Is Vaping Safe? Lets look at the benefits and side effects. Vaping is the process of inhaling the vapor produced from electronic cigarettes instead of smoking the traditional ones. It is an alternative to smoking and often considered a smoking cessation tool. People have a lot of misconceptions about vaping and electronic cigarettes because of limited research and evidence. Most people assume that vaping is entirely harmless, which isn’t true.
However, vaping is definitely on the safer side compared to smoking cigarettes. According to a study performed by Johns Hopkins Medicine, a person smoking a traditional cigarette inhales about seven thousand chemicals. In contrast, the number is relatively low in vape and electronic cigarettes.
The vaping industry is booming, and you can find some of the best vape brands offering a wide range of varieties and flavors to customers. Let’s discuss some of the benefits and side effects of vaping in this article.
Benefits of Vaping
1. A safer option than smoking
Neither vaping nor smoking is harmless. However, vaping is a much safer option than smoking. According to research performed by the Royal College of Physicians, vaping is 95% safer than smoking cigarettes. There is no combustion involved in vaping, creating a smoke-free experience for the user. That results in better oral health, lung capacity, blood circulation, etc.
Moreover, the American Heart Association has stated that the vaping liquid used in electronic cigarettes contains fewer contaminants than cigarettes. Recently, the removal of Vitamin E acetate from vaping liquid has further reduced the concern of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) because inhaling or swallowing it may lead to severe lung diseases.
2. Ready to use
You may need to perform some initial tinkering for advanced vapes, while many are prefilled and ready to use. All you have to do is push the button and inhale. Also, with vaping, you get the freedom to take smaller doses of hits whenever you desire. That is not the case with smoking. Once lit, you need to complete the cigarette until it burns entirely. With sufficient e-liquids and charging, vapes can easily get you through the day with no additional maintenance at all.
3. Odor-free option
One of the concerns for many people is the smell of the burnt tobacco leaves that get released while smoking. You don’t have to worry about the noxious odor anymore, as vaping only releases the aroma from the vape’s flavors. The aroma released in the air is almost negligible, and people can hardly notice it. Even the smell from using any tobacco flavors in the vapor is not as strong as burning tobacco. You can rest assured about the smell and smoke when it comes to vaping.
Side effects of vaping
1. Bad for the heart and lungs
Both cigarettes and vapes contain nicotine. Apart from affecting the brain, nicotine is responsible for increasing blood pressure and heart rate. It also makes the arteries stiff and lose elasticity. All of the effects mentioned above are responsible for causing a heart attack. Therefore, both vaping and smoking are bad for the heart. Vaping affects the lungs as well.
The chemicals present in the e-liquid, such as diacetyl, damage the lungs’ narrow passageways, causing severe lung diseases. The use of e-cigarettes is associated with several lung diseases, according to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
2. Affects the immune system
Another downside to vaping is that it affects the immune system as well. According to research performed by the University of Birmingham, vaping damages the immune system’s essential cells. For instance, the vapor produced from the burning of e-liquid causes inflammation, interrupting alveolar macrophages’ overall activity, responsible for eliminating the dust particles, allergens, and bacteria. The researchers also found that some of the effects of vaping were similar to smoking.
3. Highly addictive
Another misconception about vaping is that people think it is not addictive. Many smokers make the transition with this false perception. However, both traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes are addictive because of nicotine, which is as highly addictive as cocaine and heroin. Regular use of nicotine makes your body and brain get used to consuming it and may also cause any withdrawal symptoms once you quit.
Most vaping devices and electronic cigarettes can use extra-strong cartridges with more amounts of nicotine, which increases the risk of addiction even more. Vaping is gaining popularity among, the youth imposing the threat of addiction and severe health problems.
Final Thoughts
Both smoking and vaping have adverse effects on the body, such as damaging the lungs and increasing cancer risk. However, if you consider vaping as a smoking cessation tool, it is better to decrease nicotine dosage and quit vaping gradually. We need more evidence to firmly establish whether we can consider vaping as a smoking cessation tool. That is because most smokers have started combining both smoking and vaping instead of quitting either one or both.
