If you’re a smoker who’s looking for an effective tool or tactic to help you rid yourself of your harmful habit, you’re likely at least considering electronic cigarettes. On the one hand, if you find a way to successfully transition to e-cigarettes, you have technically overcome the habit while still keeping many of the things you love about smoking; the oral fixation, nicotine, the excuse to take regular breaks throughout the day, etc.. On the other hand, you are still addicted to nicotine and have smoke blowing through your lungs. So you’ll only partially feel like you’ve gotten past your habit.
If you see vaping as a stepping stone to quitting smoking altogether, then the potential downsides of vaping are not relevant to you as they are merely short-term issues.
However, if you’re plan is to swap cigarettes for e-cigarettes for the long term, you’re likely to encounter some information along the way to make you second-guess this strategy. There is still much debate regarding the safety of vaping compared to smoking tobacco products. The more you research vaping, the more confused you will become, taking the wind out of your sails that the viable solution you’ve been longing for may not be much of a solution at all.
There’s a lot of information out there, so before you jump to any conclusions, here are some facts about vaping that are worth considering:
1. According to the NHS, vaping is significantly less harmful than traditional smoking and can be an effective tool for quitting smoking.
2. Although vaping is believed to expose you to fewer toxic chemicals compared to traditional cigarettes, it is still not completely safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. While we don’t know exactly what chemicals are in e-cigarettes, they have been linked to an outbreak of lung injuries and deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 2,807 cases of e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI) and 68 deaths attributed to that condition. These cases have been found to mostly affect people who modify their vaping devices or use black market-modified e-liquids, especially those containing THC. In other words, if you’re considering transitioning to vaping for health reasons, be sure to use products from legitimate sources and use them in the way they were manufactured to be used.
3. There is research that suggests that vaping can be harmful to your heart and lungs. Nicotine is the primary substance in both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and it is highly addictive. It raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which can increase your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack. Emerging data also suggests links to chronic lung disease and asthma, as well as associations between dual use of e-cigarettes and smoking with cardiovascular disease. So while at first, you may use products with higher levels of nicotine, over time it’s wise to gradually lower yourself to healthier levels.
4. Electronic cigarettes are just as addictive as traditional cigarettes. Both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes contain nicotine, which can be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Many e-cigarette users get even more nicotine than they would from a combustible tobacco product, as users can buy extra-strength cartridges or increase the e-cigarette’s voltage. That said, coffee, smartphones, and social media are addictive as well. The question is how much your addictions control you if they do you more harm than good.
5. The long-term effects of vaping are not yet clear, and research is ongoing to identify the potential health risks associated with vaping. A recent study from The Johns Hopkins University on vape ingredients reveals thousands of chemical ingredients in vape products, most of which are not yet identified. Among those the team could identify were several potentially harmful substances, including caffeine, three chemicals never previously found in e-cigarettes, a pesticide, and two flavorings linked with possible toxic effects and respiratory irritation, giving you even more reason to purchase from providers your trust and have your health and safety as a priority.
In Summary, if you’re looking for a way to quit smoking, vaping can be an effective and healthier alternative. That said, it does come with its own risks and potentially harmful side effects, making the full cessation of smoking the best option.