IS VAPING BETTER THAN SMOKING CIGARETTES?
There has been much interest in the safety comparison between vaping to quit smoking and smoking tobacco cigarettes. One question is if e-cigarettes are safer than traditional tobacco products, but there seems to be misinformation spreading through some mainstream media outlets. Read on to learn more about whether or vaping is better for you compared with smoking.
WHY IS VAPING BETTER?
'Is vaping safer than smoking' is one of the most searched questions in relation to e-cigarettes. The information being published by some mainstream media outlets tends to propagate misinformation and sensationalist headlines that put vaping in a negative light.
However, information from leading medical and research groups suggests that when comparing smoking tobacco cigarettes over the long term to vaping, vaping is a dramatically safer alternative to smoking. A recent study by Public Health England reiterated that “electronic cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than smoking traditional cigarettes”.
Cancer Research UK, one of the leading cancer research charities, adamantly supports the use of e-cigarettes and vaping as one of the most effective innovations to help fight cancer, serious lung disease and other tobacco smoking related diseases.
E-cigarettes have helped over 4m people to stop smoking. However, many people still believe that vaping is as or more harmful than traditional cigarettes. Despite the monumental evidence that clearly states vaping is better than smoking, that question is constantly debated by governments and regulatory bodies around the world
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
“There are over 6 million smokers in England and smoking is still the leading cause of premature death and disease particularly among the most disadvantaged in our society. Helping more smokers quit is vital if we’re to achieve the government’s vision of a smoke-free society by 2030, and vaping has a role to play. Vaping has helped many thousands of smokers quit to date. But many thousands more could benefit if they were not put off by the persistent, worsening and inaccurate beliefs the public hold about vaping. Smokers should be reassured by today’s authoritative and detailed report which shows that the UK’s e-cigarette regulations are effective and vaping remains a safer alternative to smoking. I urge smokers to have confidence in our regulatory system and not be put off by alarmist headlines about the risk of vaping which are not backed up by the evidence.”
It’s Deborah’s view, along with many other leading health experts, that the ongoing fearmongering publicised by negative media headlines are not only wildly inaccurate, but also severely damaging to the reduction of tobacco smoking rates in young people and adults across the UK.
Why are there so many negative headlines about the safety of vaping? You need to understand that many media outlets and anti-vaping groups (including the tobacco industry) have their own agendas to keep as many people smoking traditional tobacco products.
Remember that the tobacco industry employs over 33 million farmers (with a substantial number living in the poorest regions in the world), sell over 6.5 trillion cigarettes every year and earns over USD$940 billion annually. It is a well-funded and influential industry that has a lot to lose if positive news relating to the success of vaping was reported accurately. Lobby groups and the tobacco industry must be pouring billions every year to continue to muddy the waters about the real truth that vaping is better than smoking tobacco cigarettes.
CANCER RESEARCH UK SUPPORT E-CIGARETTES AGAINST CANCER
It’s well known that smoking cigarettes is the largest cause of preventable death in the world. Beyond the risk of heart attacks, strokes, respiratory diseases like COPD and emphysema and diabetes, cigarettes are the leading cause of many cancers.
“Globally, tobacco causes eight million deaths per year. That’s one death every five seconds.”
Cigarettes are highly addictive and one of the hardest things to do is to quit smoking. Over the last 10 years, many smokers have been able to stop smoking cigarettes by switching to e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes do still contain nicotine, so the nicotine addiction is still there, but e-cigarettes don’t have the 4,000 chemicals or 50 known carcinogens that are found in traditional tobacco products.
Using e-cigarettes to quit smoking tobacco or reducing a nicotine addiction is proactively supported by Cancer Research UK saying that “the evidence so far points towards them (e-cigarettes) being a far less harmful alternative to tobacco”.
Despite that fact that e-cigarettes are a relatively new product, the process of regulation and studying the effectiveness of helping people quit has been a major focus of leading public health groups in the EU and UK recently. One of these studies funded by Cancer Research UK found that adult tobacco smokers who swapped traditional cigarettes for e-cigarettes for a 6 month period found to have dramatically lower levels of cancer- causing substances and toxins in their bodies compared to those who continued to smoke tobacco. But the study did show that it was important to completely cut out tobacco and use e-cigarettes exclusively, rather than cutting down the number of tobacco cigarettes and using e-cigarettes in tandem.
The study proved that swapping cigarettes for e-cigarettes meant the user is not exposed to the same levels of toxins, chemicals and carcinogens that are known to lead to the development of various cancers. The importance of reducing the exposure of these toxins and chemicals in any product is vitally important to reduce the cases of cancers in the UK.
