Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to the recent article about the opening of the Vape and Wellness store in Noblesville. While I support the growing presence of small businesses in Hamilton County, I am disappointed that the Reporter highlighted a business that associates vaping products with health and wellness without also discussing the dangers of vaping.
Even though the FDA is now regulating e-liquid manufacturing, it doesn’t mean that vape products are harmless. The vast majority of e-cigarettes and other vaping products contain nicotine, which is a very addictive drug and detrimental to the developing brain up to age 25.
While the use of combustible cigarettes continues to decrease, the use of electronic cigarettes among youth and young adults has increased and become the most commonly used form of tobacco among middle and high school students. Part of this growth is due to the perception that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes. The long-term health effects of e-cigarettes haven’t been able to be evaluated, and there is evidence that e-cigarette aerosol (not harmless vapor) contains heavy metals and chemicals linked to lung disease.
Most people’s fear of smoking is the risk of lung cancer but in reality more people die from the effects of smoking on the heart and vasculature in general. Nicotine vasoconstricts the vessels and decreases blood flow to all organs. Nicotine reduces the amount of oxygen carried to the heart, increases heart rate, increases blood pressure, increases the chance of blood clots forming and harms the blood vessels; therefore, increases the chances of heart attacks and strokes.
Vaping does not take away any of these risks as the amount of nicotine consumed seems be increased – most likely due to the fact that people have the misconception that what they are doing is safe. A store “Vape and Wellness” only adds to this misconception.
As a nurse in a cardiac unit caring for the multitude of patients suffering from the effects of nicotine, and as a mother raising three teenage daughters during this epidemic/outbreak of vaping, please help. “Safer” doesn’t mean safe, and it’s the responsibility of the Reporter to educate its audience and community on both sides of an issue.
Amy Weber, RN
CVTU (Cardiothoracic Vascular Transplant Unit)
St. Vincent Hospital