El Camino Women's Medical Group

03/30/2026

Happy Doctors' Day 🩺 👩‍⚕️

03/25/2026

Colorectal Cancer Is Rising in Younger Adults: What Women Need to Know and How Family History Can Save Lives

03/20/2026

May everyday of the new year glow with new cheer and happiness for you and your family. Nowruz Mubarak!

03/17/2026

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

03/10/2026

Read about "The Whole Grains Every Woman Should Know" by Mariam AlAgha in our newsletter!

03/08/2026

Wishing a very Happy Women's Day to all our amazing patients, friends and family!

03/04/2026

Wishing you all a bright and colorful Holi!

03/02/2026

Happy Purim! Chag Purim Samayach!

02/26/2026

How Smoking and Va**ng Affect Your Throat

“I don’t smoke anymore, Doc. I vape!” I have had more than a few patients proudly exclaim this, believing that va**ng is a healthy and non-risky behavior. This is simply not the case. Va**ng can cause harm to the throat (and also the rest of the body) as much as smoking can.

Irritation Starts Early
Smoking and va**ng both cause throat irritation. This can feel like dryness, burning, frequent throat clearing, phlegm in the throat, or a constant urge to cough. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals that directly irritate the delicate lining of the throat. Va**ng aerosols, although often marketed as “cleaner,” still expose the throat to many heated chemicals, flavoring agents, and fine particles that cause inflammation.

Hoarseness and Voice Changes
The vocal cords sit in the throat and are extremely sensitive. Smoking is a well-known cause of hoarseness, voice fatigue, and loss of vocal range. Va**ng similarly causes these issues. Over time, chronic irritation from the heat and chemicals from both can lead to vocal cord swelling, nodules, or polyps. Sometimes these changes can be long-lasting or even permanent.

Increased Mucus and Throat Clearing
Smoking and va**ng stimulate excessive thickened mucus production and damage the tiny hair-like structures (cilia) that normally move and clear mucus. The result is a feeling of something stuck in the throat, leading to frequent throat clearing, which actually worsens the irritation.

Higher Risk of Infections
A healthy throat helps fight off viruses and bacteria. Smoking and va**ng weaken local immune defenses, making these individuals more prone to sore throats, tonsillitis, and infections that may take longer to resolve. Healing also takes longer.

Reflux Gets Worse
Both smoking and va**ng can worsen acid reflux, including “silent reflux,” where stomach acid irritates the throat without typical heartburn symptoms. This can cause chronic throat clearing, a lump-in-the-throat sensation, hoarseness, and persistent cough.

Cancer Risk: The Most Serious Concern
Long-term smoking is a major risk factor for throat and voice box cancers from chronic irritation and exposure to chemicals. Given that va**ng exposes the throat to the same issues, it should be considered a risk factor as well. Persistent sore throat, pain with swallowing, unexplained hoarseness, or a lump in the neck should never be ignored, especially in smokers and va**rs.

The Bottom Line
Why expose your throat to unnecessary chemicals and irritants? If throat symptoms persist for more than a few weeks—especially hoarseness, pain, or difficulty swallowing—a medical evaluation is important.

By Katrina Chaung, M.D.

Board-certified Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Camino Ear, Nose & Throat
(408) 227-6300
https://www.caminoent.com

02/16/2026

We hope all our patients and friends can enjoy a day of rest. Happy President’s Day!

02/14/2026

Happy Valentine’s Day! We’re looking forward to all the November babies!

01/01/2026