We all know smoking cigarettes is bad for your health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports smoking leads to health problems like premature death, heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. This causes a lot of confusion when people don’t understand the difference between vaping and smoking cigarettes.
When it comes to your health, the differences are vast. Cigarettes work by burning tobacco, and this smoke is inhaled directly into the lungs to deliver nicotine. With e-cigarettes or vaping, this is a different process. Because electronic cigarettes don’t contain the chemicals and nicotine of traditional cigarettes and there’s no need for burning substances, they’re much safer for the user. In fact, research suggests there might even be health benefits to vaping.
1. It’s Easier to Stop Smoking
For many people, quitting cigarettes for good is impossible. Nicotine is highly addictive, and breaking this habit is no easy process. With vaping, it’s much easier to give up smoking cigarettes for good. This study even showed a strong correlation between vaping and smoking cessation.
While vaping will never be 100% better than outright quitting, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. Not only is vaping more affordable than smoking packs of cigarettes each week, but it’s free of the harmful chemicals.
2. No Second-Hand Smoke
When you smoke traditional cigarettes, those around you are exposed to second-hand smoke. These fumes are just as harmful as the toxins you’re inhaling as the smoker, and it’s not safe for children and others to be exposed. With vaping, there is no second-hand smoke. They’re even safe to use inside since there is no open flame. Ultimately, vaping is much more friendly to public health.
3. Non-Nicotine Liquids
Many vape juices are made out of non-nicotine liquids. These are a great way to avoid harmful nicotine, a substance that still does some damage to the lungs in vapor form. Choose the best variety of vape juice flavors from a reputable source to avoid any harmful addictive substances. Most e-juices are made with simple ingredients: vegetable glycerin and water. Vegetable glycerin is a substance found in foods, cosmetics, and herbal flavoring.
4. No Long-Term Effects
The National Academy of Sciences recently confirmed that there are no long-term health effects associated with vaping that we know today. While this doesn’t mean vaping is 100% safe, it does make it a very appealing alternative to traditional cigarette smoking.
Much of the opposition to vaping is fueled by big-business cigarette companies hoping to lessen their competition. Vaping is a real threat to the big-tobacco industry, and it’s only a matter of time until it gains popularity over cigarettes once and for all.
5. Solve the Public Health Crisis
We’re currently facing a public health crisis thanks to cigarettes. These little tobacco sticks that were once so common in the 80s and 90s are killing over 480,000 people each year. That makes cigarettes more deadly than HIV, methamphetamines, alcohol, and even motor vehicle accidents combined.
With numbers like that, we need to find a solution that works. Quitting cold turkey is proven to be ineffective for most individuals trying to cut back on smoking. While e-cigarettes might not be a perfect solution, they are a real solution. That’s something worth noticing. Smoking tobacco reduces your lifespan and burning cigarettes lets of noxious gasses. Vaping is a solution that makes smoking safer for the average individual as well as those around them.
We can all agree that the jury is still out on some of the health benefits of vaping vs. smoking. However, it’s clearly a better alternative to cigarettes and one that should be taken more seriously amongst those trying to quit smoking. When it comes down to e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes win every time. With continued research in the next few years, we will learn more about this alternative to lighting a cigarette.
