We have published a number of articles over the past several years on the risks of electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes). This week, Krishnan-Sarin et al. (10.1542/peds.2016-3224) introduce us to a practice that we were unaware of and perhaps you as well—“dripping” being practiced by high school students who use e-cigarettes. So what is dripping? It is the inhalation of vapors produced by taking the e-liquids used in these products and simply dripping these liquids directly onto heated atomizers, producing a vaporous substance that can be inhaled and does not require putting the e-cigarette device directly into the mouth. So how common is this practice? The investigators surveyed students anonymously in 8 Connecticut high schools asking them about their use of various smoking products. The results of the more than 7000 surveys completed demonstrated that of the over 1000 who use e-cigarettes, more than a quarter of them were using them for dripping. Reasons for doing this practice included their preference for thicker clouds of vapor, better taste of the flavors in the vaporized solution, and a stronger “hit” among others. While the authors did not focus on the safety issues or risk of this behavior leading to other risk-taking behaviors, one can only be worried that the use of e-cigarette liquid for inhaling could trigger use of other inhalants just as, if not more dangerous. If you do have adolescents using e-cigarettes, you might want to inquire about dripping if you haven’t already and be aware that the various chemicals as well as nicotine that are in the e-cigarette products may be even more likely to be a concern for the future health of those who use these devices—but hopefully future studies will address that concern and lead to tighter restrictions and more health warnings being placed on underage usage of e-cigarette products.
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“Dripping”: An E-Cigarette Activity You May Not Be Aware Of
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“Dripping”: An E-Cigarette Activity You May Not Be Aware Of
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February 6, 2017
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Pediatrics Blog
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