Smoking & Vaping Influence on Female Health
Whether you vape because you consider it a healthier alternative to smoking or because you just like using an e-cigarette, it’s important to know some facts about these two habits and women’s health. This is particularly important for pregnant as well as for nursing women.
While the harm of tobacco is well-known, there is a lot of misleading information about vaping. That’s because the FDA does not regulate vaping products. As such, the vape manufacturers advertise them in any way.
Traditional cigarette smoking has been associated with diseases like cancer and lung disease. It also leads to second-hand smoking by polluting the indoor air. As such, many people are switching to vaping as a way to avoid or mitigate the effects of traditional smoking. A Juul vape is cited by many news and information resources as “the most popular vaping product among college students”.
There is no sufficient information about the effects of vaping on women’s health. What’s more, some vaping products are new in the market with no comprehensive studies done to help users understand the health implications and risks of their use. Therefore, some women and the public in general approach vaping as a healthy option. But, is vaping safe for women?
Facts
Electronic cigarette appeared on the market in 2003. Since then, vaping has been growing in popularity among both men and women in different parts of the world. Currently, this is a popular social activity with both male and female fans. However, vaping has health risks that it exposes to both men and women.
How badly vaping risks affect a woman depends largely on the used device. In the past, studies have shown that vaping releases carcinogens like formaldehyde into the body of the user. However, a recent study has shown that factors like the age of the user device and how it is used affect the amount of the harmful chemicals that the user breathes in.
Basically, vaping is focused on delivering nicotine to the body system without the tar that a person inhales when they smoke. That’s because tar and other chemicals are responsible for the risk of developing diseases like cancer.
Breast Cancer
Cancer is one of the major concerns for women that smoke. Breast cancer is a major cause of preventable deaths among women. Nicotine increases the risk of breast cancer. Some studies have linked the increasing risks of cancer to cigarettes smoking.
There are studies that have compared snuff and cigarette and established that the risk of cancer remains high. As such, the scientific community has come to the conclusion that nicotine remains a breast cancer’s risk factor.
Vape e-liquids also contain nicotine. But some manufacturers produce low or zero level nicotine models. That gives the customers the possibility of choice. One juul vapor review says that reduced-nicotine e-liquid contains roughly 3% nicotine, which is 40% less than do the regular ones. But no review is scientifically proven, so the safety of vaping is still in dispute.
Pregnant and Nursing Women
Smoking can provoke female infertility. When a smoking woman gets pregnant, she must quit. Research has linked daily exposure to cigarette smoke to low birth weight, premature birth, breathing difficulties among newborns, and several behavioral problems after birth.
For nursing women, nicotine can be transferred to the newborns through breast milk. This implies that the babies are exposed to nicotine after birth. The effect is an alteration of the walking and sleeping patterns of the babies. These effects are noticeable even when the parent opts to bottle feed the baby.
No study has shown that vaping protects the growing baby from the negative effects of nicotine. It’s important to note that though proponents claim that vaping eliminates many chemicals in addition to nicotine, research has shown that some carcinogens are still inhaled when a person uses an e-cigarette.
Common Effects of Vaping
Some of the effects that vapers in general acknowledge include bloody noses, puffy or dry eyes, dry skin, dry mouth, rashes and irritation of the face. Nobody likes any of these effects. However, women are particularly concerned about dry skin. That’s because women are hyper-conscious about physical appearance.
Common Effects of Smoking
Short-term effects of smoking include increased heart rate and blood pressure. That injures the heart and blood vessels. That’s why heart stroke and heart attack are associated with smoking.
Tobacco isn’t loyal to the women’s appearance. It alters teeth, hair, and skin. Fear of premature aging is one of the reasons why women decide to quit.
Different types of cancer, including the cancer of the lungs, mouth, and throat, are one of the worst consequences of smoking.
Mitigating Health Risks
Reports indicate that women are likely to switch from smoking cigarette to vaping. That’s because there are studies showing that vaping has less harmful effects when compared to traditional smoking. Additionally, vaping products are easily accessible. As such, it’s important to know the measures that women should take to minimize or avoid the negative effects of vaping on their health.
One of the most important mitigation measures is investing in quality vaping products. As noted, the quality and age of the used Juul starter kit have an influence on how vaping affects women’s health. Age of the device is also a factor that influences vaping effects on women’s health. It’s therefore important that women invest in quality vaping products. What’s more, women should know the content of the e juices that they buy and vape.
Additionally, women should maintain their vaping devices properly. This will keep them in proper condition. Wiping the device regularly with the paper towel or cotton swab can help. When the atomizer and e-liquid tank needs cleaning, they should be rinsed in warm water. The atomizer head should also be replaced when necessary and kept clean. All parts of the device should be clean and dry before the device is used.
The Bottom Line
Before you start vaping as a way of replacing traditional smoking or trying to quit smoking, it’s advisable that you talk to your doctor. This will enable you to know whether you are putting yourself at risk or not. Talking to a doctor is particularly important for nursing and pregnant women that want to switch to vaping from traditional smoking.
About the author:
Margaret Wilson, a blogger who writes about the healthy way of life (healthy food, sports, motivation etc.)
Now she studies vaping as an alternative for people who are struggling with smoking.
