Vaping has long been mired in controversy.
While it is often touted as a “safer” alternative to smoking, recent research has found that it can lead to permanent lung damage.
For example, a study published last week found that while vaping was “much safer” than smoking traditional cigarettes, it was still linked to eight different lung diseases.
But it’s not just nicotine vaporizers that are being brought to the lips of nations.
Recently, wellness companies have embraced these devices and filled them with “health-boosting” or “energy-dosing” substances, from vitamin B12 to melatonin.
About one in five teens use nicotine-free vapes, according to a 2022 study from Stanford University.
And the most popular have to be the ones containing caffeine, like Eagle Energy, which costs between $25 and $30 for two, and which claims to provide a “natural energy boost without unwanted byproducts.”
Many of the brands, such as Inhale Health, also claim that their products are calorie-free and sugar-free, resulting in “no more sugar crashes.”
Experts told DailyMail.com that vapes with caffeine, vitamins and essential oils could still cause permanent lung damage, even if they don’t contain nicotine.
Wellness vaporizers from brands like Breathe and VitaBar, which come in a host of bright colors and offer a variety of benefits, have become increasingly popular on TikTok and other social media sites.
Some are endorsed by social media stars, like Canadian model and influencer Adrianne Ho, who said her caffeinated vaporizer “allows me to have a coffee when I’m out and about.”
“It can keep you energized without having to drink coffee, it’s an alternative to coffee.”
However, experts have issued dire warnings to DailyMail.com. First, scientists have questioned whether inhaled caffeine even reaches the bloodstream.
Meanwhile, vaping comes with serious risks, including permanent injuries like bronchiolitis, also known as popcorn lung, and EVALI, painful lung damage that can lead to long-lasting scarring.
Additionally, experts warned that marketing of the devices, in rainbow colors and with terms like “wellness,” could potentially attract teenagers and children.
“No vaporizer is safe,” Dr. Timothy Allen, chair of pathology at Corewell Health East in Michigan, told DailyMail.com.
A TikTok user named tatibxx shared a video of her using an essential oil vaporizer from LUVV Inhealers.
“There are carriers or supplements in the vaporizer that could be a direct cause of harm.”
‘Wellness vaping is just a trick. “It is just a plot to suggest that vaping has benefits even though there are no studies showing that such an effect exists.”
Caffeine, along with essential oils and vitamin B12, which helps form oxygen-rich red blood cells, have become popular additives in vaporizers.
However, Dr. Allen noted that because of the way caffeine is processed in the body, inhaling it is likely to destroy any effects.
“There is no evidence that caffeine or melatonin or any of these substances actually reach the bloodstream or the body beyond the lung,” he said.
In the case of caffeine, “I don’t think it has any stimulant effects,” he said.
In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to five wellness e-cigarette manufacturers for promoting “unproven” claims, including those claiming that use of the products treated conditions such as anemia, ADHD, depression , anxiety, dementia and cancer.
“These claims are unproven and the products may be ineffective, a waste of money, unsafe, and may prevent or delay seeking appropriate diagnosis and treatment from a healthcare professional,” the agency wrote.
And the lack of effectiveness does not make them immune to negative effects.
“The risk of lung injury remains,” Dr. Allen said.
A supplement influencer named Jessica Dela Cruz shared a TikTok in 2022 promoting Boost’s vitamin C and B12 vaporizers.
Dr Aaron Weiner, a licensed clinical psychologist and addiction specialist in Illinois, told DailyMail.com: ‘The only chemical that is supposed to be absorbed is oxygen. That’s what lungs are designed for.
“As soon as you start putting other things in there, you don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
Dr. Weiner pointed out vitamin E, which can be found in dark leafy green vegetables, whole grains, oils and fruits.
However, a form of this known as vitamin E acetate has been found in vaporizers with and without nicotine and has been linked to lung injury associated with the use of electronic cigarettes or vaping products (EVALI), which may be permanent.
“Vitamin E is perfectly fine for eating, but not for breathing,” Dr. Weiner said.
There is no test to determine if someone has EVALI, so the diagnosis is based on symptoms, which include difficulty breathing, fever, chills, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, rapid heart rate, and pain in the head. the chest, according to the American Lung Association (ALA).
EVALI has caused several heartbreaking health problems. A 34-year-old woman from Ohio, who consumed about eight cartridges of vaping liquid each week, the equivalent of 50 cigarettes a day, found herself on life support within 24 hours of going to urgent care for breathing problems.
In another terrifying case, a 20-year-old woman from the United Kingdom named Abby Flynn developed a rare lung disease, called “popcorn lung,” that doctors warned could have left her dependent on an oxygen machine before she turned 30. .
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Additionally, the FDA issued a warning in 2021 for a vaporizer known as Breathe B12, stating that the ingredients “may cause laryngospasm or bronchospasm, may be toxic to upper or lower respiratory tract tissues, or may be absorbed and exert non-toxic systemic effects.” desired”. organ effects or toxicity.’
Laryngospasm is a spasm of the vocal cords, while bronchospasm occurs when the muscles lining the airways of the lungs become tight.
Dr. Weiner also said that several caffeinated vapes still contain ingredients like vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol.
When the vaporizer is turned on and heats these chemicals, they can be converted into substances such as formaldehyde, which has been linked to various forms of cancer and injuries such as popcorn lung.
“Propylene glycol literally breaks down into thousands of chemicals, including formaldehyde and vitamin E acetate,” Dr. Weiner said. “Essentially, that becomes an oil that coats the lungs, and that’s what was causing that problem.”
“What you’re actually putting in your lungs, the chemical constellation and what goes into your lungs looks very different than what’s written on the outside of the package.”
‘Because these things are not FDA approved, they are not regulated in any way. For starters, you don’t really know what’s in them. You are exposing yourself to the unknown.
In terms of vitamin vapes, while vitamin B12 supplements have been shown to improve red blood cell function, research suggests that inhaling them could cause more harm than good.
However, a 2019 study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that of all the vaporizers tested, the varieties with vitamin B12 produced the most oxidative stress.
This occurs when there is an imbalance between free radicals (unstable molecules that can damage cells) and antioxidants, leading to health problems such as inflammation and other chronic diseases.
Researchers also found that these e-cigarettes cause inflammation in the outer cells of the lung and in microphages, white blood cells that destroy dead cells.
There is also no research to suggest that the body can absorb vitamins by inhaling them rather than getting them from foods or oral supplements. “The idea of inhaling vitamins is not necessary,” Dr. Allen said. “Just eat well.”
A 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example, found that about 2.1 million children currently use e-cigarettes. And about half of them become addicted.
And a World Health Organization (WHO) report claimed that more 13- to 15-year-olds use vapes than adults in all WHO regions, helped by aggressive marketing. This led the agency to call for a global ban on all flavored vaporizers.
Dr Allen warned that the colorful packaging and health claims of wellness vaporizers could encourage more young people, among whom vaping is particularly popular, to use them and risk long-lasting lung damage.
“It’s irresponsible,” he said. “It feels like bad faith marketing.”