe. Wrong! Because even if you manage to find an electronic cigarette without nicotine, the flavours and additives in e-liquids, despite being classified as food grade ingredients, can have many harmful effects. When these liquid chemicals are heated and inhaled, they travel down the lungs and coat the alveoli that are crucial for breathing. Once these are blocked, the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide can no longer occur, causing an inflammatory reaction in the body: ARDS - acute respiratory distress syndrome. See the following 2018 study.
People who end up in intensive care do so only because they use THC, the chemical component of marijuana that gives users a high. Wrong. Most patients who end up in intensive care smoke nicotine, not THC.
Conclusion
Will my lungs heal after vaping? Whether your lungs can recover will depend on the extent and type of damage caused by the e-cigarettes. The lungs can regenerate some damaged tissue, yes. However, when the damage is too great, it can be permanent. The most common and least serious situation is having nausea or headaches after vaping too much. Usually, when you stop vaping, you will feel better soon.
It is essential, however, to quit as soon as possible, as soon as you feel any symptoms - or better yet, even before! If you persist, your health will deteriorate very quickly. Don't wait to reach the ‘popcorn lung' stage. Make the vital decision to quit right now, okay?
E-Liquids
It’s difficult to determine exactly what can be found in the thousands of different e-liquids, also called e-juice or vape juice. Part of that is because the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t reviewed ingredients or set standards yet.
Besides, there are many brands and flavours with many different ingredients. Studies have found more than a hundred compounds in e-cigarette liquids. Even more compounds are created when chemicals are heated and vaporized, according to a 2018 review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. These chemicals can pose serious health risks because of chemical reactions with or without heating them.
E-liquids typically contain propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin which are the carriers of flavour and nicotine. However, nicotine is far from being the most harmful ingredient in e-liquids. Have a look and take your pick! Perfect example: Formaldehyde - used all over the world to prevent corpses from decomposing! Mmmm…
Acetaldehyde
Acetaldehyde is primarily used as an intermediate in the manufacture of a range of chemicals, perfumes, dyes, plastics, synthetic rubber and in some fuel compounds. It is known to cause cancer.
When you vape, some of the acetaldehyde enters your blood, damaging your membranes and possibly causing scar tissue. It also leads to a hangover, and can result in a faster heartbeat, a headache or an upset stomach. The brain is most affected by acetaldehyde poisoning. It causes problems with brain activity and can impair memory.
Acetoin Acetoin is used as a food flavouring (in baked goods) and as a fragrance. Acetoin reacts to form diacetyl; formation is accelerated by nicotine. - See section on Popcorn lung.
Acrolein
Acrolein is principally used as a biocide to control plants, algae, molluscs, fungi, rodents. This highly toxic herbicide and pesticide is severely irritating to the eyes, mucous membranes, respiratory tract, and skin, and can cause irreversible lung damage as well as heart disease.
Benzene
A compound found in car exhaust, benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anaemia or much worse, leukaemia.
“The fact that vaping can deliver benzene levels many times higher than those found in the ambient atmosphere – where it's already recognised as a cancer risk – should be of concern to anyone using e-cigarettes!” warns Pr James Pankow at Portland University.
Cadmium
Toxic metal that increases the risk of breathing problems such as chronic obstructive lung disease and emphysema. It’s also found in traditional cigarettes.
Diacetyl
Chemical compound used to give food a buttery flavour. Studies link inhaling it to lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as “popcorn lung.” - See section on Popcorn lung.
Diethylene glycol
Clear, odourless liquid with a sweet taste typically found in industrial products such as antifreeze. It’s used as a base in e-liquids. It’s toxic and is linked to lung disease.
Formaldehyde
Mainly found in plywood, foam insulation, wallpaper and paints, formaldehyde is a chemical that is used worldwide to prevent dead bodies from decaying! It is known to cause cancer.
A 2018 study in the journal Scientific Reports, found that chemicals in vape fluid can combine to create various forms of formaldehyde, a naturally occurring chemical that has been linked to certain types of cancer in people with repeated exposure. Researchers found that under normal vaping conditions, gaseous formaldehyde was produced at levels above those considered safe by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Nickel, tin, lead and other heavy metals
Heavy metal toxicity may damage functioning of lungs, brain, liver, kidneys and other organs.
Nicotine
A highly addictive chemical that can affect the heart and lungs. Nicotine side effects include abnormal heart rhythms, headaches, increased heart rate, muscle twitching, rapid breathing, seizures, stomach upset, tremor.
2,3-Pentanedione
Used as an artificial flavouring for food and beverages, imparting a butter and caramel flavour. It is also used a solvent in paints, inks and lacquers. Similar effects as diacetyl. - See section on Popcorn lung.
Polonium
Polonium-210 is a known carcinogen. When inhaled, it causes lung cancer. When swallowed, it becomes concentrated in red blood cells, before spreading to the liver, kidneys, bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract, and the testicles or ovaries. It is the deadly poison that was used to kill the former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, in London in 2006. He died of radiation sickness.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvJQIIJNyYA/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==
Propylene glycol
Used as a base in e-liquids, it is a clear, odourless liquid that’s used originally as antifreeze and a food addictive. It turns to vapour when heated but may produce propylene oxide, a known carcinogen.
Chemical Reactions with flavourings
There are more than 7,000 vape juice flavours available to e-cigarette users, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Some of these are considered safe in typical food products when eaten, but may be harmful when inhaled in aerosol form.
A 2015 study conducted by Harvard University researchers found that many different flavourings added to e-liquids in e-cigarettes contain chemicals that may be harmful to users’ long-term health. Results showed that at least one of the three common flavouring chemicals -diacetyl, 2,3 pentanedione or acetoin - was present in 47 of the 51 flavours tested.
A 2018 study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found these reactions between flavourings and propylene glycol, which is used to make the vapour, can expose users to the same potential risks of tobacco cigarettes as heating e-liquids can increase the concentration of toxic chemicals in aerosols.
Video - Unmasking the VAPING Crisis: 7NEWS SPOTLIGHT exposes growing addiction
Sources
Dr David Roy - Interventional Cardiologist - St Vincent’s Clinic - Sydney.
Dr Lucian Durham - Heart Surgeon - Wisconsin
Dr Rebecca Freeman, Public Health.
Lung Association - Quebec
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
Harvard University Environmental Health Perspectives Wikipedia