VAPING can lead to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a health official said.
Dr. Maria Lowella De Leon, Medical Officer IV of the Internal Medicine Department of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), said the World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a study recording an increase in the cases of COPD through the use of vaping.
"In other countries, particularly in the US, more than 2,000 cases of e-cigarette lung injuries have been recorded but basically, one of its part is not yet really being studied because this is just a new invention. Although it enters the body in the form of smoke, having various chemicals aside from the use of various oils, it still affects the entry of oxygen in the body, so basically it is not safe and it should not be used, it is not also a guarantee and a substitute for cigarette use," De Leon said.
She said a case of COPD was recorded in the Philippines through the use of e-cigarette-vaping associated lung injury, wherein in the patient was a 16-year-old female from the Visayas who started the use of e-cigarette six months earlier.
"This is not safe and it can still aggregate the progression of lung problems. It has been recorded and is now part of our problem," De Leon said.
Meanwhile, De Leon informed the public that some oils used in vaping have illegal drugs substances.
"We would like to inform the public that it is not only the chemicals being placed in e-cigarette vaping. There are drugs which are now being used which is the Tetra Hydro Cannabinoid or THC oil which they are inhaling," De Leon said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera, however, has yet to record a case where marijuana ingredients are being used in vapes.