What vaping really does to your body | BBC News — Transcript

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1. 0:00Right now in the [music] UK, more people
2. 0:01are searching online for info on vaping
3. 0:04and for smoking. One of the most
4. 0:06searched questions [music] is simply,
5. 0:08"How do I stop?" Well, vaping has
6. 0:10exploded in popularity, especially among
7. 0:12younger people, [music] but there's
8. 0:13still a lot we don't fully understand
9. 0:16about the long-term effects. At the same
10. 0:18time, governments are stepping in with
11. 0:20new [music] rules, including bans on
12. 0:22disposable vapes. So, what is vaping
13. 0:24doing to your body, and should you be
14. 0:26worried? Whether you vape or used to
15. 0:28vape [music] or just wondering what all
16. 0:30the fuss is about, here's what you need
17. 0:31to know.
18. 0:33So, vaping involves inhaling nicotine in
19. 0:35what's referred to as an aerosol,
20. 0:37basically a vapor, rather than the smoke
21. 0:40caused by the burning of tobacco. It's
22. 0:42essentially a delivery system for
23. 0:44nicotine. Vapes work by heating a
24. 0:47solution known as the e-liquid. Now,
25. 0:50that typically contains propylene
26. 0:52glycol, which is used in food
27. 0:54production, cosmetics, and medicines,
28. 0:56and another stuff called vegetable
29. 0:57glycerin that's derived from plant oils,
30. 1:00plus flavorings, sometimes sweeteners,
31. 1:02and most importantly, nicotine. Now, the
32. 1:04liquids come in different nicotine
33. 1:06strengths, so you can control how much
34. 1:08nicotine you need. Smoking, on the other
35. 1:11hand, involves inhaling tobacco smoke,
36. 1:14which the NHS says contains thousands of
37. 1:17different chemicals. Many of these are
38. 1:18poisonous, and up to 70 of them cause
39. 1:21cancer. They also cause other serious
40. 1:23illnesses, including lung disease, heart
41. 1:26disease, and stroke. Crucially, most of
42. 1:29the harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke,
43. 1:31including tar and carbon monoxide,
44. 1:34they're just not contained in vape
45. 1:36aerosol.
46. 1:37So, the liquid is held in a little tank
47. 1:39or cartridge in a vape pen. There's also
48. 1:41sort of a heating element to vaporize it
49. 1:44and a rechargeable battery.
50. 1:46Maybe the best way to answer this is to
51. 1:49say that there's now good evidence that,
52. 1:51in general, vaping is less harmful than
53. 1:54smoking. That's because people who vape
54. 1:57are exposed to fewer toxins and they are
55. 1:59present at lower levels than smoking
56. 2:02cigarettes. So, the NHS advises that
57. 2:04switching to vaping reduces exposure to
58. 2:07those toxins that can cause cancer, lung
59. 2:09disease, heart and circulation problems
60. 2:12like heart attack and stroke, but vaping
61. 2:14isn't risk-free. The NHS advice is that
62. 2:17non-smokers and young people under 18
63. 2:19shouldn't take up vaping.
64. 2:22Part of the problem is that vaping just
65. 2:24hasn't really been around for long
66. 2:26enough to know the risks of long-term
67. 2:29use. Probably the best we can say is
68. 2:32that while vaping is less harmful than
69. 2:34smoking, it's unlikely to be totally
70. 2:37harmless. That's why children and
71. 2:40non-smokers are advised not to start
72. 2:42vaping and if you are vaping to help you
73. 2:44stop smoking, you should aim to
74. 2:46eventually stop vaping, too. What we do
75. 2:49know is that nicotine is highly
76. 2:51addictive, but it doesn't contain the
77. 2:54harmful toxins that are associated with
78. 2:56that tobacco smoke. But, you also need
79. 2:58to make sure you know what is in your
80. 3:00vape. A few years ago, the BBC asked
81. 3:03experts to analyze the contents of 18
82. 3:06disposable vapes, which are now illegal
83. 3:08in the UK, that had been taken off
84. 3:10school pupils. Most of those vapes were
85. 3:13illegal and unregulated and the results
86. 3:16showed that pupils using them could be
87. 3:18inhaling more than twice the daily safe
88. 3:21amount of lead and nine times the safe
89. 3:23amount of nickel. Now, the World Health
90. 3:25Organization says that high levels of
91. 3:28lead exposure in young people can affect
92. 3:30the central nervous system and brain
93. 3:32development, so it's really important to
94. 3:34only use regulated, legal vapes.
95. 3:38Well, the really big difference is the
96. 3:40exposure to those 70 or so toxic
97. 3:42chemicals that are linked to illnesses
98. 3:44like cancer, lung disease, heart attack
99. 3:47and stroke. So, experts say it's all
100. 3:49those toxic chemicals contained in
101. 3:51cigarettes, such as tar and tobacco that
102. 3:54cause almost all the harm from smoking.
103. 3:57So, while vaping may not be risk-free,
104. 4:00it's much less harmful than smoking.
105. 4:03This is really interesting. When you
106. 4:05first inhale a vape, the heating element
107. 4:08really quickly warms the liquid, turning
108. 4:11it into vapor. Then, as you inhale, that
109. 4:13vapor sort of cools down rapidly, it
110. 4:16mixes with air to form a dense aerosol
111. 4:19of microscopic droplets which you then
112. 4:22draw into your mouth, your throat, and
113. 4:24your lungs. When the vapor gets into the
114. 4:26lungs, the nicotine is almost instantly
115. 4:29absorbed into the bloodstream, gets
116. 4:31pumped to your heart, and then to your
117. 4:32head where it triggers an almost instant
118. 4:34release of dopamine and adrenaline. Now,
119. 4:37all that can happen in as little time as
120. 4:4010 to 20 seconds. It's really, really
121. 4:43fast.
