Photo By Douglas Stutz | Don’t let a fall morning sunrise be interrupted by the smoke...the annual Great...... read more read more
Smoking has always been one of the leading causes of troubling statistics, and vaping is continuing that conspicuous cloud of concern.
For Electronics Technician 2nd Class Matthew Harper, vaping initially presented what seemed like a feasible alternative to smoking cigarettes.
It worked until a vaping dependence – albeit unwittingly - quickly replaced his cigarette habit.
“It became so inherent in my daily behavior that it got to the point where I couldn’t even taste the different flavors,” said Harper, assigned to the Ohio-class guided missile submarine USS Michigan (SSGN 727) gold crew.
Harper tried to stop vaping two years ago. He had noticed subtle hints that vaping was adversely impacting his health.
The inhaling and exhaling of aerosol – referred to as vape –containing highly addictive nicotine, and other suspect ingredients, is linked to such health issues as a damaged respiratory system, weakened cardiovascular system, and high blood pressure.
“It felt I was dehydrated and parched all the time. If I was sick, I would tell myself to stop vaping, but that would only last for a few hours. It took a cold forever to clear up. It also took away a lot of my energy drive. I didn’t go to the gym as usual because of the nicotine in my system. I’d wait until it metabolized but then I was vaping more and more and just stopped going to the gym all together,” exclaimed Harper.
The McMinnville, Ore. native decided on his second underway period to stop. He knew there would be cravings. He stocked up on chewing gum and nicotine patches.
“I needed something to do with my hands. Stuff to keep me occupied,” Harper said.
He made it through that underway period vape-free. Almost made it home, too.
“After returning I took up again. Immediately. When I called my wife, she asked, ‘what I can bring?’ I said the vape. Which was terrible,” recalled Harper, adding that he had convinced himself that this time would be different.
He would be in control, not the vape device. He had a plan. No more constantly carrying the device. It would be on the counter, away from the bedroom and any private place.
“I didn’t last a week. I didn’t fall off a cliff, it was the entire mountain. I had a bad day and instantly grabbed and started vaping again,” Harper said.
The nicotine pull was just too strong.
“Nicotine is highly addictive. It’s up there in the big leagues with addictive substances like heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine and nicotine. Crazy, but it is,” said Patrick W. Graves, Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Tobacco Cessation Facilitator.
Fast forward to 14 days before the Great American Smoke Out on Nov. 21, 2019, and Harper threw away everything vaping related and is determined to quit this time around.
“I made a commitment. The time is now. I might go through a lot of gum, and snack more, but keeping that stuff out of my system is worth it,” stated Harper.
Graves has been a staunch advocate on the perils of vaping and e-cig use for years, both associated to hundreds – and counting - cases of severe lung disease, including multiple fatalities.
“What’s different now is that Sailors are openly asking questions on vaping and e-cigs, especially with the recent deaths and illnesses associated with them,” said Graves, acknowledging that there’s an existing and unfounded perception that vaping and e-cigs can be considered healthier options than using actual cigarette products.
Graves attests that with this recent outbreak of lung disease, if anyone is experiencing such symptoms as cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, fatigue, fever, or abdominal pain, they should see their healthcare provider.
“Vaping and e-cigarettes were invented to provide a safe alternative to cigarettes. They are safer, but still not safe,” explained Graves.
There is a slight difference between vapes and e-cigs. E-cigs are disposable or use disposable cartridges whereas vapes are refillable with a solution of the user’s choice. Those cartridges and vaping solution contain nicotine and other cancer-causing chemicals.
“Nicotine degrades performance, health and readiness,” stated Graves, specifically noting that using any nicotine product negatively impacts a person’s endurance, stamina, night vision, healing, fine motor coordination, stress management, and hydration ability.
There’s even more to consider besides potential lung disease with using vaping and e-cigs, or how other tobacco products impact individual and operational readiness.
There are also smoldering safety fears to consider with using e-cigs. There has been explosions and small fires attributed to them, either due to some type of battery malfunction, overheating, or detonation.
Harper can readily share several sea stories on such safety issues.
“I once had the vape on the nightstand. It was an older model. I remember waking up to the sound of boiling water. The entire vape tank was red. There could have been a fire or explosion,” related Harper, explaining that people who vape use it all the time, constantly pulling it out, changing and charging batteries so much that the model wears down and becomes unstable.
“One time I had spare vape batteries in my pocket. Then put my keys in that pocket. Driving down the road I suddenly saw smoke and smelled something burning. I felt around. It was me! Burnt my hand. The keys had made connection with the batteries causing a fire and burning a small hole in my raincoat,” Harper said.
Defense Health Agency (DHA) officials from all branches of the service are following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and have issued a patient safety advisory on the dangers of such products.
NHB’s Tobacco Cessation program - the longest running and most successful in the Navy - has been managed clinically by Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program counselors since 1998 when it was recognized that nicotine dependence was similar to alcohol or any other substance and it needed to be treated as such. Graves has been heading the program for over 11 years.
“The fact that nicotine products are legal and directly attributable to over 450,000 deaths is amazing. It’s a threat to public health and it can degrade individual readiness. Vaping and e-cigs are not safe,” said Graves.
Naturally, we'll end this with a statistic - over one thousand people do stop smoking every day. That's because they've all taken their last breath, with vaping and e-cigs are adding to that number.
Matthew Harper, with support from Pat Graves and NHB’s Tobacco Cessation Program, is doing all he can to not relapse in lost in a cloud of smoke and possibly become one of those numbers.
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2019 21:30 |
| Story ID: | 352925 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WA, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Resisting the Relapse this Great American Smoke Out and beyond with Naval Hospital Bremerton, by Douglas Stutz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT