This method creates denser clouds of vapor, with unknown effects on health, researchers say
MONDAY, Feb. 6, 2017 (HealthDay News) — One-quarter of U.S. teen electronic cigarette users have experimented with “dripping” — a new vaping method that produces thicker clouds of vapor, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in Pediatrics.
Regular e-cigarettes produce inhalable vapor by gradually drawing liquid into a heating coil through an automatic wick, lead researcher Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., told HealthDay. “Dripping” involves placing drops of e-liquid directly onto the exposed heating coil of an e-cigarette or atomizer, and then immediately inhaling the cloud of vapor produced, Krishnan-Sarin explained.
Out of 7,045 high school students surveyed, 1,080 had used e-cigarettes, the researchers found. One out of four e-cigarette users (26.1 percent) had tried dripping.
Reasons the students gave for dripping included producing thicker clouds of vapor (63.5 percent), which suggests these users may engage in smoke tricks or vape competitions, the study authors said. Better flavor was the reason cited by 38.7 percent of students who dripped, and simple curiosity attracted 21.6 percent. Furthermore, 27.7 percent said the practice produces a stronger “throat hit,” or the feeling produced on the back of the throat during inhalation. White students overall and boys were more likely than others to have tried dripping, the researchers found.
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