Vaping has become a very common trend among the youth of Pakistan. A lot of people consider that vaping is safe and is a better alternative to tobacco. It is also socially more acceptable. Many teenagers openly vape and generally not even their parents are worried because it is not “tobacco”. This is however an alarming situation since vaping is actually very dangerous and based on some latest worldwide stats more fatal than regular cigarettes and this posh trend is gradually drawing youngsters to their own suicide.
What is Vaping?
Vaping refers to smoking an e-cigarette with nicotine integrated in the smoke. This smoke does not come out of tobacco but is generated through an electrical system inside the vape. The problem is that since the smoke is not pungent or anything people think that this smoke is not harmful. The truth is that the chemicals which are put in to make smoking tasteful are sometimes more dangerous than tobacco smoke.
Another bad aspect of vapes is that they have higher nicotine content. Since cigarettes are not very flavorful, there is a natural limit on what one can consume in one go. Vapes in a way diminish that limiter and people end up consuming as much as 50mg of nicotine in a day which is fatal for a person’s heart and can lead to death.
What does the new stats say?
In the United States of America, chaos started last month when a teenager died after only vaping for a year. His lungs got completely punctured and thus he could not survive. The line did not stop with him. On 24th September, death of a fifty-year old man was confirmed to be caused by vaping which made the total vaping-related death toll in the country to be 9.
Nine people died in the United States of America in just one month, the global figure must really be higher than that. These stats not only show that vaping can kill a person it also shows that it can kill a person fast.
What is being done to prevent vaping?
In Pakistan, vaping is the new trend. According to a local news source, roughly 5 % of the country’s teenagers are using vapes and think that it is completely safe. Earlier this month, a health warning was issued by many health professionals who also demanded a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes. Vaping has thus been identified a serious public health concern in the country and initial steps are also being taken to prevent it.
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This article was produced in partnership with oladoc.com, a digital health company in Pakistan. Using oladoc, you can find top lung specialist in Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and book an appointment online.
