The task of public health officials must be to create a massive awareness of the health risks associated with smoking as well as to introduce to the public products that can be used as cessation tools for smoking. The problem is that public health officials often forget to create awareness of how healthier it is by 95 percent to switch to vaping or the use of electronic cigarettes from smoking tobacco cigarettes. This percentage is according to Public Health England and several independent reviews.
This is a public health tragedy in the making. The numbers suggest that around 38 million Americans alone are addicted to traditional tobacco cigarettes. This makes them more susceptible to cancer, heart disease, and even lung disease. A new study revealed that e-cigarettes are almost twice as beneficial as other means to help people quit smoking, therefore increasing their health prospects. The problem is that more people simply are not aware of the e-cigarette option and its health benefits.
The downside of traditional tobacco smoking
There are differences in the effects of electronic cigarette or e-liquid vape pen usage and traditional tobacco smoking. For one, traditional cigarettes burn tobacco and the process releases thousands of chemicals that are inhaled in the process of nicotine delivery to the system. In other words, it is the combustion process and inhalation of such chemicals that can result in cancer and not the tobacco or nicotine content.
Furthermore, e-cigarettes have no tobacco. Instead of tobacco, it contains e-liquid which is heated and consequently turned into vapor for inhalation, which can be less harmful. E-liquid contains the following: propylene glycol and glycerin which are both recognized as safe by the FDA as safe for human consumption, water, flavorings, and nicotine which is optional. Some e-liquid recipes contain nicotine and when its vapor is inhaled nicotine is delivered into the body.
The positive side of using e-cigarettes
The goal of those people who try to discourage the use of e-cigarettes is to prevent teenagers from vaping. This is unquestionably a noble goal. Nobody wants a teen to start getting into any form of smoking or being addicted to nicotine. The best way to go is to discourage teens from practicing any habit-forming behaviors, but vaping must not be touted as an epidemic and totally ignoring its potential as a smoking cessation tool, indirectly improving public health. It is true that e-cigarettes are not without risks. It is relatively new and so we don’t really know its long-term effects. This is why people who are not smokers must not use e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes also do not create carbon monoxide or tar, which are two of the most harmful substances found in tobacco smoke.
Switching from smoking to vaping can also help you save your hard-earned money. Vaping costs half less than traditional smoking. You may have to spend more at the start, but over time of subsequent uses, the cost is reduced to half than what you spend for smoking cigarettes.
Many smokers even struggle with looking for something that they can do with their hands. Vaping allows them to do the physical act of inhaling and exhaling vapor just like smoke which is not available to them when they use patches and gums.
Does vaping have downsides?
E-cigarettes have been observed to still contain potentially harmful chemicals, but they are usually in lower levels compared to those found in tobacco cigarettes. There is no established evidence that vaping can cause cancer. In the same way, no evidence was gathered that e-cigarettes bought from legal sources can cause lung diseases.
What about nicotine content?
Nicotine is an addictive substance found in cigarettes, but it is relatively harmless. The majority of the detriments in an e-cigarette come from the thousands of chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes, many of these are known to be toxic. However, it is the nicotine that makes one addicted to tobacco smoking. That’s why it is necessary to use nicotine replacement therapy products to gradually decrease one’s cravings for nicotine until you can forego it completely. One of these NRT products is the electronic cigarette.
Is passive vaping dangerous to health?
There is no medical evidence that second-hand vapor coming from electronic cigarettes is dangerous to health. Apart from this, vapor that is produced by e-cigarettes does not stay long in the air like tobacco smoke. Because of this, it does not harm the people around you or pollute the surrounding air. Not like cigarettes, the vapor does not stick to curtains, furnishings, and clothes. In other words, it is not detrimental to health.
This is a far cry from cigarette smoking which can cause second-hand smoke that can result in the following on children: increased risk of respiratory infections like pneumonia and bronchitis; ears, nose, and throat infections; severe asthma and asthma attacks; and SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome.
When it comes to adults, second-hand smoke may increase the risk of incurring lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke, among other serious conditions.
Is it easier to quit vaping than smoking?
Most e-liquids provide you with an array of nicotine strength levels to choose from. This enables you to control your nicotine intake regularly. It makes it easier for you to gradually decrease your nicotine intake in a way that is convenient to you, making your nicotine cravings more manageable until you are completely free of it. This is not something that can be done with tobacco cigarettes.
What about restrictions in vaping?
There is no current plan to ban vaping indoors altogether, which is what is done with smoking cigarettes. Some private companies however treat vapes like cigarette smoke. In the end, it all depends on the policies in the place you are in whether you may remain indoors or need to step out to vape.
