February Vaping Bull Crap Avalanche!

As you may have seen, I have replaced our wonderful previous Editor Neil Humber in writing all of our news articles.

I scour social media and keep an eye on mainstream media for stories about vaping.

The last month or so I have found it difficult mentally.

The reason being the avalanche of total bullcrap making the headlines.

I am used to a smattering of dodgy scaremongering – I did a study tracking UK mainstream media and found over 6 months the articles were mainly negative.

But the absolute torrent of bulls*&t being pumped out in the UK about vaping is just ridiculous. I am used to the USA manipulating vaping perception but I have never seen such stupidity in the UK? I am no conspiracy theorist but there just seems to be some weird agenda as the UK authorities are pretty pro-vaping as a smoking cessation tool?

Recent Stories

Oh man where do I start.

I know the most shocking one of all…

Vaper Popcorn Lung…

Several news outlets shared the biggest bulls*&t article I have seen in a few years.

The main protagonists are below, despite me being loathed to share this and attracting attention to their crap.

Lad Bible “Girl who fell asleep with vape, claims she’s got “popcorn lung” and could need oxygen tank by 30.”

The Sun – “PUFFED OFF – I never smoked before I vaped – now I’ve been left with incurable ‘Popcorn Lung’”

And of course the Daily Mail would be joining in… “Vape addict who fell asleep cradling her e-cig reveals she has ‘Popcorn Lung’ after being warned she’d need an oxygen tank before turning 30″.

Being pro vaping and wanting people to see the benefits of using e-cigs to quit smoking, I am sure you will understand my dismay seeing articles like this.

The lady in question “Abby Flynn” aged 20 was a non-smoker who apparently became addicted to disposable vapes. Getting through one a day.

She was diagnosed with Asthma as a child, but recently developed a nasty cough which she sought medical advice on.

Apparently the lung scans revealed Bronchiolitis Obliterans which is basically a build up of scar tissue in the lungs which blocks the airflow.

The Sun in particular quotes this (quite ironic – read on)…

“It can be caused by a number of different things such as infections that damage the lungs or chemicals that irritate the lungs, Cancer Research UK states.”

Ironic because the whole vaping and “Popcorn Lung” myth is one that Cancer Research UK have proved to be lies! Why didn’t you quote that bit?

A Further Twist

There have been some Tweets shared which apparently show the lady in the story Abby as being totally misrepresented. I share below some images which were provided on Twitter as being a chat with Abby.

So there we go – surely this hasn’t been blown out of all proportion? *Sarcastic Face*.

Menthol Linked To Miscarriage

Oh man another one.

The Sun – “MUM’S THE Word – Urgent vaping warning as two flavours linked to miscarriage“. Worth noting the same reporter wrote this article as the laughable “Popcorn Lung” above.

As expected the Daily Mail are also in on the act – “Vaping warning for mums-to-be: Study claims risk of miscarriage is up to 2 TIMES higher for certain flavours“.

Both articles cite a new study “E-cigarette use during pregnancy and its association with adverse birth outcomes in the US“.

This appears to be quite a new study published January 2023.

As the title suggests this study was performed in the US and the conclusion says…

“Pregnant women who vaped mint−/menthol-flavored e-cigarettes during pregnancy showed elevated risk of experiencing fetal death than those who vaped other flavors. However, those who opted to quit vaping before pregnancy showed no differences in the likelihood of having a high risk birth compared to non-users. More research with a longer follow-up period is needed to examine the mechanisms behind behavioral choices related to e-cigarette use and flavor selections and their impacts on adverse”

The jury is out for me right now – call me a cynic but I don’t always trust studies from the USA due to possible conflicts of interests.

However this is quite a new review and I have not seen any information to contradict these claims as yet.

I have seen a Tweet from ASH (Action On Smoking & Health) basically calling this out as a flawed study…

.@HazelCheeseman: “Many women in the UK are successfully using vapes to avoid smoking in pregnancy.

“It is irresponsible to discourage them from doing so without clear evidence of harm given the known and very substantial risks to mother and baby from smoking in pregnancy.”

— ASH (@AshOrgUK) February 24, 2023

Viral Pregnant TikToker

Also to tie in with the above a TikToker has gone viral for saying she vapes whilst pregnant and will not quit.

