Group focuses on vaping

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
With vaping-related illnesses on the rise and little known about the long-term effects of the country’s newest nicotine trend, the local prevention group, 21 Alliance, is focusing on vaping education, according to coordinator Kristi Lipp. 
The federal Centers for Disease Control says that “e-cigarettes are sometimes called ‘e-cigs,’ ‘vapes,’ ‘e-hookahs,’ ‘vape pens,’ and ‘electronic nicotine delivery systems. Some e-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some look like USB flash drives, pens, and other everyday items.”
E-cigarettes or vaping products heat a liquid into an aerosol that the user inhales, according to the CDC. 
Most e-cigarettes or vape juices contain nicotine, the CDC says, which is an addictive drug found in regular cigarettes and other tobacco products. Nicotine can harm your brain, activating areas in your brain that make you feel satisfied and happy. 
“Up until a few months ago, it was like before they figured out cigarettes are bad for us. We knew cigarettes weren’t good for us, but it took time for there to be proof, for people to get sick and for individuals to have compromised breathing,” Lipp said. “It is the same thing with vaping. If you would have asked a year ago, I would have said vaping is bad, for kids especially, and now I can say it is bad because of recent happenings. We have the evidence to back that up.” 
On Sept. 12, the Wyoming Department of Health confirmed that Wyoming had its first confirmed case of vaping-associated severe pulmonary disease in a young adult from Uinta County. At that time, the state was investigating several other reports. 
Because of these recent developments, Lipp said, 21 Alliance’s focus is threefold: educating the youth, parents and other adults who believe that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking. 
“Our first focus is, of course, the kids and educating them that vaping is not a safe alternative. The second focus is the parents who don’t know about vaping,” Lipp said. There is a large population who does not know general information about vaping and how bad it can actually be, she said. 
“When e-cigarettes first came out, it was to help people quit, it was a tool used by smokers. And the secondhand smoke wasn’t there and they were less carcinogenic,” Lipp said. “But things have changed since the products first came out, and there is a large population of the public that is not aware of the harms or what we are even dealing with.” 
The group is also seeking to educate parents and adults who believe vaping is a better alternative than cigarettes or chewing tobacco for youth. 
The main focus, Lipp said, has been educating the three population groups about the different kinds of vaping devices on the market. The alliance is also focusing on informing the public that it is not just “water vapor” that people exhale when vaping. 
“These companies are telling us it is just vapor, that what you are inhaling is just water vapor and what you
exhale is just vapor. This is not the case, it is aerosol,” Lipp said. “There are particles in that aerosol that are causing the lung issues.” 
The CDC says that tobacco companies prefer the term “vapor” because this implies that it is harmless when, in fact, vaping products create an aerosol, which is a mixture of particles in the air that can be harmful to your health. 
According to Lipp, tobacco companies are targeting youth in their advertising by regularly creating new devices and flavoring the juices used. 
“We know that e-cigarette use has risen among the youth, particularly in the past year. Since 2014, e-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among youth,” the CDC reports. “In the United States, youth are about seven times more likely to use e-cigarettes than adults, a 78% increase among high school students.” 
Lipp noted that vaping isn’t just a problem in Weston County but across the country, according to the CDC. 
“Back in my day, it was Camel Joe. That is how they marketed to the youth. Tobacco companies have always targeted younger generations,” Lipp said. “Now these vape companies are using things like flavored juices and different kinds of devices. It is insane.”  
As of Oct. 8, the CDC was reporting a total of 1,299-lung injury cases associated with the use of vaping in 49 of the 50 states. Twenty-six deaths in 21 different states have resulted from the vaping-associated illness, the CDC said. 
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. The CDC is looking closely at the use of THC-containing products in vaping. 
“Most patients report a history of using tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products. The latest national and state findings suggest products containing THC, particularly those obtained off the street or from other informal sources, are linked to most of the cases and play a major role in the outbreak,” the CDC says. “Therefore, the CDC recommends that you should not use e-cigarette, or vaping, products that contain THC.”
At present, the CDC also continues to recommend that people consider refraining from using e-cigarettes, or vaping, products that contain nicotine.