Transcription:
Know the Dangers of Vaping and E-Cigarettes

Melanie Cole: Welcome to Stoughton Health Talk. I'm Melanie Cole, and today we're discussing vaping and e-cigarettes. Joining me is Teressa Pellett. She's the Project Coordinator for Stoughton Wellness Coalition. Teressa, I'm so glad to have you on, and this is a really great topic. Something that many parents are grappling with right now, tell us what exactly is vaping. Give us a little history of it.

Teressa Pellett: Okay. So vaping has been around for quite a while now, pushing probably 12 to 14 years in some format or another, but it really hit a niche with youth a couple of years ago when a Juul became a trending amazing, cool product that kids began to glom onto. And how these products work is they have a heating component and a battery and a cartridge. And when they're put all together, the cartridge holds a liquid of some sort with flavoring and oftentimes coloring. It gets heated up through the vaporizer component and the battery, to make a actual aerosol effect that is breathed in. And a couple of the pieces that I want to talk about today are the big myths around what these components actually are. And the chemical compounds that are involved in them that are making them really, really dangerous. So, what we have is a mouthpiece, a cartridge with some liquid, and a battery that causes the vaporizing process with that liquid that is then inhaled.

Host: So, first question I have because a lot of times, and when this first came in, people thought maybe it was a healthier alternative to cigarettes and that it possibly could help quit or cut down. Is that true?

Teressa Pellett: So that is an unproven, I say, myth of this type of product. For a chronic smoker, who has been smoking for a very long time and wants to reduce, if they are motivated, this could be a tool. However, it is not a be all end all, these e-cigarettes and vapes do not have any kind of staggering system. Most of them, the ones that do contain nicotine, the cartridge that you get contains the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes. So it is not a healthier method and it does not help reduce your nicotine intake. You would need to manage that yourself in the same way you would cut back on the number of cigarettes that you smoked.

Host: Wow, that's such interesting information and something that many parents probably don't even know. And we've heard about some deaths and injuries to lungs. What is this doing to children's lungs that are using it?

Teressa Pellett: This is going to bring me to my other two pieces of what the chemical components actually are and how they work. Many, many people still believe that the actual content that's being inhaled is simply water vapor, which water vapor, if you think of a tea kettle and the steam that's released, that would be water vapor. What is actually created by the heating and vaporizing of the liquid and the chemicals that are included in it is an aerosol. So if you think of a can of hairspray or a can of spray paint, that is an aerosol. And the difference being the chemicals that are distributed through the aerosol actually stay in, they coat the lungs where if it was water vapor, it would be absorbed and not damage the lungs. It's the chemical components that are in the flavoring and the coloring, in addition to the nicotine that are causing a lot of these problems and the variables in the chemical content and the types of chemicals are different from product to product and are not regulated. So we don't actually know everything that's in these liquids, but we do know from especially some of the youth that have gotten really severely ill, that chemical component coated the inside of the lungs, and then couldn't be taken out. And that is one of the pieces that we've seen many people becoming severely ill and having lung damage as a result of

Host: Yikes. I mean, it's pretty scary for parents. So Teressa, I think one of the main messages we'd like to get out in this podcast is how do we know as parents, if our kids are vaping, because maybe it doesn't have the same smell as if they were smoking pot or cigarettes. How do parents know? And what's the message. How can we get across to our kids that this is untested? And we do not know, and it could really damage their lungs.

Teressa Pellett: I want to touch just a little bit more on some of the chemicals that we do know are included in here, which then leads to the need for intensive flavorings and colorings to help mask those. We do know of five consistent, well, we'll say five consistent chemicals in addition to nicotine and nicotine is included in most of these, but not all, but of the clear, consistent chemicals we know of that are included that create the coloring and the flavoring. And this is going to sound crazy when I say it, that it ends up with a flavor that's good, but propylene glycol, which is the main component in antifreeze that you pour in your car is consistent with vape juices. Formaldehyde also known as embalming fluid. Acetone, which is the key component in nail Polish remover. Ethyl benzene, which is a primary ingredient in Roundup herbicide weed killer.