It is important to note that Cancer Research UK believes that any regulated and safe products like e-cigarettes or other nicotine replacement products which help as many people to quit smoking will have a positive addition in reducing the risk of cancers caused by cigarettes. They do state that the best thing to do would be to quit completely if you can, but if using a smoking cessation aid like NRT or e-cigarettes helps you to cut out tobacco completely, then encouraging vaping should be embraced. This recommendation is based on the caveat that vaping products must be regulated and controlled to ensure the safety of the products and ensuring access by children and those under 18 years old is restricted.
As seen in the US where the lack of regulations is having negative consequences on the vaping industry, to the point where many states are banning the sale of e-cigarettes, there has been a massive uptake in vaping by teenagers. However, this same issue has not happened in the UK or the EU due to the extensive regulatory guidelines that have been in place since 2016. So the regulations in the UK has restricted and discouraged teenagers from taking up vaping compared to the US.
The finding of this study from Cancer Research UK proved beyond a doubt that a regulated e-cigarette industry with safe vaping products can result in a significant drop in the cancer-causing toxins that are found in cigarettes. Regulated e-cigarettes and vape juice in the UK do not have any vitamin e acetate. The use of e-cigarettes should be promoted through public health policies due to their usefulness in harm reduction.
A policy adviser with the charity recently said that “The evidence is showing e-cigarettes can help beat the tobacco epidemic. And when they have the potential to save millions of lives, should we just sit back and wait”? But to get to the truth, let’s focus on the reputable and research-based information to help dispel the myths about the benefits of vaping. Firstly, let’s review some of the main findings from medical groups like Cancer Research UK and Public Health England to get a clear and concise picture of how a properly regulated vaping industry can have a positive impact on reducing smoking rates and help people to stop smoking completely.
CANCER RESEARCH UK VAPING FAQS
As part of the charity’s support of e-cigarettes, they have released the following Frequently Asked Questions on their website that cover the most asked by people looking to use e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking.
E-CIGARETTES FOR SMOKING CESSATION
“There is growing evidence to show that e-cigarettes can help people cut down or stop smoking” state CRUK. A study they refer to found that e-cigarettes may have helped an extra 50,000 adult tobacco smokers in the UK to quit in 2017.
Other studies by NHS Stop Smoking Service found that people who used electronic nicotine delivery systems (e cigarettes) in their smoking cessation attempts with no further support were 74% more successful than trying cold turkey. That same study from 2014 found that those quitters who tried over-the-counter nicotine replacement products with no further support were no more likely to quit compared to someone going cold turkey. This study suggests that using e cigarettes may have an even more important role in helping people quit tobacco smoking compared to traditional Nicotine Replacement Therapy treatments.
Considering these amazing results, it’s no wonder that Cancer Research UK believes e-cigarettes have a role in helping people to stop smoking.
ARE E-CIGARETTES SAFE
Compared to traditional cigarette smoking, Cancer Research UK states that “e-cigarettes are almost certainly far less harmful than smoking, as they don’t contain tobacco – (smoking tobacco is) the single biggest preventable cause of death worldwide. They do contain nicotine, which is addictive, but isn’t responsible for the major health harms from smoking”.
They recognise that e-cigarettes are relatively new and there may not be similar long-term studies on their impact decades down the line, but considering the copious evidence about the dangers of cigarette smoking to the smoker and other people around them, using e cigarettes is much better. There has been no clear evidence that links vaping to any serious health risks. And there is no danger of secondhand smoke or even thirdhand tobacco smoke with e-cigarettes!
Couple all of the research, clinical trials and the findings from many other medical experts who looked at the benefits of regulated e-cigarettes, there should be no doubt that vaping is better than smoking.
IS NICOTINE DANGEROUS IN E-CIGARETTES
There is a misconception that it is the nicotine in cigarettes that cause all of the problems with smoking related diseases. It’s important to clear this misunderstanding up once and for all.
Nicotine is highly addictive – true. That is why people get hooked on cigarette smoking in the first place and then continue to smoke. For some people, the nicotine addiction (and smoking) can last for decades. However, nicotine on its own DOES NOT cause smoking-related diseases like lung cancer, lung injuries, strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, COPD, emphysema or other cancers. It is the 4,000 chemicals, toxins and carcinogens found in cigarettes and tobacco products that cause the smoking-related diseases.
If you take the nicotine on its own, or in a much cleaner delivery system like an e-cigarette, then nicotine is not dangerous in acceptable quantities. That is why doctors and smoking cessation specialists prescribe NRT or the use of e-cigarettes as a safe and effective way to quit smoking.
