So many of us have experienced this. We quit smoking, took up vaping, and after a while - maybe straight away even - we started coughing up gunk. There was an interesting question on the forum recently asking if the moisture from vaping was breaking up tar in our lungs.
I'm not sure that moisture from vaping is breaking up tar. I think not having smoke going into the lungs is the big key. The cells can regenerate without suffering damage. With smoking, new cells are subjected to the smoke so it becomes an ongoing vicious cycle. Take away the smoke and the regenerated cells don't sustain that damage.
Another thing that happens with smoking is that the cilia in the lungs get paralyzed by the smoke. Cilia are like tiny hairs meant to sweep up gunk. I think its most lilely that when we stop smoking the cilia recover, and start sweeping up some of the gunk.
Another possibility is that although we are vaping nicotine, it may be less than when we smoked. Nicotine is vaso-constrictive. When smoking this meant it constricted the blood vessels in the lungs - which meant the lungs did not work as well.
With a lower nicotine intake the blood vessels work better - so the lungs work better - and we breathe deeper and cough up more of the gunk. Smoking can also damage the alveoli - the tiny air sacs deep in the lungs. So as the lungs start functioning better, the gunk starts coming up.
All of that is dependent on how much we smoked, for how long, and the general health of our lungs. I coughed every day, throughout the day, for three months when I was smoking. When I stopped smoking I coughed up a bit of gunk for the first three days - then it stopped. I feel so much better these days.
I'm not sure that moisture from vaping is breaking up tar. I think not having smoke going into the lungs is the big key. The cells can regenerate without suffering damage. With smoking, new cells are subjected to the smoke so it becomes an ongoing vicious cycle. Take away the smoke and the regenerated cells don't sustain that damage.
Another thing that happens with smoking is that the cilia in the lungs get paralyzed by the smoke. Cilia are like tiny hairs meant to sweep up gunk. I think its most lilely that when we stop smoking the cilia recover, and start sweeping up some of the gunk.
Another possibility is that although we are vaping nicotine, it may be less than when we smoked. Nicotine is vaso-constrictive. When smoking this meant it constricted the blood vessels in the lungs - which meant the lungs did not work as well.
With a lower nicotine intake the blood vessels work better - so the lungs work better - and we breathe deeper and cough up more of the gunk. Smoking can also damage the alveoli - the tiny air sacs deep in the lungs. So as the lungs start functioning better, the gunk starts coming up.
All of that is dependent on how much we smoked, for how long, and the general health of our lungs. I coughed every day, throughout the day, for three months when I was smoking. When I stopped smoking I coughed up a bit of gunk for the first three days - then it stopped. I feel so much better these days.
