If you’re currently smoking cigarettes and new to the concept of vaping and electronic cigarettes, you probably have lots of questions regarding whats in them, how to use them and how safe they are.
You've probably heard terms like "mods" and "e-juice" that are completely alien to you. You may also have seen your friends vaping or noticed vaping hotspots popping up around the town.
So to bring you up to speed, we have compiled the five things you should know before going into a vape shop. But first, what is vaping, and how is it different from traditional cigarette smoking.
WHAT IS VAPING?
Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling vapour produced by any kind of personal vapourizer or e-cigarette. The vapour is produced from heating a flavoured liquid that contains nicotine. This liquid is referred to as e-liquid.
An e-cigarette (also known as an e-cig, electronic cigarette, vape, cig-a-like or fake ciggie), is a battery powered device that transforms the e-liquid into vapour. The e-liquid is usually made of nicotine, Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerine, and flavourings.
E-cigarettes differ from traditional cigarettes in that instead of burning tobacco to produce the thick, pungent smoke of cigarettes, they use an e-liquid which produces vapour when heated.
E-cigs are therefore a kind of smokeless cigarettes. Nothing is burning; it's just heating. That means there is no chance of 2nd hand smoke and is much safer for you then cigarettes!
1. E-LIQUIDS CONTAIN NICOTINE BUT NOT THE 1,000’S OF NASTY CHEMICALS
One of the biggest questions smokers have is "will e-cigarettes stop my cravings?".
The answer is yes!
As e-cigarettes have nicotine vaping will still provide you with the nicotine your body craves from cigarettes. However, using an e-cigarette means you aren't getting all the extra chemicals in cigarettes like arsenic, cyanide or tar.
E-cigarettes then are far less harmful than smoking traditional cigarettes. This is supported by a recent study by Public Health England which states that “electronic cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than smoking cigarettes”.
Nicotine is addictive, but the real damage from cigarettes comes from everything else in a cigarette.
But so many studies have shown that it is the 4,000 chemicals and 50 known carcinogens that are found in cigarettes are what causes some of the biggest health issues with smokers.
When all these chemicals burn you get even more chemicals created, like the carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or acetone, none of which are good for you.
Vaping can help to dramatically reduce the amount of these nasty chemicals in your body. One study from Cancer Research claimed that an e-cig users’ body had up to 97% less toxins then a smoker’s body! This is due to the fact that most e-cigs only containing four ingredients, all of which have been tested individually and classified as safe years before e-cigarettes even existed.
The e-liquids will still have nicotine, which is the only reason why we smoke, but eliminates the harmful ingredients so your body still gets what it craves but in a much cleaner way. We make sure of this here at SMOKO by making all our e-liquids in the UK. That way we know precisely what is going into every e-cigarette.
We have a range of flavours and nicotine strengths to help you along the way to becoming smoke-free.
Once you have completely moved away from cigarettes and you are comfortably using an e-cigarette, you can then look to reduce the level of nicotine if you want.
2. VAPING HELP SMOKERS QUIT
As the e-cig industry continues to grow, more and more findings concerning their impact on human health continue to surface. We now have evidence showing that e-cigs can be one of the most effective tools in helping smokers to quit.
In a recent survey on e-cigs harm reduction, 72% of the participants (over 2000 smokers) reported that vaping helped them to deal with cravings.
In the same survey, 96% said that e-cigs helped them to quit smoking cigarettes.
Several groups have quoted e-cigs to have helped them quit smoking traditional cigarettes, and at this time e-cigarettes are the most popular tool to help you quit. In studies over the last 5 years e-cigarettes have been shown to be just as effective or more so then patches or gum.
So it’s no wonder that over 3 million ex-smokers in the UK alone now use e-cigarettes!
3. E-CIGARETTE VAPOUR IS LESS HARMFUL THAN THE CIGARETTE SMOKE
A 2012 study that compared the effects of e-cigs vapour and cigarettes smoke found that e-cigs produce no toxic emissions relative to cigarettes. The study concludes by saying there is “no apparent risk to human health from e-cigarette emissions”.
Another 2012 research paper on the levels of carcinogens and toxicants in the vapour from e-cigs found that some of the cheaper e-cigs contain trace level of toxic substances. However, the levels of toxicants were up to 450 times lower than in cigarette smoke. So even at their worst e-cigs produce 450 times less than an average cigarette.
And the standard of e-cigarettes is only going up. Recent new laws in the EU now require e-cigarettes to be tested and registered with the MHRA. So since May 20th 2016, a vast number of e-cigarettes and e-liquid brands are no longer available for sale in the UK because they could not pass the stringent new laws.
Countless studies have been carried out on the effects of e-cigs and cigarettes on human health and almost all swing in favour of vaping.
Public Health of England, in its expert independent review maintains that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking.
So the vapour isn't going to hurt you, but what about the people around you?
2nd hand smoke just isn’t a factor with e-cigarettes, as the vapour in a normal e-cig doesn’t have anything that could harm you or the people around you.
But to be certain it is really important to find a brand that has been tested and approved by the MHRA for sale in the UK. And it is vital to know where the e-liquids you use are made.
That’s why at SMOKO we take such pride in the fact that we only use the highest quality ingredients and flavours and that our e-liquids are Made in the UK. Even before the new laws came in into effect our liquids were tested to surpass the highest UK standards.
4. VAPING - NOT FOR MINORS
Before you go to a vape shop, it's important first to consider your age. Retailers have a legal obligation to ensure that e-cigs are not sold to minors.
It is illegal for retailers to sell e-liquids or e-cigs with or without nicotine to children under the age of 18. This legislation which imposes a fine of £2,500 for selling e-cig products to minors has been effective in Britain since 2015.
So please don’t be offended if you are asked to show your ID. At SMOKO we follow a Challenge 25 Policy – if you look like you are under 25 years old, we will ask to see your ID – take it as a compliment!
5. START UP AND LONG TERM COSTS OF VAPING
Basic start-up kits for e-cigarettes range between £10 to upward of £100. However, you may have to pay more for the advanced devices.
If you are trying e-cigarettes for the first time, a SMOKO E-Cigarette Starter Kit should work perfectly for you and will be the same price as a pack of cigarettes.
In the long run, you will realise that e-cigs are a lot cheaper than traditional cigarettes. For instance, for someone who smokes a pack of traditional cigarettes a day could be spending £10/pack. Switching to SMOKO will cost between £1.50 to £2.50 a day!
TO SUM UP
The growth of the e-cigs industry has dramatically changed the way people around the world consume nicotine.
E-cigarettes have been proven to be much safer for not only you but the people around you as well.
Once you find the e-cigarette and flavour that suits your tastes, the benefits to switching are endless.
If you want join the millions of people in the UK who have made the switch to a safer cheaper alternative, why not try one of our VAPE POD Starter kit?
