A dentist has revealed how you can get rid of 'vaper's tongue' — a side effect caused by the excessive use of e-cigarettes.
Vaping has exploded over the past few years, with large numbers of younger people taking up the habit as an alternative for traditional smoking.
Originally invented as a way to help smokers cut back on their addiction, vaping mimics the experience of smoking a cigarette without inhaling harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke.
Howeve,r the habit has since exploded among a younger generation of people who have never smoked previously, leading to the UK government to introduce new restrictions on the sale and usage of vapes.
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This includes banning single use vapes from June.
Research on vaping and its long-term impacts is still evolving, but it's currently considered a safer alternative for smokers.
However, this doesn't mean that vaping won't cause some pretty grim side effects, particularly if you're puffing hard on your favourite flavour.
And one of these is a pretty grim condition referred to as 'vaper's tongue'.
What is 'vaper's tongue'?
If you're currently sat inhaling a Blue Raspberry vape and wondering whether or not you have the dreaded 'vaper's tongue', this is what to look out for.
Essentially, it's a condition which occurs when you've been vaping so much that you lose the ability to taste in your tongue.
The condition was outlined on TikTok by cosmetic dentist Dr Stewart Beggs, who explained: "People end up absolutely caning these vapes and it causes such a massive increase in nicotine and a really, really dry mouth that you lose your sense of taste completely sometimes."
According to Healthline, there is currently little research into the vaper's tongue, given that mass vaping is a relatively new thing, but experts are aware about cases of people losing their sense of taste after vaping.
"There’s not currently reliable evidence to indicate how common the condition is or the mechanisms causing it," Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford Medicine, said of the topic.
"This is another example of the many things we do not know about how vaping affects the body."
What to do if you develop vaper's tongue
If this sounds like something you've noticed, don't worry, as Dr Beggs revealed that there's a pretty simple way to get rid of the condition — either cut down or stop vaping.
"Second thing is it can be linked to dehydration, so start to drink some more water and make sure you're fully hydrated. Clean your tongue, brush your teeth, floss, use a tongue scraper - see if that helps as well," he added.
Popularity of flavoured vapes could also be causing the condition (Getty Stock Images)
What other vaping side effects should I be worried about?
Vaper's tongue isn't the only emerging side effect e-cigarette lovers need to be on the lookout for. Health experts are also raising concerns about a condition called e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, and a rapid heartbeat.
Like vaper's tongue, research on EVALI is also ongoing, with Cancer Research UK noting the condition is likely linked to chemicals used in vapes sold in the US.
Brenna Cooper