Vaping Ban Test Post

!*!*!* Let's Talk About the Vaping Ban !*!*!*


I wanted to discuss the potential vaping ban that is currently being pursued by the Trump Admnistration. I'm not going to get into the politcs of Donald Trump, assault weapons or anything like that.

I myself vape after years of smoking off and on and I find it a relaxing hobby. I realize many of you are probably against smoking/vaping. However, it is a choice made by adults of legal smoking age who should be able to decide how to live their life and not be interfered with by the government. I am sure you can think of other "health scares" where dietary supplements were simply banned because of the potential risk. These include ephedra, picamilion, vinpocetine and a host of other compounds. But for the sake of this discussion, I will just quote some statistics on vaping versus smoking.

[color=red][b]The Dangers of Combustable Tobacco Compared to Vaping[/b][/color]

According to the CDC:
[quote]Worldwide, tobacco use causes more than 7 million deaths per year.2 If the pattern of smoking all over the globe doesn’t change, more than 8 million people a year will die from diseases related to tobacco use by 2030.3

[b]Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States[/b], including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day.[/quote]
Source: [url=https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm]Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body - CDC[/url]

[color=red][b]The Dangers of Vaping[/b][/color]

From USAToday (via the CDC)
[quote]The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 380 confirmed and probable cases of vaping-related lung illnesses in 36 states. Six people so far have died.

Federal and state investigators said last week one of the most common threads in reported cases of the "severe pulmonary disease" was street-purchased tetrahydrocannabinol or THC oil from marijuana that contained vitamin E acetate.[/quote]
Source: [url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/09/11/vaping-lung-illness-what-we-know-spate-cases-and-deaths/2264610001/]Vaping lung illness: What we know about the recent spate of cases and deaths - USA Today[/url]

[quote]All these forms of vitamin E oil go into foot creams, face creams, and other cosmetics as topicals. In some people it can cause rashes.

The cosmetics industry never considered its use for inhalation, at least beyond accidentally getting some lotion in your nose. Its acute inhalation toxicity is not known, and inhaling oil is generally a bad idea.

“Lipids [i.e. oils] in the lung are highly toxic and have been associated with lung injury for years,” retired California pulmonologist Dr. Howard Mintz told Leafly. “They are most commonly seen in persons using ointments in their noses,” which can lead to a condition known as lipoid pneumonia.

All tocopherols may uniquely disrupt the function of the fluid lining the surface of the lungs.

“No vitamin E should be vaped regardless of its chemical structure,” said Eliana Golberstein Rubashkyn, a New Zealand–based pharmaceutical chemist and the chief scientist of Myriad Pharmaceuticals.[/quote]
[url=https://www.leafly.com/news/health/vape-pen-lung-disease-vitamin-e-oil-explained]Amid Vape Pen Lung Disease Deaths: What Exactly Is Vitamin E Oil? - Leafy[/url]

So, as we can see, it is most likely that these individuals were vaping THC that for some reason included Vitamin E in it, which is extremely toxic to inhale. But regardless, I do think the US FDA should regulate vaping liquids for purity, potency and potential contaminates. A group like [url=https://www.ul.com/about]UL[/url] should cerify all vaping pens and devices as safe for use.  But, that is neither here nor there. There are various chemicals besides nicotine in the solution, including flavoring, glycerol, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, and benzoic acid. Any of these compounds could turn out to be dangerous.

As far as children under the age of 18 vaping, that continues to be a problem. I think the industry (or government) should require identification to be scanned or shown to determine if the person purchasing the vaping liquid is above the age of 18. Myself personally, having going into many vape shops, they always ask for ID to confirm the age of the individual making the purchase. Although this isn't full proof, it is simply one idea and I'm sure the industry and/or government can come up with a viable solution without completely banning vaping. [b]If you're under the of 18 and vaping, you are potentially setting yourself up for a life of addiction![/b] It has been said that nicotine is the [i]real gateway drug[/i]. In a mouse study by the NIH,

[quote]A new study in mice shows how tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, opening the door to use of illicit drugs. Nicotine, the researchers found, makes the brain more susceptible to cocaine addiction. The finding suggests that lowering smoking rates in young people might help reduce cocaine abuse.

