A study published in the Pediatrics journal showed how one out of four teenagers who use e-cigarettes have turned to a new technique called dripping. Users said this method of producing thicker vapor clouds does not only result to a better flavor but also a stronger sensation.
Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, lead author of the study and a professor in the Yale University School of Medicine department of psychiatry, said the systematic evaluation conducted in 2015 involved high school students from eight schools in southeastern part of Connecticut.
A total of 1,874 respondents said they have tried using an e-cigarette and over 26 percent of them have tried dripping. The new technique has been closely associated with white male who have tried tobacco products including vaping. Unlike cigarettes, e-cigarettes turn liquid into vapor, which is inhaled by the user.
Vaping normally relies on the wick and reservoir of the e-cigarette for the automatic feeding of liquid to the device without any user intervention, according to CNN. Dripping, however, requires manual intervention and allow users to change liquid flavors conveniently while achieving a stronger hit on the throat.
"Dripping is a more labor-intensive method of vaping in which the user manually applies a few drops of liquid directly to the exposed heating coil of the e-cig every so many puffs," Professor Alan Shihadeh of the American Universty Beirut's Aerosol Research Laboratory, said.
Just like the ordinary cigarettes, e-cigarettes also contain nicotine but teens can have more fun with the different flavors offered, as per the New York Times. Parents may already known about their kids vaping but this may be their first formal notification of the dripping technique. Manufacturers have started to cash in on the dripping fad and have made available vaping devices with the coils exposed for easy dripping.
The popularity of dripping among teens have started to worry experts as it could provide a more intense exposure to high levels of carcinogens and toxins when liquid is vaporized, according to CBS News. Research shows that higher levels of carcinogens like formaldehyde are inhaled by the user through the dripping process. The strong hit of nicotine and other carcinogens can be dangerous for the brain development of teens.
