Health Risks Connected to E-Cigarettes

The practice of smoking e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, has become popular around the world in the past decade.

At first, many people believed that electric cigarettes were less harmful than regular cigarettes.

In light of recent developments, however, some smokers are having second thoughts.

In late September, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it uncovered 1,080 cases of lung injury connected to e-cigarette use.

Symptoms include extreme shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, and chest pain.

According to the U.S. organization, one teenager who had vaped for many years had lungs that resembled those of a 70-year-old.

In other cases, the injuries even resulted in death.

"The lung damage is similar to what one might see at an industrial accident," one medical expert said.

"It is as if the person were exposed to toxic chemical fumes."

The news came as a shock to e-cigarette smokers throughout the globe.

Many had assumed vaping to be less dangerous because unlike traditional cigarettes, the e-cigarette device did not burn tar, a major cancer-causing agent.

In fact, smokers often took up vaping as a means to give up their deadly tobacco habit.

However, because vaping didn't become popular until about 10 years ago, its long-term effects were not well-known.

Now, it turns out that some of the chemicals in e-cigarettes may be more harmful than they first appeared.

Countries around the world have differing opinions about the possible dangers of vaping.

Some nations, such as Singapore and India, have decided to ban the sales of e-cigarettes altogether.

Other nations, like the United Kingdom, still consider e-cigarettes to be less harmful than tobacco cigarettes.

 

• vape  불연성 담배에서 나오는 연기를 들이마시다 (vaping은 분사형) 전자담배를 들여마시다

• In light of something  ~을 고려하여[감안하여] 

• have second thoughts  다시 생각한 후 마음을 바꾸다

• prevention  prɪˈvenʃn    예방, 방지  prevent  prɪˈvent  (~를/~가 ~하는 것을) 막다[예방/방지하다]

• uncover  ʌnˈkʌvə(r)   (비밀 등을) 알아내다[적발하다] ,  덮개를 벗기다, 뚜껑을 열다

• fumes  fjuːmz  (유독) 가스, 매연  fume fjuːm   연기[매연]를 내뿜다

• come as a shock   쇼크를 느끼다, 정신적 충격을 받다 

• assume  əˈsuːm   (사실일 것으로) 추정[상정]하다

• take something up  (특히 이미 끝난 데서 시작하여) 계속하다 , 시작하다 ,   (옷을) 기장을 줄이다 (↔let down)

• deadly  ˈdedli  생명을 앗아가는[앗아갈], 치명적인 (=lethal)

• altogether   ˌɔːltəˈɡeðə(r)  완전히, 전적으로