Doctors warn of 'vape tongue' symptoms as disposable vapes to be banned
Disposable vapes will be banned by the end of the year, in a bid to stop youngsters becoming hooked - and addiction isn't the only health concern.
Worries have been significantly rising for e-cigarettes, or vapes, in recent years, as despite being significantly less harmful than tobacco, they do expose users to some toxins, can be addictive - and can lead to an uncomfortable phenomenon known as vape tongue.
New rules are now set to come into force next year, banning disposable vapes in England, Wales and Scotland. Health ministers hope the ban will stop kids getting addicted to disposable vapes, which are often sold in bright colours and enticing flavours and often positioned near sweets, and overwhelmingly targeted at those under 18. Under the ban, powers will be introduced to restrict flavours that are specifically marketed at children - and they will also be moved out of sight of kids.
However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed the importance of maintaining vapes for adult smokers, as they have been hailed as a key component in helping people quit smoking. In the past 20 years or so, vaping has risen in popularity as an alternative to smoking tobacco. However, they aren't entirely without risk, and it's not yet sure what the long-term damage vaping may have. Recently a dentist warned that vaping could cause a worrying phenomenon known as 'vape tongue'.
Dr Stewart Beggs, a Cosmetic and Restorative Dentist working in London, took to TikTok to caption his video: "Do you vape? You might have vaper's tongue." He explained: "Vape tongue is when you start to lose your taste because you've been vaping so much, and this is really on the rise because of the popularity of these disposable vapes which have all these ridiculous flavours."
They look and taste like sweets - no wonder underage vaping is sweeping Britain
Symptoms of 'vaper's tongue' include a numb tongue, failure to taste your vape flavour or even experiencing an unpleasant taste from your vape. It can even impact your taste generally, meaning you cannot taste food properly. According to Fisher Pointe Dental: "Vaping can also cause a stuffy nose and negatively impact your ability to smell, and being able to smell goes hand in hand with your ability to taste. People end up absolutely caning these vapes and it causes such a massive increase in nicotine and a really really dry mouth that you lose your sense of taste completely sometimes."
But he did share that it's not all doom and gloom, as when you "start to cut down the vaping", your taste comes back - but he shared it's: "Really, really, really not good for your health", so it's best to not vape in the first place. He then shared that in order to get rid of it, the best thing is to quit or cut down, also explaining that it can be linked to "dehydration", adding people should drink more water to get rid of the dry mouth. "Clean your tongue, brush your teeth, floss, use a tongue scraper", he also recommended.
In the comments, people were shocked that vaping could cause you to not be able to taste things properly, with one saying: "That's scary." Someone else wrote: "I don't have that but the rest of my mouth is dry and peeling 24/7. I assume that's from vaping."
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