International Healthcare Research Journal 2020;3(12):370-375.
INTRODUCTION
Meant to be safer, harmless and having no-tobacco, the
Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) was first patented in
1967 by Herbert A. Gilbert from Beaver Falls, PA.
1
They
gained immense popularity after a Chinese pharmacist
named Hon Lik introduced e-cigarettes in the Chinese
market through his employer in 2004 and ever since,
are freely available over the internet for users to buy and
use.
2
These (e-cigarettes) are also commonly known as
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and is a
product which is operated through a battery which
helps deliver nicotine through inhalable aerosol
generated from a nicotine-containing solution. The
term “vaping” is associated with an e-cigarette use.
Vaping is finding an increase in its use, especially
among the young population as it gives a sensation as
well as provides the same taste and feeling of inhaling
smoke that mimicking smoking from paper cigarettes.
Not just e-cigarettes, but vape pens and advanced
personal vaporisers (MODS) too are the devices used
for vaping.
They were initially used as an alternative to regular
smoking and were initially considered safe to use.
However, the health consequences, arising from the
long-term use of these e-cigarettes, i.e. (1) Its efficacy as
compared to combustible cigarette smokers to help
them to reduce and/or stop smoking, (2) The extent of
carcinogens in e-cigarettes and, (3) the role of these
products in initiating and perpetuating nicotine
dependence in teenagers and young adults has been
debated constantly across the globe.
3
There have been various cases reported of lung injury
as a result of these e-cigarettes and in this context, on
October 11
th
, 2019,
4
The Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) in its morbidity and mortality weekly
report issued have given an official name to the vaping
related illness named: EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping
Product Associated Lung Injury). This review paper
discusses about e-cigarettes and about its harmful
effects that lead to EVALI in a person.
WHAT IS AN E- CIGARETTE?
An E- cigarette is a hand held powered vaporizer which
includes hand to mouth action of smoking but without
combustion of tobacco and are categorised in to three
groups: disposable, rechargeable and modular.5 They
have a battery powered vaporizer that uses a heating
element to heat e-liquid, typically containing nicotine,
from a cartridge that produces a chemical filled aerosol.
The effectiveness of an e-cigarettes depends on a variety
of factors which include battery strength, the nature of
EVALI: A Review of the Vaping Related Lung Injury
REVIEW
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ISSN: 2456-8090 (online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26440/IHRJ/0312.03327
SWATI SHARMA
1
, FIZA NEHVI
2
, NILI KUMARI
3
, ALANKRITA CHAUDHARY *
4
, KULDEEP DHANKER
5
Vaping or e-cigarettes were introduced to help people quit smoking tobacco but with every passing year, their demand has
dramatically increased as compared to the traditional cigarettes. With the increase in the number of vapers, an alarming vaping
related outbreak which was given an official name by the CDC: EVALI (Electronic cigarette or Vaping Product Associated Lung
Injury). In the United States, until January 21
st
, 2020 2051 cases have been reported from all 50 states with 60 deaths confirmed in
27 states and the district of Columbia. Not much is known about the cause of this outbreak but the possible culprits could be
THC(Tetrahydrocannabinol) containing materials or Vitamin E Acetate. In order to protect the youth and the adults from such
health hazards the government took a step by putting a ban on E-cigarettes. After the US states of Michigan & New York, India too,
imposed a ban on the sale of such e-cigarettes. This review paper discusses about e-cigarettes and about its harmful effects that lead
to EVALI in a person.
KEYWORDS: E-cigarettes, Vaping, Smoking Cessation, ENDS
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© Swati Sharma et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY-NC 4.0, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the use is not commercial and the original author(s) and source are cited.
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