The vaping epidemic as a challenge to active longevity, announced by the Ministry of Social Policy

Recently, in the public information space, the Ministry of Social Policy officially wished Ukrainians active longevity. In official parlance, this means: Generations X, Y, and Boomers should not count too much on old-age pensions. They refer to the demographic crisis: a little more – and the pension fund, they say, will be filled by no one.

A financial cushion should be prepared from a young age in order to have a passive income in later years or have to work until the last breath. And for this, you must agree, you need to have good health. Against this background, a healthy lifestyle is more relevant than ever. So smoking in general and vaping, in particular, in light of the requirements of active longevity, looks, to put it mildly, inappropriate.

Therefore, the mass enthusiasm for “electronics” is surprising. The absolute majority of vape addicts are children and teenagers, as well as women. Many of them believe that vapes are innocent fun or a healthy alternative to smoking cigarettes.  But here it is worth clarifying something.

Welcome to the evil business of electronic cigarettes

The basis for the vape industry, which today competes with the tobacco business, was laid 20 years ago by the Chinese pharmacist Hong Lik. After the death of his father from lung cancer, the pharmacist – himself an avid smoker – tried to find an alternative to cigarettes. He joined the experiments conducted in China in the wake of anti-nicotine propaganda, which resulted in the invention of an electronic cigarette with a nicotine aerosol.

The Marlboro Cowboy Surrenders, or Compromise with the Tobacco Devil

Today, the legislation of Ukraine equates e-cigarettes to ordinary cigarettes. That is, they are subject to prohibitions and permits for use as classic tobacco products. The producers made a win-win bet on the most vulnerable, uncritically thinking audience – teenagers and young people.

Just as at one time the Marlboro cowboy from a pack of cigarettes entered the collective mind as a symbol of a cool guy, so today the images of girls and boys vaping form a new identity in the minds of young people.

If earlier it was easy to recognize hangman smokers behind the school or in the school toilet by the tobacco smoke and then cut off their ears, now among the masses of teenagers it is more difficult to recognize in time those who have recently vaped stealthily, and to stop this loss in time…

You need to know the enemy face to face

Smoking is a complex problem: toxicological, pulmonological and

psychological  Any smoking – be it vaping, hookah, cigarettes, pipes, cigars – provokes oxygen starvation of the body. Nicotine use is unconditionally harmful to the heart and blood vessels, contributes to sclerosis, fibrosis and the appearance of areas of inflammation. Nicotine is not only a neurotoxic poison, but also a substance that causes drug addiction.

Due to the perceived harmlessness of “liquid”, many people fall into its frequent use, however, the cumulative effect of such abuse can have very negative consequences.

Unlike ordinary cigarettes, vape is insidious in that it can cause allergies, swelling of the larynx and lungs. After all, the “liquid” contains glycerin, propylene glycol and aromatic additives. Thanks to ethers in the composition of the “liquid”, other substances of the potion enter the inner walls of blood vessels, causing their inflammation.

Valli syndrome is a lung disease also associated with vape smoking. Unlike classical pneumonia, it mostly affects young people. Every fifth of them suffers from asthma.

Fortunately, a year ago, they officially banned “one-time” drinks, recognizing their obvious harm to health. Oil in the fire adds to the flammability of the device with the risk of tearing off the lip, injuring the face, hands and lungs.

It seems that the “one-time” ban is a victory of common sense over a mindless fashion tribute, albeit a small one.

We make a choice

Do you think smoking is Freudian compensation, romanticized by human history, or an addiction that cannot be broken once and for all?

Perhaps, having better understood the mechanisms of the appearance of nicotine addiction, adepts of “electronics” will be able to more consciously approach the choice in favor of giving up the bad habit.

At first glance, it is a personal matter of everyone – to smoke or not to smoke – depending on the will. However, it is worth remembering about social responsibility towards loved ones. Carelessly treating our health and at the same time pretending to a secure, comfortable old age, we automatically risk becoming a burden for our relatives in the future.

So, without falling into excessive moralism, I would like to formulate the question not as: “Cigarette or vape?”, but “To smoke or not to smoke?”. And this choice requires each of us to be aware of all the risks and gives a chance for active longevity. Do you agree?

Tatyana Morarash