While vaping isn’t risk free, many studies have concluded that vaping has fewer health risks associated than smoking cigarettes.
Smoking is addictive. Many smokers, after recognizing the harmful long-term and short-term effects, often attempt quitting. However, trying to stop smoking in the traditional way often leads to a vicious cycle of withdrawal, further cravings, and failure. E-cigarettes are a good option when smokers decide to take steps to quit. Vaping is usually a sustainable transition phase which can help smokers quit the habit in a slow but steady manner. Also, in the short to medium term, vaping causes less harm to health than the cigarettes.
What is Vaping? (Electronic-Cigarettes)
The process of vaping involves a handheld electronic or disposable pod device through which users breathe a vapor into their lungs. An electronic nicotine delivery system, the vape pen heats up a mix of nicotine liquid, propylene glycol, flavouring and certain additives and converts it into an aerosol. This aerosol is then inhaled through the mouthpiece of the device. While similar to smoking a cigarette, vaping differs by heating a liquid rather than burning tobacco.
Vaping and smoking both come with health risks. However, the number of toxic chemicals are higher in the tobacco in cigarettes.
Is Vaping Less Toxic than Smoking?
Vape pens contain fewer harmful chemicals that those contained in the conventional cigarettes. There are various carcinogenic substances such as formaldehyde, and even tar in cigarette smoke.
This happens because the tobacco used in cigarettes is processed extensively where many chemicals, pesticides and additives are included, or they become a by product of burning the tobacco. The presence of these contaminants is the main reason why cigarettes are so harmful to our bodies. Vaping eliminates these toxic by product chemicals. The only ingredients contained in the vape e-juices are nicotine and flavourings. So, e-cigarettes prove to be a much purer, and safer, option compared to cigarettes.
Research Supporting Vaping Compared to Cigarette Smoking
Ever since their arrival on the scene, vapes have raised many concerns and queries about their effects, short-term and long term, and their potency in causing health issues in their users. There is also a great amount of interest in trying to assess whether or not e-cigarettes are effective in helping to quit smoking. Meta studies of multiple studies have had some success in clarifying the toxicity levels between the two.
An independent report was commissioned to understand and assess the health risks attached to vaping. It reviewed more than 400 studies published worldwide, which dealt with the aftereffects of smoking and vaping, especially, the build-up of toxic substances in the body or the symptoms of harm. Considered to be the most comprehensive study about the health risks associated with vaping, the independent report concluded that vaping poses a much lower level of health risks than smoking. The lead author of the paper clarified that vaping poses a fraction of the risks caused by smoking. The researchers stated that while the e-cigarettes were not harmless, they exposed less toxins that combustible cigarettes.