Letter to the Editor

Vaping: Safer Than Smoking?

Authors: Paola Galan Villar, MD, Faysal Alhasan, MD, Steven Lippmann, MD

Abstract

To the Editor: Vaping refers to the act of inhaling an aerosol produced by electronic cigarettes. These devices, also called e-cigarettes, are handheld instruments that heat a fluid to produce an aerosol, which is then inhaled. The fluids usually contain nicotine, a variety of toxic compounds, and sometimes flavorings to increase appeal.1

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References

1. Thirion-Romero I, Perez-Padilla R, Zabert G, et al. Respiratory impact of electronic cigarettes and"low risk"tobacco. Rev Invest Clin 2019;71:17-27.
2. Christiani DC. Vaping-induced lung injury. N Engl J Med 2019; doi 10.1056/NEJMe1912032.
3. Levy DT, Yuan Z, Li Y. The prevalence and characterisitcs of e-cigarette users in the U.S. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2017;14:1200.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreak of lung injury associated with e-cigarette use, or vaping. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html. Accessed September 30, 2019.
5. Layden JE, Ghinai I, Pray I, et al. Pulmonary illness related to e-cigarette use in Illinois and Wisconsin-preliminary report. N Engl J Med 2019; doi 10.1056/NEJMoa1911614.