122. 4:45Even nicotine-free vaping is not
123. 4:47harmless. Inhaling the liquids that
124. 4:49carry the nicotine, plus the flavorings
125. 4:52that many vapes use, can still cause
126. 4:54throat and lung irritation. Now, one
127. 4:56very recent, but pretty small study of
128. 4:59young people who vape or smoke
129. 5:01cigarettes, showed their breathing
130. 5:03capacity was reduced compared to those
131. 5:06who've never smoked or vaped. But, it's
132. 5:08still really early days, and more
133. 5:10research is needed.
134. 5:12Vape calories are the idea that the
135. 5:14carrier agents in the e-liquids, the
136. 5:16propylene glycol and the vegetable
137. 5:18glycerin, now they contain about 4
138. 5:20calories per gram. So, is it possible
139. 5:24that when you inhale these vaporized
140. 5:26liquids, you're taking on these calories
141. 5:29as well?
142. 5:30So, a single puff of a vape uses about
143. 5:320.05
144. 5:34ml of e-liquid, a tiny amount, which
145. 5:37equates to less than 1/4 of a
146. 5:39theoretical calorie. So, that's next to
147. 5:43nothing. You probably use that much
148. 5:44energy just thinking about whether to
149. 5:46vape or not, your brain uses loads of
150. 5:49calories and then just picking up the
151. 5:51vape and inhaling, our bodies are
152. 5:53burning calories all the time, even as
153. 5:55we sit around thinking. Not to mention
154. 5:57that you can't really absorb calories
155. 5:59through your lungs. They bypass your
156. 6:02digestive system, so they aren't
157. 6:04converted into fat. And the same applies
158. 6:06to sweeteners that are contained in some
159. 6:08vapes. They don't contain real sugar, so
160. 6:11they don't add calories.
161. 6:13Children, those who are 17 and under,
162. 6:15and non-smokers are advised not to start
163. 6:18vaping. It's really useful for those who
164. 6:21are trying to give up smoking, but most
165. 6:23of the concern is over young people who
166. 6:25never smoked but have been using vapes
167. 6:27anyway, particularly the now banned
168. 6:30disposable vapes that were unregulated.
169. 6:32Now, back in 2023,
170. 6:35I met a 12-year-old girl who was vaping
171. 6:38so much, she ended up in a coma after
172. 6:41her lung collapsed. She already had
173. 6:43asthma, and she was vaping a lot. It was
174. 6:46like the first thing she did in the
175. 6:47morning when she woke up. It was the
176. 6:48last thing she did at night.
177. 6:51But nonetheless, it was a really scary
178. 6:53moment for both her and her mom.
179. 6:55The NHS advice on this is that vaping is
180. 6:58much less risky than smoking when you're
181. 7:01pregnant. But again, it's relatively
182. 7:03early days in vaping research. What we
183. 7:05do know is that vapes don't produce tar
184. 7:08or carbon monoxide, the two main toxins
185. 7:10in cigarette smoke. Now, carbon monoxide
186. 7:13is particularly harmful for developing
187. 7:15babies. The vapor from an e-cigarette
188. 7:18does contain some of the potentially
189. 7:20harmful chemicals that are found in
190. 7:22cigarette smoke, but they are at much
191. 7:24lower levels. So, if vaping helps you to
192. 7:27stop smoking, it's much safer for you
193. 7:30and your baby than continuing to smoke.
194. 7:33So, quitting vaping, so giving up the
195. 7:35highly addictive nicotine. Now, that can
196. 7:37be a real challenge. The expert advice
197. 7:40is to gradually reduce the nicotine
198. 7:43strength of the e-liquid in your vape,
199. 7:45but you know, take it gently and pay
200. 7:47attention to how much you're vaping.
201. 7:50Then increase the time between vapes.
202. 7:52So, if you normally vape every 20
203. 7:54minutes, experts advise trying to extend
204. 7:57that time and only vape every 40 minutes
205. 8:00instead. Or, you can use nicotine
206. 8:02replacement therapy like patches, for
207. 8:04example, to help wean you off nicotine.
208. 8:07Okay, so over 18s are the only people
209. 8:10who can buy vapes, but there's no law on
210. 8:14how old you have to be to use them. In
211. 8:16other words, there's no specific law on
212. 8:18possession or use of a vape, just a ban
213. 8:20on sales.
214. 8:22So, organizations like the RAC say that
215. 8:24in the UK, vaping while driving is not
216. 8:27illegal, but if you lose control of your
217. 8:30car because you were vaping while you
218. 8:32were driving the vehicle, or it
219. 8:34distracts you from the road, or it
220. 8:35obstructs your view, you could be fined
221. 8:38or worse, but there are no laws that ban
222. 8:41e-cigarettes or equivalents when you're
223. 8:43driving.
224. 8:44Okay, some workplaces ban vaping, as do
225. 8:47pubs, but it's really down to the
226. 8:50individual venue or workplace. I have to
227. 8:52say, I've yet to be on a plane where
228. 8:54they say, "Vape away." In the same way
229. 8:57that smoking is banned. So, vaping isn't
230. 9:00as simple as safe or dangerous.
231. 9:02Kind of sits somewhere in the middle,
232. 9:04and there's still a lot we're learning.
233. 9:06If you're trying to quit, or just
234. 9:08thinking about starting, the key is
235. 9:11understanding the risks and making
236. 9:13informed choices. The health experts'
237. 9:15advice would be, "Vaping is far less
238. 9:18risky than smoking, so if you're a
239. 9:19smoker, try vaping to help you give up,
240. 9:22but if you're a non-smoker, don't start
241. 9:24vaping." And if there's a health topic
242. 9:26you want us to tackle next, let us know
243. 9:28in the comments.