Callum Jones
An eye-opening simulation has detailed what happens to your body if you were to vape every day for a period of 30 days.
While vapes were previously seen as a healthier alternative for those hoping to quit cigarettes, our understanding of the nicotine-fuelled product remains hazy at this time.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), current guidelines in the US say that while e-cigarettes are generally considered a lower-risk alternative to tobacco cigarettes, it isn't entirely risk-free.
As a result, experts are continuing to highlight the dangers of taking up vaping, and a viral simulation video has highlighted some of the dangers to be mindful of.
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The video, shared by Untold Healing, explained how your brain's chemistry changes with just one puff of a blue raspberry vape.
"Nicotine floods your brain receptors within seven seconds, triggering dopamine release," the video simulation went on to say. "Your brain is rewiring itself to need that hit."
According to a 2012 study, once nicotine enters the body via inhalation, it can reach the brain within 10 to 20 seconds.
The CDC says that nicotine, which is usually present in vapes, can harm brain development until the age of 25, with use during adolescence possibly impacting the parts of your brain in control of attention span, learning, mood, and impulse control.
The simulation went on to explain that lung damage can begin in as little as three days, with symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and breathing difficulties presenting themselves just three weeks into vaping every day.
The University of Utah Health says that in the short term, vaping can cause inflammatory injury to the lungs, which has since been termed e-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI).
Symptoms, including shortness of breath, pain when breathing, and coughing, can vary from person to person, developing over a few days to over months.
There are also cardiovascular changes to be aware of: the simulation claims that your heart rate increases by 4 beats per minute and that your risk of a heart attack also rises.
According to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, vaping has been shown to increase systolic blood pressure and elevate heart rate for around 45 minutes after e-cigarette use.
They also say that it has been linked to arterial stiffness and damage to the lining of blood vessels.
After 30 days of vaping every day, the simulation states you're 'fully dependent', which makes it more difficult to give up.
While it is still unknown what the long-term risks of vaping can be, it has been potentially linked to a greater risk for chronic lung disease, as well as heart problems, like heart failure. Meanwhile, EVALI could cause permanent scarring in your lungs.
Addressing some of the risks that could come with vaping, Michael Blaha, MD, told John Hopkins Medicine that people 'need to understand that e-cigarettes are potentially dangerous to your health'.
"Emerging data suggests links to chronic lung disease and asthma, as well as associations between dual use of e-cigarettes and smoking with cardiovascular disease," he says. "You’re exposing yourself to all kinds of chemicals that we don’t yet understand and that are probably not safe."
Meanwhile, Dr Andrew Freeman, who spoke with the University of Utah Health, said that our lungs 'are not a good organ to absorb substances for recreational use', adding: "They are an incredible organ, providing our bodies with vital oxygen and exchanging carbon dioxide, all while protecting us from infections and other harmful elements from our environment.
"We all begin to slowly lose lung function after about our early to mid-20s, and yet they must last us a lifetime. If people don’t take care of their lungs, they really suffer more difficulties breathing later in life due to habits such as vaping."