E-cigarettes they’re great aren’t they. Take out the tobacco, and all you’re left with is nicotine. And nicotine by itself, is fine, right? …  well If you think that nicotine is harmless you might want to think again. 

We know nicotine is harmful and it’s dangers have been underplayed. 

Firstly ...

It's highly addictive  

Nicotine, on its own, is an extremely addictive substance that can create cravings and even raise blood pressure!! 

According to an article from the well renowned institute John Hopkins Medicine “ There are many unknowns about vaping, including what chemicals make up the vapor and how they affect physical health over the long term”

What this demonstrates is that we are still in new territory on the dangers of nicotine dependence. But one thing is clear, nicotine addiction is very real and is already impacting  …

The younger generation 

There is a growing trend of children (between the ages of 11-18) who are starting to experiment with nicotine filled e-cigarettes. A recent report by Public Health England stated that the number of children and teenagers trying e-cigarettes (the vast majority containing nicotine) has doubled. 

Whilst this has not yet become a pressing issue in the UK, all you need to do is look over the Atlantic where nicotine addiction from vapes is becoming a serious issue for America's youth. 

Such has been the scale of the problem, that one school in Nebraska has recently decided to enforce random nicotine tests, if children want to participate in extracurricular activities. 

This is a shocking state of affairs, and shows that underestimating the power of nicotine’s impact on the young is a big mistake.

But there is more to nicotine than just it’s addictive nature. There are other prominent health risks associated with the substance as well.

Health risks 

Numerous health risks have started to emerge about nicotine. In addition to what we mentioned earlier about rising blood pressure, nicotine can also cause respiratory problems and even cause asthma attacks.

But even more alarmingly, nicotine is known to be carcinogenic. What this means, is that it has the potential to activate cells that can cause cancer. 

Now this doesn't mean that if you use nicotine you are going to get cancer (much of this depends on your biological make up) but this creates another health risk associated with nicotine. 

Another problem that comes up time and time again with regards to the dangers of nicotine is that so much is ..

Unknown 

The dangers of tobacco usage are well documented and have been tackled by governments and independent groups for decades. Yet, the same knowledge on the damage nicotine can do is unclear at this point. There could be many undiagnosed risks relating to nicotine in e-cigarettes. This means nicotine may actually be more dangerous than we think.

Even BBC health editor Hugh Pym was unable to give a definitive answer to whether nicotine was safe or not “ It may take several more years for such research to emerge which can show beyond doubt that vaping does not affect users' lungs or other aspects of their health” There is no doubt much of this uncertainty stems from the fact that nicotine is such a key ingredient in e-cigarette brands.