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First responders need to know the harmful effects of vaping

In this video, Gordon Graham highlights facts about vaping that firefighters should be aware of before partaking

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Gordon Graham from Lexipol here with Today’s Tip. And this is for all of our friends in public safety and those we care about.

I’m talking about E-Cigarettes or the practice of vaping. You might be interested to know that the modern-day e-cigarette was developed in 2003 by a well-intentioned Chinese pharmacist named Hon Lik. He was looking for a tool to help people quit smoking. The original device was named Ruyan which means “like smoke.”

We know that vaping has become widely popular among our young people. The American Lung Association estimates that 20% of all youth use e-cigarettes. There is a growing body of evidence that vaping is just as harmful to the lungs as smoking tobacco products, but for different reasons.

The idea behind vaping is to extract nicotine from tobacco and mix it with propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. Flavorings, colorings, and other chemical additives complete the concoction. Evidence indicates that the more ingredients users inhale, the greater the risk of serious lung damage. It is safe to say none of this belongs in your lungs.

The lung disorder caused by vaping is now known as EVALI or e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury.

The research into the harmful effects of vaping continues but the harmful results speak for themselves. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recently reported a total of 2711 hospitalized EVALI cases. To date, 60 vaping-related deaths have been confirmed.

One of the most harmful substances in traditional cigarettes is nicotine. E-cigarettes contain, you guessed it, nicotine.

Let’s be clear. Vaping is not risk free. E-cigarettes are not a safe substitute for commercial tobacco products and they won’t help you quit smoking. You’re just replacing one health risk with another. There is no evidence that vaping products are safe at all. None of the currently available vaping products are approved by the FDA as an aid to quit smoking.

The bottom line is e-cigarettes won’t help you quit smoking or mitigate the risks associated with traditional tobacco cigarettes. Your health and your fitness matter. Take care of yourself. That’s today’s Tip from Lexipol. Gordon Graham signing off.

Gordon Graham has been actively involved in law enforcement since 1973. He spent nearly 10 years as a very active motorcycle officer while also attending Cal State Long Beach to achieve his teaching credential, USC to do his graduate work in Safety and Systems Management with an emphasis on Risk Management, and Western State University to obtain his law degree. In 1982 he was promoted to sergeant and also admitted to the California State Bar and immediately opened his law offices in Los Angeles.
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