Scientists have long recognized that cigarettes and alcohol raise the risk for later use of illicit drugs like marijuana and cocaine. In a recent national survey, over 90% of adult cocaine users between the ages of 18 and 34 had smoked cigarettes before they began using cocaine. Researchers suspected that nicotine exposure might increase vulnerability to cocaine.[/quote]
Source: [url=tps://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/why-nicotine-gateway-drug]Why Nicotine is a Gateway Drug[/url]

I can confirm this from person experience, although it is anecdotal. If you are under the age of 18/21 (I think 21 is a better age to start, as the pathways in your brain have formed and you should be able to use nicotine without too many adverse effects) you should very much consider stopping. Nicotine use primes the dopamine receptors in the brain for a high you'll always want to feel.

[color=red][b]The Safety of Vaping[/b][/color]

Here is a informative video from the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK.

[center][youtube]SSn5ZZQkzKs[/youtube][/center]

The American Vaping Association has a [url=https://vaping.org/about-us/what-is-vaping/]very detailed and well written explanation of what vaping is[/url]. They also have a list of long term and short term studies on vaping, demonstrating that it not only much safer than combistible tobacco, vaping itself is also not correleted with early death or adverse health effects.

Nicotine itself seems to have it's own benefits (although I am ABSOLUTELY NOT recommending anyone start using it). Nicotine appears to have some nootropic effects, as the first paragraph about it on examine says:
[quote]Nicotine is the main stimulatory compound found in cigarettes and is now sold in vaporizers and patches in isolation. It works on the acetylcholine system, and is implicated in cognitive enhancement.[/quote]
Source: [url=https://examine.com/supplements/nicotine/]Examine.com Nicotine[/url] (This source will be used more below.)

[quote]A meta-analysis on nicotine and its cognitive effects in humans concluded that there was significant evidence for nicotine in enhancing attention (both alerting and orienting subsets, the former of which is 'maintaining an alert state' and the latter 'directing attention to sensory events').[40] This meta-analysis is more suited to answer questions on nicotine per se as previous meta-analysis'[41][42][43] used smokers as subjects and could only conclude the cognitive enhancing aspects of nicotine in a state of nicotine withdrawal (as a washout period preceded many trials). Said meta-analysis[40] looking at only laboratory studies in healthy persons and excluding any of nicotine-deprived smokers or those not double-blinded against placebo was able to find 41 studies in total and was able to analyze the parameters of alerting attention (accuracy and reaction time) as well as orientating attention (accuracy and reaction time), 76% of included trials noted no affiliations to the tobacco industry nor did the meta-analysis.[/quote]
Source: [url=https://examine.com/supplements/nicotine/#neurology_attention-and-reaction-time]Examine.com 3.2 Attention and Reaction Time[/url]

Nicotine also appears to have some antidepressants, along with helping cope with antipsychotic medication (according to anecdotal evidence)

[quote]In a study on minor cognitive decline in nonsmokers, it was demonstrated that 15mg nicotine patches daily for 6 months was associated with improved scores on self-rated Worries and Anxiety subscales, indicative of an anxiolytic effect.[68] This same study noted no significant influence on the Depression subscale.[68]

One study using nicotine in non-smokers noted that 2mg Nicotine (gum) noted that the brain regions associated with adverse perceptions had enhanced activity under the influence of nicotine relative to placebo, suggesting that nicotine may enhance anxiety-inducing perceptions.[69] Coupling of the amygdala and perigenual ACC increased in the nicotine group under unpleasant conditions while decreasing under pleasant conditions, and led to increased state anxiety (subjective rating).[69][/quote]
Source: [url=https://examine.com/supplements/nicotine/#neurology_anxiety-and-depression]3.3Anxiety and Depression[/url]

Again, this is not a recommendation to start using nicotine. Avoid it at all costs. You'll be better for it.

[color=red]b]How You Can Help[/b][/color]

If you believe individuals should having their own right of self determination aand be able to vape, using e-cigarettes, flavored vaping liquids, I would like you to sign this petition on whitehouse.gov to ask President Trump to retract the ban. Also, you can contact your congressional representiative and ask them to NOT support this ridiculous ban on vaping products.

[list=]
[*][url=https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-donald-trump-signing-federal-flavor-ban-e-cig-products]Stop Donald Trump from signing the federal flavor ban of e-cig products.[/url] - So far it has 11k signatures and only needs 4k more to qualify being looked at by the White House.
[*][url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Vaping/comments/d3apa7/voice_your_opinion_regarding_trumps_plans_on/]Contact your Congressional Representative[/url] - Reddit has compiled a list of senators that you are able to email and express your dissatisfaction with this new potential legisltion.
[/list]

I am also looking into a way to contact the FDA during their public comment period on this issue. Since this would be a nationwide ban, it would require the FDA to ban them.

Thank you for reading. All comments are welcome as long as they are constructed civily.

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