This article in the Insider states that the CDC (Center for Disease Control) say that nicotine products are unsafe in pregnancy. She is from the USA.

Here is her post and the replies are really shocking.

@kaymariewulf18 Proud of the people who actually were able to quit, but shaming people who are struggling isn’t right. Y’all really find an issue with everything that does not or will not effect you personally. Quit judging/shaming bc its not something you’d personally do. #pregnant #vaping #fyp #momshaming #viraltiktok ♬ original sound – Kaylee Marie

This has opened a right Pandora’s box, with plenty of Twitter users enjoying getting stuck in about vaping being dangerous.

Of course The Sun rubbed its hands and published the story – “Blowing Smoke – I’m expecting my second child and still vape – I did in my first pregnancy too & I don’t think I should be mum shamed for it”

I would like to add the advice below is from the NHS UK website, which recommends NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) for pregnant smokers. But it adds that if vaping will keep you away from cigarettes it is still safer than smoking.

A November 2022 study by the HIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) states…

“This study suggests that e-cigarettes are as safe as nicotine patches for pregnant women. They may also be more effective at helping women to quit.”

Vaping & Oral Cancer

Jeez another negative vaping story.

I first saw this guess where? Yup the Daily Mail – “Another setback for vapes? Using the devices can increase the risk of oral cancer as much as cigarettes do, study finds.”

We covered the myth vaping was responsible for gum disease in a previous article.

I quote a transcript of the letter Dr Richard Holliday (Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Specialist in Periodontics) and Professor Elaine McColl (Professor of Health Service Research at Newcastle University) sent to The Times Newspaper regarding an article to correct the errors…

“Sir, The article “Elf bars and me: I’m a vaping addict, so will I get gum disease?” (Times June 8th) suggests that the use of e-cigarettes (and specifically nicotine) leads to Gum disease, but this does not represent the scientific evidence in this field. Tobacco smoking is a major cause of oral diseases including Periodontal (Gum) disease. Smoke and not Nicotine is responsible for these harms, although this often gets confused.

Indeed oral nicotine, such as Gum, has been used without concern for decades. Nicotine use does not lead to Gum disease. In the case of bleeding gums, it is normal for smokers to get this when they quit; if this happens those affected should see their dental team for a full examination.

Finally smokers who are thinking about switching to an e-cigarette should bear in mind that this is a great move for their general and oral health”

The NCSCT (National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training) have produced a guide for Dental Professionals to broach the subject of quitting smoking and their advice is clear that Vaping is a great Harm Reduction tool.

Vaping & Heart Attacks

Oh goody another beauty from The Sun – “THE HEART OF IT – I’m a cardiologist – silent killers are rising in the young and vaping could be to blame“. Oh and guess what – our friend Isabel Shaw wrote it too!

The Cardiologist in question – Dr Jim Liu said…

“vapes and e-cigarettes can stress your heart just as much as regular cigarettes can,”

An article in the previously mentioned Insider covered the same story but many other factors were mentioned including Obesity, post pandemic behaviour, alcohol consumption and many other conditions also posing a risk. Something The Sun didn’t mention in their headline…

Vaping Damages Organs

An article in the Daily Express – “Expert shares five ‘hidden dangers’ of vaping – four million Britons at risk”

Talk about alarmist, plus they also include a video of “Dr Sara discusses risk of ‘popcorn lung'”. She says lots of crap about damage vaping can do.

After that you wouldn’t think it could get any worse would you? Well it does.

Rajive Patel – a medical writer at “Now Patient” says that vaping causes Organ Damage, Lung Scarring, Lung Injury (including popcorn lung), Heart Disease and Asthma.

“The use of e-cigarettes can have serious complications on your health, including an increased risk of heart disease, asthma and organ damage to name a few, so it’s important people are aware of these dangers.”

After seeing the “popcorn lung” quoted by him as being a fact, it makes me less likely to believe any of his opinions quite frankly.

Sigh…

It is hard to stay positive about the role of vaping in the UK when you see stories like this published to a large readership.

A lot of people believe that the UK Tabloid media are not a truthful source of news so hopefully this might have a lower impact than expected.

But needless to say, plenty of people are Anti-Vaping and all this just adds fuel to their arguments.