Page 20 - Delaware Medical Journal - November/December 2019
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TAKING A STRONG STANCE ON VAPING:
Your Guidelines for Symptoms, Screening Questions, and Treatments
Karyl T. Rattay, MD, MS; Rick Hong, MD
The popularity of vaping, particularly among youth, took off around 2015. Our most recent high school students report having tried e-cigarettes.
This is cause for concern as results from a 2015 national tobacco survey showed that 13.1% of high school students who tried e-cigarettes never previously used another tobacco product, and an analysis of data from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) study found that youth e-cigarette use was associated with more than four times the odds of trying cigarettes in the future.
Additionally, many adults (58%) who vape also use combustible cigarettes, according control organization. Although vaping proponents advocate that these products have helped them quit using combustible
cigarettes, the federal government
doesn’t recognize them as approved smoking cessation devices. Many people falsely believe that vaping is healthier
than smoking, when in fact neither are considered safe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although e-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer toxic chemicals than regular cigarettes, e-cigarette aerosol can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances like nicotine, heavy metals
like lead, volatile organic compounds,
and cancer-causing agents. Additionally, some e-cigarette products contain as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes.
In response to the evolving national outbreak of Vaping Associated Pulmonary Injury (VAPI), the Division of Public Health (DPH) advises Delawareans to refrain from vaping e-cigarette products, particularly products containing
THC. It is important to note that this recommendation includes both tobacco menthol) and all marijuana products.
As seen in this outbreak, vaping can be deadly. VAPI symptoms typically develop over a period of days, but sometimes can manifest over several weeks. Symptoms include:
• Rapid heartbeat (regular or irregular) • Shortness of breath
• Nonproductive cough
• Pleuritic chest pain
• Fever
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Gastrointestinal distress: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea
• Hypoxemia (abnormally low blood- oxygen level)
• Acute or subacute respiratory failure
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Del Med J | November/December 2019 | Vol. 91 | No. 6
