What vaping does to the body: Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction

Vapes, e-cigarettes, dab pens, podmods, and vaporizers — whatever they are called, an increasing number of younger people think they are cool, easy to use undetected, and safer than cigarettes.

- Judith Tan

But experts warn that vaping is a silent killer, its seemingly less harsh candy, dessert and fruit flavors hiding its ability to cause harm without immediate, obvious symptoms.

In fact, the vaping device, which looks like a pen or a lighter, is potentially more dangerous than cigarettes, said Dr Puah Ser Hon, who heads the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

"The vape device is more harmful than a stick of cigarette. There is an end point with a cigarette when it burns out. The device is run on battery, allowing the user to continuously vape until the battery runs out," said Dr Puah, who is also the chairman of the Smoking Cessation Workgroup at NHG Health.

He told The Sunday Times that the liquid in the e-cigarette device has various chemicals that are not restricted or checked at all.

Vape devices were previously marketed as a safer alternative to smoking, driving people to vape and exposing them to various harmful chemicals that lead to lung damage, nicotine addiction and other health problems.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that apart from nicotine—which is highly addictive and particularly dangerous to youth because their brains are still developing—aerosol from e-cigarettes can contain harmful substances including cancer-causing chemicals and tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into lungs.

According to the American Lung Association, the dangerous chemicals produced include acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde, which can cause lung and heart disease.