What Is Vaping?
“Vaping”, sometimes referred to as “JUULing” by some, is simply the use of e-cigarettes or similar devices that produce an artificial vapor cloud instead of smoke. Battery-powered e-cigarette vaping devices heat up an e-liquid, or e-juice, which produces an aerosol that is inhaled.
Vape juices themselves are often flavored to appeal to youth and young adults and often contain high concentrations of nicotine.
So-called pods produced by JUUL, the market leader amongst middle and high-schoolers, can pack as much of an entire pack of cigarettes worth of nicotine into a single pod.
Does Vaping Cause Oral Cancer?
Yes, probably.
"While vaping is less harmful than smoking or using chewing tobacco, multiple peer-reviewed studies have connected vaping to higher risks to a variety of health issues including oral cancer and lung cancer."
DR. KAMRAN HAGHIGHAT, B.D.S., M.S., P.C.
Multiple peer-reviewed studies have linked the chemicals found in vaping vapor to various cancers including oral cancer.
Due to the relative newness of the vaping phenomenon, researchers have not definitively proven a direct link between vaping and cancer. Instead, much of the research around vaping has only indicated that vapor inhaled into the lungs of e-cigarette users contain some known carcinogens and have been shown to damage the DNA of a user’s cells - one of the precursors to cancer. Only time and more research will reveal if vaping truly is responsible for oral cancer and other cancers in the body, however, many of the signs seem to suggest that this is indeed the case.
Regenerative procedures can reverse some of the damage by regenerating lost bone and tissue. Portland Perio Implant Center employs the latest scientifically supported and advanced techniques in reversing damage and salvaging teeth.
Excess gum tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth.
Portland Perio Implant Center uses the newest technology available for periodontic care.
Vaping vs. Smoking vs. Chewing Tobacco
Vaping
Vaping is significantly safer than both smoking and chewing, or dipping, tobacco. That’s because both smoking and dipping tobacco exposes the user to a far greater number of chemicals, toxins, and human carcinogens.
Smoking
Smoking exposes the smoker to up to 7,000 different chemicals of which several dozen are known to cause cancer and many more are considered poisonous.
Some of the more notable chemicals that are dangerous include acetone, acetic acid, ammonia, arsenic, benzene, butane, cadmium, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, hexamine, lead, naphthalene, methanol, nicotine, tar, and toluene. Chronic exposure to these substances can result in significantly elevated risks of developing lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and cancer of the tongue and mouth.
Chewing Tobacco
While chewing tobacco does not involve the heating and burning of its ingredients, it is still no safer than smoking tobacco.
Tobacco chewers are exposed to as many as 3,000 different chemicals and 28 known human carcinogens.
Chewing tobacco has its own set of unique dangers such as the presence of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). These nitrosamine carcinogens are created as a result of the process of curing tobacco for a dip and chew. Chewing tobacco is one of the primary causes of oral cancer, including cancer of the gums, tongue, and mouth.
Vaping is not safe!
Because vape juice does not contain any tobacco, it should contain far fewer harmful chemicals. However, that doesn’t mean vaping is safe. Unlike both smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco, which has been extensively studied for many decades, e-cigarettes are a relative unknown.
We don’t yet know about all the chemicals that users are exposed to when vaping. More than 7,000 known and documented chemicals (of possibly 100,000 chemicals) are produced when smoking tobacco. Most of these can be avoided by vaping instead. However, vaping also has its own set of known chemical dangers. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), diacetyl, and formaldehyde are but three of the known chemical hazards facing those who choose to vape.
Vaping, E-cigarettes, JUUL, and Cancer
Vaping, JUULing, and using e-cigarettes are directly linked to higher risks of cancer. While safer than products containing tobacco, such as cigarettes and chewing tobacco, vaping does not eliminate the danger of developing cancer.
Besides nicotine, which is itself associated with health complications, many e-cigarette solutions or vape juices are known to contain diethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, ethanol, formaldehyde, acrolein and various amounts of heavy metals (nickel, tin, silver, aluminum, mercury and chromium) which can also be found in the inhaled vapors. These are all toxic substances that when exposed to sensitive lung tissues or the soft tissues of the mouth can cause irritation and inflammation. Over time, chronic exposure can result in lung cancer, oral cancer, and cancer in a person’s air passages such as the esophagus. Preliminary studies clearly link e-cigarette use with elevated risks of developing cancer.
Should I Vape?
Some reports suggest that vaping is twice as effective as other nicotine replacements for helping smokers quit. If this is true, the rise of e-cigarettes could play a major role in aiding existing smokers who wish to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. The researchers who initiated this groundbreaking study found that smokers who were given e-cigarettes to help them quit, as opposed to traditional nicotine replacement therapies, were twice as likely to kick their tobacco habits. According to the study, 18 percent of smokers who switched to e-cigarettes were able to stay smoke-free after a year compared to 9.9 percent who were handed conventional nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gums.
However, while the study seems to support the use of e-cigarettes as a cessation tool, the results should be taken with a grain of salt. It is the first large-scale trial of it’s kind. That means that its findings haven’t been verified. Furthermore, the study did not employ randomized controlled trials which may have resulted in distorted results. Subjects who, for example, knew they were given conventional nicotine replacement tools, may have perceived their treatment as inferior and therefore put less effort into quitting.
Less Harmful Does Not Mean Safe
While vaping is less harmful than smoking or using chewing tobacco, multiple peer-reviewed studies have connected vaping to higher risks to a variety of health issues including oral cancer and lung cancer. Furthermore, while vaping may be effective a cessation tool, it is also incredibly effective at introducing non-tobacco users to addictive nicotine. Some consider vaping to be a gateway to tobacco use and the abuse of other drugs such as marijuana and cocaine.
While some studies on the likely health effects of vaping are in dispute, the majority of studies point toward likely health concerns. Based on the data available it is safe to say that it’s best to avoid vaping and using tobacco altogether.
Using E-Cigarettes Is Substituting One Bad Habit For Another
Because vape juice does not contain any tobacco, it should contain far fewer harmful chemicals. However, that doesn’t mean vaping is safe. Unlike both smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco, which has been extensively studied for many decades, e-cigarettes are a relative unknown.
We don’t yet know about all the chemicals that users are exposed to when vaping. More than 7,000 known and documented chemicals (of possibly 100,000 chemicals) are produced when smoking tobacco. Most of these can be avoided by vaping instead. However, vaping also has its own set of known chemical dangers. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), diacetyl, and formaldehyde are but three of the known chemical hazards facing those who choose to vape.
Vaping, E-cigarettes, JUUL, and Cancer
At Portland Perio Implant Center, we see the effects of long-term tobacco use. There is a cause and effect between smoking and development of periodontal disease. It is considered a risk-factor in development of periodontitis. Patients are also less responsive to various periodontal and implant therapies with a higher degree of complications and poorer healing noted. While less harmful and somewhat different in substance and delivery, vaping still introduces chemicals and carcinogens into the body and exposes sensitive oral tissues to toxins such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), diacetyl, and formaldehyde.
Visit the American Lung Association website for more information on how to quit smoking.
DR. KAMRAN HAGHIGHAT
B.D.S., M.S., P.C.
Diplomate, American Board of Periodontology
Diplomate, American Board of Oral Implantology
