Working Life: Vaping is like putting your mouth around an exhaust pipe

Professor Marcus Kennedy, consultant respiratory physician, Cork University Hospital, and president of the Irish Thoracic Society

Prof. Marcus Kennedy, President of the Irish Thoracic Society pictured at CUH where he works as a consultant respiratory physician. Picture: Chani Anderson.

“The mentors and teachers I encountered while studying medicine sparked my interest in respiratory disease. It’s a specialty that involves a range of conditions, from lung cancer to asthma to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), but also one that involves practical procedures such as bronchoscopy. 

"A bronchoscopy allows you to examine the lungs using a camera. I enjoy the mix of treating patients with lung disease and carrying out procedures.

“COPD and asthma are the most common lung diseases, but lung health is generally much better since I qualified in 1997. There have been huge wins for patients with cystic fibrosis, with fantastic meds coming through.

“Lung cancer survival rates are improving too, but, unfortunately, about half of patients present in advanced stage and outcomes are not as good as for patients who present with stage four breast or prostate cancer.

Prof. Marcus Kennedy, President of the Irish Thoracic Society pictured at CUH where he works as a consultant respiratory physician. Picture: Chani Anderson

“We are increasingly seeing the effects of vaping in teenagers, including lung damage and chronic cough. One of the biggest problems with vaping is nicotine addiction due to high concentrations of nicotine. About one-third of teens who vape get addicted.

“Nicotine damages the developing brain and can lead to impaired memory and concentration and mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Teens are using nicotine pouches too, which look like snus, but are tobacco-free. Again, they contain high concentrations of nicotine and can be a gateway to tobacco products.

“It will take another 30 years to figure out how much damage vaping has caused. Vapes contain agents that damage the lungs, such as anti-freeze, formaldehyde, acetone, and pesticides. It’s like putting your mouth around an exhaust pipe. No devices are recyclable, thus polluting our environment with plastic and lithium batteries.

“Legislation banning single-use vapes is due to be introduced in Ireland. It will require shops to hide vapes out of sight and to remove attractive packaging, like they did for cigarettes. A major concern is that the tobacco industry always finds a way around legislation, for example, making the disposable vapes “reusable” for two weeks.

“I give talks in schools in Cork about the dangers of nicotine. Secondary school students are fantastic at asking the basic but most pertinent questions, such as “why are cigarettes legal?”

• Prof Kennedy is a speaker at the Irish Thoracic Society’s annual scientific conference underway this weekend in Galway. For more information, visit irishthoracicsociety.com