A woman from East Texas blames electronic cigarettes for her terrible illness. Debbie Jean Hendrix from Gladewater most probably mistook her withdrawal symptoms as repercussions of vaping.
Hendrix said that she is determined to spread the word that electronic cigarettes caused her illness. She had hoped the touted safer products will ultimately help her in successfully quitting smoking, but only days after she made the switch to vaping, she said she started worrying if the products are safe at all.
According to her, she felt jittery. She and her husband then decided to go to town to eat, but she was so sick she could not keep anything down in her stomach. When she consulted with the doctor, the healthcare provider thought that Hendrix was on drugs.
Obviously an anti-ecig person, the doctor told Hendrix that she should quit using ecigs even though she told about her pre-existing health problems. The doctor thought that there are other chemicals in Hendrix' ecigs that caused her to feel sick.
Dr. Bill Sorensen is a health science expert who said that nicotine poisoning could come from ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption. Hendrix said that liquid nicotine spills on her hand whenever she refills her ecigarette with eliquid. She said that she would not recommend anyone to use ecigs.
Quick Judgment With No Analysis
Based on the story recounted by Hendrix, there are several things that will reveal her lack of analysis and clear understanding of combustible and electronic cigarettes.
As a smoker, she should have known that once she decided to give up smoking cigarettes, such as when switching from smoking to vaping, her body would definitely experience withdrawal symptoms. This is a common issue among first time vapers. There are several symptoms that are blamed on vaping.
Thus, if a smoker decides to stop smoking to start vaping, it is important to not just choose the best possible equipment. Proper understanding of what the new habit involves should also be on the checklist.
Generally, a smoker would experience headaches and anxiety when skipping smoking. There are physical symptoms a smoker would experience such as excessive sweating, tingling sensation in the legs and arms, muscle cramps, intestinal dysfunctions like nausea and vomiting, respiratory problems (coughs, sore throat, cold, etc.), flu, dry mouth and lips, etc.
There are also psychological and emotional symptoms involved when vaping and giving up smoking. These include depression, insomnia, mood swings, tantrums, vagueness, anxiety or feeling jittery, mental confusion, lack of understanding and temporary poor memory.
Hendrix obviously experienced these symptoms, but she was oblivious that her supposed illness was actually symptoms that smokers usually experience when no longer smoking or when cutting down cigarette consumption. Her lack of clear understanding could be considered as one of the withdrawal indications. Yet, her confusion was even aggravated by her doctor's recommendation to give up vaping.
Many vapers report similar experiences. Some of them might be like Hendrix who gave way to their fears and uncertainties that ecigs are making things worse instead of better. However, many ecig users have better resolve and are unprejudiced because they first analyzed their situations rather than immediately blame ecigarettes for their supposed ailments.
Another aspect worth noting about the story of Hendrix is the possibility of poisoning. It is true that nicotine can be toxic and dangerous, but only when improperly handled the way she did. She recalled how the liquid nicotine leaks on her hands, but it was not clear what she does when such thing happens.
Again, her mental confusion due to quitting smoking might have caused her to forget that she needed to immediately wash her hands or skin when the eliquid accidentally leaked. Another probable reason for her assumed poisoning was the inappropriate level of nicotine in her eliquid. Vaping with wrong nicotine strength could lead to certain issues just like what Hendrix experienced.
Proper analysis of the situation should be done before making any statements. It is not right to defame and demonize electronic cigarettes and any other products if based only on allegations and unverified faults.
