There has been more focus on Non-Nicotine E-Cigarettes products for a long time. Many governments have invested heavily in efforts to prevent their young citizens from getting hooked on these products. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been ramping up efforts to deter young Americans from experimenting with nicotine products including e-cigarettes. The agency has been in overdrive to get synthetic nicotine products off the market.
As a result, many would-be nicotine product users are now turning to other products such as caffeine and vitamins. New studies show that the use of non-nicotine vapes is on the rise. This begs the question are these products safe for you?
Already the FDA has been sceptical about the claims made by these products. Many people vape vitamins and other non-nicotine products because they believe they will get an energy boost and many other benefits such as increased focus, better sleep and improved immunity. The truth is that some of these claims have no scientific backing.
Some of these vapes are sold as nutritional supplement diffusers. For example, companies such as Inhale Health and HealthVape sell products that claim to deliver a healthy dose of melatonin, Vitamin C and Vitamin B12 that your body needs. The FDA points out that these claims are false. This is also true for products that claim to contain essential oils and minerals for fighting asthma, dementia, and ADHD among many others.
A study published in May by Stanford University found that about 26% of American aged 13 to 40 use vaping products. Furthermore, 17% of Americans had tried non-nicotine vapes in the past month while 12% had used the product in the past week.
Doctor Horge Mercedo NYU Langone Hospital pulmonary medicine specialist reports that many patients have been asking about the safety and benefits of using wellness vapes. He says he has always asked his patients to stay away from these products. In December 2021 the FDA issued a cautionary note against health claims made by wellness vaping products. The FDA say that most of these products are not pure as they claim to be. Furthermore, there is no way of knowing what is in those products.
Some consumers such as George Michalopoulos the CEO of both Vitamin Vape and Breathe B12 swear by his products. He says his body does not efficient absorb oral vitamin B12. For these reasons, he created the vitamin B12 Vapes for himself. However, Dr Mercado argues that these products are a danger to your health. He says “Just because it’s safe to take [vitamins] one way doesn’t mean that it’s going to be safe with another type of absorption.” He further points out that vitamins are lipophilic but the lungs are not equipped to handle lipids. This means that using vitamin vapes can lead to serious health problems such as lipoid pneumonia which is difficult to treat.
Studies also show that flavours used in most non-nicotine vapes cause oxidative stress. This damages both the lung cells and the body as a whole. It is therefore advisable that Americans need to be careful as they shop for vaping products.
