“Hey, can I hit your Suorin?”
Ah yes, the phrase of the century coined by our very own generation. Whether you own a vape, your friend owns a vape, or even just the person sitting next to you in lecture hall owns a vape, if you are attending college in 2019, this is a question that is sure to graze your ears at one point or another. Chances are, in a fiending spell, you may have even asked someone this question yourself.
It seems that in the past five years, these words have become increasingly prevalent as various utterances ringing across campuses nation-wide, and UCSB is no exception. The vape epidemic is here and you may be the next person to catch the bug. Suorins, Juuls, and Novos are possibly even more popular than Limes and Birds, and students cannot get enough of the short but sweet “dome” their Nicotine provides.
However, despite their easy access, acclaimed safety, and how “cool” they make you look, here are four things you will want to know before you take your next hit.
Image via zenpype.com
1. Nicotine isn’t just addictive…
Despite the obvious fact that, according to Addiction Center, Nicotine alone sits amongst substances such as alcohol and cocaine on the top five most addictive substances list, recent discoveries have uncovered that its effects reach far beyond simple cravings. Nicotine poses serious threat to the child and adolescent brain as developing minds are the most susceptible demographic to its toxic effects. Consumer Reports warns that long- term exposure to Nicotine has been found to lead to heart- disease and increased risk of stroke. Additionally, they cuation that Nicotine increases the risk of oral, esophageal, pancreatic cancer, osteoporosis and bone fractures, can make chronic kidney disease worse, and has a negative effect on fertility in women and men. To add to this rather hefty list, Nicotine spikes blood pressure and adrenaline can lead to heart attack.
So, clearly, Nicotine inhaled through any source is not beneficial to one’s health, but can vaping help you quit the worse alternative: cigarettes?
In short, no. While traditional tobacco cigarettes contain upwards of 7,000 chemicals- a much larger amount than any vaping device- it has been discovered that the majority of people who take up vaping as means to quit smoking cigarettes end up smoking both traditional tobacco products in addition to vaping. Unfortunately, for those trying to quit smoking, buying a juul is most definitely not the solution.
2. Diacetyl what?
Nicotine is not the only dangerous chemical hiding in your juul pods, and despite it’s rather troublesome effects, it is not the worse. The e-juice that fill juul and suorin pods is given its various delicious flavors by a chemical known as Diacetyl. While Diacetyl makes your microwave popcorn butter taste just like it is from the movies and is perfectly safe to ingest, when inhaled through a vaping device, it is far less innocent. The intense heat created by the vaping device’s battery causes a change in the chemical composition of the compounds that make up the e-juice creating new and more harmful substances. According to Vaping Daily, when breathed in, Diacetyl has been known to cause popcorn lung or bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe lung disease that causes damage to lung tissue traps air inside the lungs and makes breathing difficult.
Real Men Real Style explains that this intense heat and chemical change also affects another chemical in e-juice known as carcinogenic formaldehyde, a known catalyst of cancer, and can also cause the release of other heavy metals such as Zinc, Nickel, Chromium, and Lead.
If this epic of harmful chemicals was not enough to turn you away from your Suorin, you may be wondering: can I avoid any of these substances if I continue to vape?
The answer is possibly. The only substances frequent vape users are able to actively avoid is Diacetyl. You can cut out Diacetyl from your daily vape dosage by purchasing e-juice from brands that do not use this chemical in production such as those suggested by Vaping Daily: Halo and Evo, Black Note, and VaporFi.
Image via reddit.com
3. Vaping costs bank.
If you or anyone you know owns a juul or Suorin, you know that vaping drains your wallet. According to Vaping.com, in the US alone, $3.7 billion per year is spent on vapes and other related products. To put this in perspective, LendEDU equates this to roughly $60.76 per month per vape user. On a global level, increases in spending can be seen as well; BBC reports vape spending rising from $4.2 billion to $22.6 billion annually in just five years.
For a broke college student, this habit is clearly not sustainable not only health-wise, but financially as well. If you are looking to save money, or escape some student debt, vaping may not be the path for you.
4. The Epidemic is here…
Possibly the most alarming statistics surrounding vaping are not those of toxic chemicals or Nicotine addiction, but those that document the steep rise in the popularity of vape product use in the United States. According to CNN, in the past five years, Nicotine use has risen by 900% and this number continues to increase with time. Of the vape users taking part in this rise, 9 million call the United States their home, causing the US to be the number one contributor to the vaping epidemic with 43.2% of the world’s vaping population within its borders. Unfortunately, much of this statistic is made up of adolescents as they fall prey to targeted advertisement. In fact, it has been found that most of these young e-smokers haven’t even touched a cigarette, 40 percent to be exact as stated by WebMD. Regardless, not only are they damaging their young bodies with chemicals apart from those in traditional cigarettes, but they run a higher risk of beginning to smoke tobacco products.
The epidemic is here and its big.
So, the next time you find yourself thinking, “Hey, can I hit your Suorin?”, take a minute to think about the national epidemic you are about to join.
Image via jvapes.com