Nicotine in large quantities can cause mild sickness and discomfort and in incredibly excessive amounts it can cause be poisonous. However, your body would generally let you know and force you to stop further consumption before it gets to dangerous levels.
If you do have too much nicotine with nicotine replacement products or with electronic cigarettes, you will begin to feel nauseous and dizzy. That’s your body telling you to slow down. These symptoms will pass quite quickly once you set it down for a while. The chance of overdosing on nicotine while using an e-cigarette is non-existent.
It is worth pointing out that nicotine, NRT, e-liquids and electronic cigarettes should be kept safely out of reach of children. Because they are smaller than adults, their bodies can be much more susceptible to poisonous chemicals in large doses. That is why regulations across the EU and the UK ensure the safety of e cigarettes and stipulate that all vaping products must be in child-proof packaging.
DO E-CIGARETTES PRODUCE HARMFUL CHEMICALS OR SECONDHAND SMOKE
According to Cancer Research UK’s website “Unlike tobacco smoke, there’s not good evidence to suggest that second-hand e-cigarette vapour is dangerous to others”. Understanding that normal cigarettes harm not only the smoker but also impacts other people due to 2nd and 3rd hand smoke and toxins they release.
According to the NHS and from the studies on 2nd hand vapour from e-cigarettes, there is negligible amounts of nicotine released into the environment once someone exhales the e cigarette vapour. As well, there is little to no impact on others as vaping doesn’t produce the same harmful chemicals and toxins that traditional tobacco products do. The toxins that are exhaled from cigarette smoking can have serious health implications to the family, friends and even the family’s pets.
According to the NHS “People who breathe in second-hand smoke are at risk of many of the same diseases as smokers including lung cancer and heart disease. Breathing in second-hand smoke can increase the risk of lung cancer by 24% and heart disease by 25%”.
Can my pets suffer from secondhand smoke? The answer is absolutely yes! Even your family pet is at a greater risk if they are exposed to cigarette smoke. Dogs who live with a smoker have a 60% greater chance of developing lung cancer whereas cats are twice as likely to develop lymphoma.
So if you want to help protect your kids and pets from the dangerous chemicals found in 2nd hand cigarette smoke, switching to e-cigarettes, which do not release any dangerous toxins, could be a safer option for everyone who is most important to you.
DO E-CIGARETTES OR VAPES BLOW UP?
This is another misconception about vaping. Those media outlets who love to propagate the negative headlines about e-cigarettes like to scare the masses with stories about vapes exploding. There has been a very limited number of cases where a larger vape battery has malfunctioned but this is no more prevalent than a mobile phone battery breaking down. The main reason for a faulty vape battery is using the wrong charger or mains adaptor.
With the prevalence of cheap knock off mobile phone wall chargers that are available online or on market stalls around the UK, there has been a rise in electrical shorts in many devices – from phones, cameras, TV’s and even a limited amount of vape batteries. Many of these knock off wall chargers may not have passed the stringent electrical safety standards nor designed for the use any electrical devices making them unsafe to use. This is the same with power bars. Perhaps it is the lack of electrical outlets in the modern home or the fact that we have way more electric devices in our lives.
Our recommendation is to only use a Mains Adaptor or charging cable that has been designed and is sold with any electrical device you use, including an e-cigarette. As well, never leave a charging vape battery unattended and never overload a power bar. With anything that involved electricity, we must use our common sense to ensure the safe use of these new devices.
IS IT SAFE TO SMOKE AND VAPE AT THE SAME TIME?
We are asked this question a lot by people who want to quit smoking and switch to vaping. There is no evidence that vaping while you continue to smoke cigarettes is any worse than smoking traditional tobacco products on their own. It may take some time to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke a day when you first start vaping. Electronic Cigarettes are designed to help manage the nicotine addiction, so when you are in that transition period, as long as you are making a conscious effort to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke, using both can help you succeed. It’s the same as using a Nicotine Replacement Therapy aid like patches or gum.
Eventually, you want to eliminate all cigarettes and tobacco products from your life.
Quitting smoking can take time and willpower and sometimes numerous attempts. So don’t be hard on yourself if you are still having a few cheeky cigarettes when you first start vaping. If you used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day and have brought that down to 5 a day plus using your vape, then that is a massive step in the right direction. Stick to it!
DO NHS STOP SMOKING SERVICES ADVISE USING AN E-CIGARETTE?
The NHS Stop Smoking Services available to adult smokers around the UK is one of the most successful methods for quitting smoking. Lead by a highly trained Stop Smoking practitioner and a structured step by step process with behavioural support and the use NRT or e-cigarettes has been a proven formula to quitting. Some Stop Smoking Services actually will provide a free e-cigarette starter kit to help you with your quitting efforts.
