A paramedics assessment

Vaping is an important and dangerous subject in the Fargo-Moorhead area, as well as other areas of the United States. Vaping seems to be a well-known issue to NDSU students, though many are uncertain exactly what the effects of vaping are. 

Recently for the sake of a study, I was forming for a report on this issue, I spoke to Thomas Dobyrzinski, a paramedic in the Fargo-Moorhead area. In the study, I interviewed him on the topic of vaping and he was very forthcoming in his explanations of the effects and adamant that more people know about them.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, vaping is, “the action of or practice of inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.” The practice of vaping that I will be focusing on had to do with inhaling vapor produced by electronic cigarettes. Vaping is utilized through cartridges of vapor which are inserted into a tiny vape machine.

As someone who has never vaped, I still find myself sympathizing with individuals who have. Vaping is often used as a form of relaxation; wherein people feel somewhat at peace as the vapors enter and exit the lungs. 

The water vapor often leaves no smell once emitted and can go almost undetected. Vaping has often been advertised as a stepping-stone to quitting smoking. By turning from inhaling cigarette smoke to inhaling water vapor, the product is marketed as an easy out of a smoking habit.

But is it really? As someone who has witnessed those close to me turning from vaping to smoking, I’m unsure.

In my interview with paramedic, Dobyrzinski, he spoke of how he has helped people who struggle with opioid abuse and vaping. In his exact words, he stated: “Vaping forms droplets in the lungs. Cobalt sickness comes from cartridges for vaping.”

He went on to explain that vaping is addictive and not as safe as most would make it out to be. Anything that enters the lungs that is not air can and probably always will be harmful to any being that lives through breathing.

Imagine filling your gas tank with water. Yes, technically it’s a liquid, but cars do not run off of water. Even with the smallest amount of water in a car’s tank can hurt the car’s stability and engine. So now think of a foreign vapor entering your own body, one which is far more complicated than a car.

In another example of the effects of water droplets left by vaping, I turn to my insulated gloves. The lungs are insulated within the human body and protected from the outside. In the same way, my gloves are insulated and protect my hands from the outside.

My gloves are meant to keep my hands warm so they can still function, just as my body protects my lungs so that I can breathe properly.

But there is a catch, my gloves are so warm and so insulated that my fingers sweat inside the gloves. Therefore, my gloves being insulated causes the sweat within the gloves to become trapped within the glove, unable to dry. 

This is similar to how vaping works — imagine the glove as your lungs and your hands being the vapor. Droplets are left inside the lungs, remaining wet and unable to dry, since both the glove and your lungs are too well insulated.

When it comes to vaping you are essentially drowning yourself. Vaping may have no smoke, no offensive smells, no fire, carbon monoxide or intrusive appearances, but it can still do extensive damage to the user’s lungs.

“There is no addiction that is not harmful,” Dobyrzinski stated, “And once you start, you can easily place your condition over your friends, your family, and your life. Be careful and try not to get into that stuff … it can ruin your life.”

Nicotine affects the brain through vaping as it does with cigarette use, but it does so at a pace that the user may not even notice. According to Dobyrzinski, vaping causes adrenaline-related rushes within people which can spur them to think and act rapidly and irrationally.

Dobyrzinski also pointed out that any addiction, including vaping, is harmful. “There is no addiction that is not harmful,” Dobyrzinski stated, “And once you start, you can easily place your condition over your friends, your family, and your life. Be careful and try not to get into that stuff… it can ruin your life.”

I finished the interview by stating, “So in other words, ‘Don’t do drugs, kids?’”

He laughed and agreed that it was a pretty good summary.