And also, rubidium, which is a component in fireworks. So all five of these really toxic chemicals are consistently included in coloring and flavoring of vape juices. And we know that each of these is toxic by itself. So then we have to consider when they get mixed together in this flavoring and coloring, and then they get heated up, we know there's additional chemical transformations that happen. And so again, when I talk with you, so I always say, would you drink nail Polish remover? Well, then you shouldn't be breathing it probably either. But the key piece about this is the flavoring. These juices come in a whole array of very appealing, beautifully packaged, and highly, highly promoted on social media flavors. And Juul, I think probably took by far the largest negative hits across all of these, but how parents can know is largely by the smell and it will be fruity. It will be a very distinct, stronger smell than you would expect.

And oftentimes also these liquid containers can leak, especially the pods. If they have a device with an insertable pod like Juul has, those often leak and you can smell it on clothes, you can smell it in bags and it will be a distinctive kind of candy sort of smell. But it has another, I'd say sort of chemical smell to it that is different. The devices themselves are a real challenge for parents because they look like a lot of things that are around your house and Juul. Again, I'll use it as an example because their design was much like a flash drive and their charger actually inserts into your laptop or your computer to charge. And so many of these look like some sort of component for, for a handheld device for computers or small phones even, they're similar in size, they have cute little cases. It's very hard to tell necessarily what that is if you saw it sitting on a dresser in a bedroom.

So, one of the recommendations I have is to really educate yourself as a parent, as to what are these trends go online and Google, and you will find images. You will find out how easy they are to buy online and the components that don't even necessarily check age. Anyone can buy these materials. They also come in some of the new designs, there's actually a hoodie sweatshirt that can be purchased. And the strings of the sweatshirt are the vape device. There is a watch that looks like an Apple watch and actually the face of the watch pops out and it's a vaping device. And so lots of crazy things out there. I purchased a watch that we could show it as an example. It was $50 online just getting these things out in public and on our website. So people can see what they look like and understand how they work and know more about the dangers for kids.

Host: Well, that's so important that you've told us about some of those kinds of hidden ways, things I did not even know. And I've done a lot of these, but you've really given us some information that I haven't heard before. And those five chemical ingredients are literally terrifying. So Teressa, how do parents, if they do figure it out and you work with youth, what do you want us to say to our kids? How can we get them to realize these dangers? We've heard over the years about talking to our kids about drugs and alcohol and cigarettes, but this is something new for parents before we wrap up, give parents your best advice about what we're supposed to say to our kids, to get them to, other than listening to this podcast, which should terrify them as well, about what we can tell our kids to get them to stop.

Teressa Pellett: There's a really great resource that I want to highlight through the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and their website it's called tobacco is changing. And it is actually designed for parents to create that awareness and tips on how to talk to their kids about these things. I always say, whatever issue comes up, it's the best to handle it calmly with as much clear information as you can. And again, this is frankly terrifying that these chemicals are out there that they're available and that they're unregulated and that kids have access to them. And when we find these things, often we get incredibly upset and stressed, but to approach kids with just really clear concern and information about why you're concerned. And also there are now quit lines being promoted all over the country to help use, and you can text actually for help. And the nicotine addiction for those that have nicotine in them is actually very quick and very intense because typically you are using these at a more rapid rate than the typical person would be smoking a cigarette. If you discover this, it's likely that your child already, if it's nicotine has addiction happening and knowing how to help them reduce that and recover from that is another important piece. And I think largely just parents need to be aware that kids really don't understand the dangers of this and it's our job to help them understand and then help them quit.

Host: Absolutely. And what interesting information and terrifying for parents, but so informative and thank you so much, Teressa for joining us today. And parents out there, be sure and share this show with your friends and family and share it with your teen because she's given us some information that really could help that discussion move along. And it's so important our teens understand the dangers of vaping. And that concludes this episode of Stoughton Health Talk. Please visit our website at stoughtonhealth.com for more information, and to get connected with one of our providers. Please also remember to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and all the other Stoughton Hospital podcasts. For more health tips like this, please follow us on your social channels. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.