So no matter whether you choose a smoking cessation product, an NRT or an e-cigarette, the NHS Stop Smoking Service will be 100% behind your efforts to stop smoking completely.
WHAT E-CIGARETTE IS THE BEST TO START WITH?
As we have mentioned previously, there are a number of e-cigarette and vape styles to choose from. But if you are currently smoking cigarettes and looking to quit smoking, finding an easy to use e-cigarette that as closely mimics your current habit will increase your chances of getting on with it.
From an ease-of-use point of view, starting with a “cigalike” could be most effective. Selecting a flavour that is similar to the cigarette you are smoking will also make that transition easier. Finding a vape brand with great customers reviews is a great starting point.
Selecting the right nicotine strength will also keep you satisfied. A heavy smoker should be looking for a 2.0% nicotine strength e-liquid with a higher PG content in a tobacco, rolling tobacco or menthol flavour will be a great e-cigarette choice to start with.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO USE AN E-CIGARETTE TO HELP STOP SMOKING
According to Cancer Research UK, “e-cigarettes are almost certainly far less harmful than smoking”. So using an e-cigarette to help you quit smoking is encouraged by CRUK and other health bodies.
Using an e-cigarette or “cigalike” is very similar to smoking a normal cigarette but with a few differences. With an e-cigarette, you will want to take slower and slightly longer draws instead of a shorter draw you would with a normal cigarette. Taking it a bit slower gives the atomizer (the heating device) a chance to warm up. It can take a second for the e-liquid to be vapourized into a smoke-like vapour.
Try to use your e-cigarette the same way you smoke. If you only smoke outside, then only use your e-cigarette outdoors. If you only smoke on the weekends, then only use your vape on the weekends as well. There is a tendency for people switching to vaping to start using it more than they used to smoke. This is because vaping is so convenient and doesn’t leave any nasty or lingering smells like cigarettes. So if you don’t stick to that same routine, then you may find you are using your e-cig more than before.
ARE E-CIGARETTES CHEAPER THAN SMOKING?
According to Cancer Research UK’s E-Cigarette FAQ, “many people can save hundreds of pounds over the course of a year after making the switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes”. We believe that this could be understated. Take for example an adult smoker who smokes 1 pack a day. As of 2022, the cost of a pack of tailor-made tobacco cigarettes is at least £12.50. With that in mind, you could be spending over £4300+ every year.
Switching to SMOKO E-Cigarette Refills, each refill contains roughly 25 cigarettes worth of nicotine and the most you pay for a pack of e-cigarette refills is £9.99. So, a pack a day smoker would get the equivalent amount of nicotine in an e-cigarette refill compared to a pack of cigarettes for between £1.50 to £2.00 a day. Across the year, that savings could be as much as £3,100.
Of course, you will need to purchase an e-cigarette starter kit and replace a few batteries each year but switching from traditional tobacco products to e-cigarettes will be dramatically cheaper than normal cigarettes.
WHAT DOES PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND SAY ABOUT VAPING
According to Cancer Research UK, “e-cigarettes are almost certainly far less harmful than smoking”. So using an e-cigarette to help you quit smoking is encouraged by CRUK and other health bodies.
Over the years, the UK’s government health body Public Health England (PHE) have recognised the important role that e-cigarettes and vaping have had on the reduction of cigarette smoking prevalence in UK adult smokers. They recently released a study that overwhelming supports that vaping is safer than smoking traditional cigarettes.
In the report, PHE state “e-cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes”.
They continue to say that “smoking remains the largest single risk factor for death and years of life lived in ill-health and is a leading cause of health inequalities in England and in other parts of the world”.
There recent report entitled Vaping In England: 2021 Evidence Update Summary – also found that people who used e-cigarettes were 74% more successful in quitting smoking than going cold turkey.
IS VAPING BETTER THAN SMOKING CIGARETTES CONCLUSION
In this guide, we highlighted a lot of substantial information from 2 of the leading health bodies in the UK – Cancer Research UK and Public Health England. Both are highly active in reducing the prevalence of smoking rates in the UK to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the UK.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt and based on the evidence provided, vaping is better than cigarette smoking, hands down.
Make the decision to quit, find a great vape or e-cigarette that looks and feels like a cigarette with high quality ingredients from a reputable company and give it a try!
If you want, here is some more information about finding the best vape kits to help you quit smoking or the best vape kits for heavier smokers.
READY TO MAKE THE SWITCH TO E-CIGARETTES AND VAPING?
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