Teen vaping crisis: '1 vape equals 20 cigarettes' - experts warn of severe health risks
Shocking new research shows that around 25% of Grade 12 learners in South Africa are vaping regularly, and even younger children are picking it up.
Picture: Haiberliu via Pixabay
CapeTalk’s Sara-Jayne Makwala King is joined by Dr Wisani Makhomisane, from the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP).
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.
Vaping has quickly gone from a trendy habit to a serious public health concern, especially among teens.
Shocking new research shows that around 25% of Grade 12 learners in South Africa are vaping regularly, and even younger children are picking it up.
Makhomisane stresses the need to challenge the idea that vaping is harmless.
"...vaping was said to be less harmful compared to conventional cigarettes. But I think we need to say for whom. Now, for someone who's been smoking conventional cigarettes for 40 years, switching to vaping is better. But for someone who did not smoke, vaping is bad."
- Dr Wisani Makhomisane, South African Society of Psychiatrists
"We have research that has shown that there's a whole lot more kids that use vapes that end up with lung collapse or that cough every day because the lung is trying its best to get rid of these toxins."
- Dr Wisani Makhomisane, South African Society of Psychiatrists
She explains that vaping delivers far more nicotine than a normal cigarette.
"One problem is the lungs. That is the more direct hit. But there's the second part, which is the brain and which is what SASOP is most concerned with. A conventional cigarette has about one to two milligrams of nicotine in one cigarette, and a 5% vape would have between 50, 80 and sometimes as high as 137 milligrams of nicotine. So basically, one vape is like 20 cigarettes of nicotine. That is before we count everything else, before we count the heavy metals, before we count whatever chemicals they use to bind that. Now, why is nicotine such a problem? Nicotine is a problem because it is a stimulant. If I'm to give you an example, cocaine is a stimulant."
- Dr Wisani Makhomisane, South African Society of Psychiatrists
Makhomisane adds that the adolescent brain, especially the frontal lobe responsible for decision-making and impulse control, isn’t fully developed until around age 26, thus making teens especially vulnerable to addiction and its effects.
"Now, if a young immature brain, and we say immature brain in that the frontal lobe, which is the thinking, analysing, deciding, learning from your mistakes, part of the brain, really only matures at 26 years. Now, anyone under 26 has an immature frontal lobe. And so that's where the impulsivity comes from. Now you come in and you introduce a stimulant, which is nicotine, from a vape, it's like 20 times, if not more, of the amount of nicotine from conventional cigarettes."
- Dr Wisani Makhomisane, South African Society of Psychiatrists
Makhomisane highlights that many parents don't realise the harm, especially with flavours and as clever marketing makes vapes seem fun and safe.
While stronger laws and better regulation are important, Makhomisane believes real change starts at home, where parents should be informed, set clear boundaries and say no - the same way they would with alcohol and drugs.
"...it has to start in the home. In the same way, if someone said that someone who's selling space cookies with cannabis that have flavours, we would not say, oh, yeah, no, it's less harmful than this. You know, less harmful does not mean no harm. I think parents need to understand that. Parents need to remember that each time you buy a vape, you're signing up your child to be part of the experiment. They are the guinea pig."
- Dr Wisani Makhomisane, South African Society of Psychiatrists
Scroll up to listen to the full conversation