Grim symptoms that could be caused by vaping
Millions of people across the UK vape every day, but not many actually know about the symptoms the addictive habit can cause.
Vaping is aimed at adults aged over the age of 18 and was introduced in Europe all the way back in 2005. They were advertised as a healthier alternative to smoking tobacco - even though disposable vapes are soon set to be banned in the UK.
While it's tobacco in cigarettes that cause the main health concerns - including lung disease and heart disease - the nicotine in vapes still has negative side effects.
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These side effects are as follows:
'Vaper's tongue'
One symptom vape-users can experience is something known as 'vaper's tongue'.
This is when someone has numbness in their tongue and may also have a dulled sense of taste, as well as a dry mouth.
Diarrhoea
As vape liquids come in an array of flavours, many of which are very sweet, the artificial sweeteners in these can cause diarrhoea and flatulence when consumed in large quantities.
Breathing problems
Vapers may experience shortness of breath as a result of using e-cigarettes, according to the NHS. People might also experience mouth and throat irritation.
Headaches
The NHS also warns that vaping can cause headaches in some users.
Elsewhere, e-cigarette nicotine may cause fatigue or insomnia, nausea, dizziness and heart palpitations.
Vaping can also result in much more serious health complications.
According to a report published by The Public Health Advocate, serial vape-users could develop respiratory failure, leading to tremors, cyanosis (a bluish-purple hue to the skin), dyspnoea (shortness of breath), convulsions, collapse or coma.
Nicotine has also been found to paralyse the respiratory system.
Despite it being illegal for under-18's in the UK to purchase vapes, there's still an alarming number of young people using them.
A survey conducted by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), found that in 2023, 20.5 per cent of children had tried vaping, up from 15.8 per cent in 2022 and 13.9 per cent in 2020.
One of the most popular reasons for young people vaping is for the sweet flavours that are available.
Ash found that 21 per cent of those surveyed vaped because they 'like the flavours'.
With these concerning figures in mind, the UK government are said to be looking into banning disposable vapes in a bid to tackle the rising numbers of youngsters using them.
A senior Whitehall insider told The Telegraph: “Disposable vapes are almost entirely aimed at kids and they are environmentally damaging. There is a wide consensus emerging on the need to act.”
Doubling down on the rumours, Science and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said Downing Street was 'looking into' the ban.
"This is a very worrying trend that we're seeing, of young children taking up vaping that had never smoked before, and it is extremely dangerous to their health and their wellbeing is something that we do need to act on," Donelan told Sky News.
Niamh Shackleton