Here are a few interesting health benefits of vaping vs smoking.
Around 38 million U.S adults are smokers. However, this number used to be higher by 5% a few years ago. One of the reasons for this decline is the introduction of e-cigarettes or e-vaporizers.
A lot of people hold the belief that vaping provides a similar experience to traditional cigarettes, with less detrimental effects. Now, given the health risks associated with smoking, it might seem that e-vapes are a refreshing alternative.
But is that really true?
The debate that currently prevails questions the health benefits of vaping vs smoking. Is vaping bad for you? Or at very least, is it a better alternative to smoking?
Let’s figure this out with a few facts about vaping.
1. The Tobacco Issue
E-vaporizers do not contain tobacco, but cigarettes do. Given that tobacco has long been regarded as a key cancer-causing ingredient within a cigarette, it might seem like an obvious plus in favor of vaping.
However, this argument is often confronted with a – don’t e-juices contain other substances? Aren’t they just as harmful?
This leads us to our next point.
2. The Composition: What Goes into It?
In addition to tobacco, traditional cigarettes contain formaldehyde, lead, arsenic, benzene and a whole bunch of other chemicals that are often regarded as “carcinogens”, ie. cancer-causing substances.
E-vaporizers are powered by e-juice, which is usually made up of liquid nicotine, vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, and nitrosamines. However, additional research shows that there are nine probable carcinogens and reproductive toxins present in e-juice.
That said, e-juices vary in their ingredients and composition. While vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol might be common to most, there are 0% nicotine variants available on the market as well. For those of you looking for more flavor or ingredient variants, you can learn more here.
3. A Safety Hazard?
Cigarettes have long been a health and safety issue due to the number of fires reported as a direct consequence of a burning cigarette. While its e-cigarette counterpart has not been known to cause any material fires it has been associated with safety hazards on its own.
In 2007, there were several reported cases of battery explosions in e-vapes. However, of late these cases appear to have decreased.
4. The Feedback: Health Benefits of Vaping vs Smoking
Research is often contradictory, and so in such circumstances, it might be more prudent to explore the experiences of real people.
A lot of former smokers report that they feel much fitter and less likely to smoke after switching to vaping. In fact, one of the main selling points for e-vapes is that most people have experienced that the vaping alternative helps them avoid a relapse into their smoking habits.
What’s the Better Alternative?
It does appear that the negative effects associated with e-vapes have largely to do with the ingredients present in the e-juices. This is a positive, given the sheer number of e-juice options available on the market today.
The health benefits of vaping vs smoking could be summarized by saying: the former is the lesser of two evils. Although e-vaping is still a relatively new trend that is associated with significantly less research, studies seem to favor it over traditional smoking.
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