It’s 2018 and there is still so much controversy surrounding the health impact of vaping. There are many conflicting opinions about vaping and e-cigarettes but what is the real truth about vaping and e-cigarettes in general. This article will address some issues as vaping and e-cigarettes are safer than normal cigarettes, and also answer why many people might think vaping and e-cigarettes are a health risk.
Why do many people consider vaping and e-cigarettes to be dangerous?
There are literally a million articles online that mercilessly target e-cigarettes as a weapon of mass destruction. These articles tend to be either poorly researched, do not tell the whole story, or are written with a heavy bias, probably backed by big tobacco companies, who fear losing their customers.
Online, these articles are usually boosted to appear on the top page of social media sites, such as your Twitter or Facebook feed. This results in an astonishingly high chance of being viewed by everyone from your kids to Aunt Sally.
The average Joe who reads such articles will quite possibly not have the time or effort to verify the claims of such articles and will only be listening to the half-truth. This individual then shares this article to a million-other people, causing panic and distress among the masses.
Lastly, and quite possibly the biggest factor is the general population consider vaping and e-cigarettes to be an alternative to cigarettes, and believe psychologically that they both contain the same harmful ingredients.
This cannot be further from the truth. Although there is only one alphabet separating e-cigarettes from cigarettes, they have quite different chemical constituents. Given these many factors, it is not surprising why so many people are still in the dark about the advantages vaping and e-cigarettes have over cigarettes.
Why is vaping and are e-cigarettes healthier than cigarettes?
E-cigarettes have 4 main ingredients: Nicotine, Propylene Glycol, flavoring and Vegetable Glycerin. Vegetable Glycerin is a natural ingredient extracted from plant sources such as soy and corn.
Propylene Glycol is a common food additive. Flavoring used in e-cigarettes are similar to those used in meals prepared at home. Nicotine used in e-cigarettes is extracted from a tobacco plant, which gives the “kick” to the user, as found in normal cigarettes.
Luckily consumers have the option to buy the e-liquid in a variety of nicotine strengths, to gradually break off their nicotine addiction. Therefore vaping and e-cigarettes have been shown to successfully help smokers quit.
A recent UCL study found that for every percent increase in e-cigarette usage, success rate of quit attempts increased by 0.1% for smokers and by 0.06% for users trying to quit recently.
Moreover, vaping and e-cigarettes produce far lower levels of toxins and carcinogens in the body compared to conventional cigarettes. This means that vaping and e-cigarettes are much safer than conventional cigarettes.
The study by scientists from University College London found that in comparison to people who continued to smoke cigarettes, individuals who converted to vaping and e-cigarettes from regular cigarettes, has significantly reduced levels of toxicity and carcinogens in their blood and urine and saliva.
The researchers pointed out that vapers got a similar kick of nicotine as normal smokers without the downside of exposure to carcinogens and other cancer-causing chemicals. This lower level of toxicity means that in the long run people who vape will have better health outcomes than cigarette smokers.
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