Vaping, Health Benefits, and Controversies: A Brief History

vaping girl

Regardless of what you vape, vaping always comes with risks. A lot of people don’t know that vaping and the use of electronic cigarettes can be used not only to help you quit but also to do it safely and with high efficiency. The majority of vaping’s health benefits come from its use as a smoking cessation tool. These are some of the said health benefits:

Significantly Better for Health

Vaping is estimated to be 95 percent much better for your health compared to smoking. Its effectiveness as an aid to quit smoking implies that you are more likely to be successful in cutting down or quitting the smoking habit. Vape juice also does not have as many chemicals as there are in cigarettes and they don’t get to stay in the body like tar which stays in the lungs. Smokers who switch to vaping immediately find health benefits such as easier breathing, improved lung functions, lower blood pressure, improved sense of taste and smell, and others.

Cheaper Than Smoking

It is a noteworthy fact that vaping has a higher upfront cost than smoking cigarettes. You have to buy the e-cigarette and all relevant vaping accessories before you can start to vape. However, as you get on with the habit, vaping becomes cheaper compared to smoking cigarettes. Once you get past the bulk purchase, there is a massive decrease in the ongoing vaping cost as opposed to smoking.

Second-Hand Vapor Is Not As Dangerous as Smoke

Over the years, the negative impact of smoking on those people around a smoker or second-hand smoking has been studied. Smoke exhaled from any tobacco product has 7,000 chemicals and about 70 carcinogens. Second-hand smoke is dangerous since it can be inhaled by children, and this can lead to respiratory infections, severe asthma, infections of the ears, nose, and throat, and the increased risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. Meanwhile, second-hand vaping does not have the same detrimental effects as smoking. This is primarily because vapor evaporates fast, which makes it safer for the people surrounding you.

Controversies about Vaping and Cigarettes

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), which is the name of products such as electronic cigarettes, vape pens, vaporizers, e-pipes, and hookah pens, first got into the US market in 2007. Today these devices are used by more than 2 million middle school and high school-aged kids. This is why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expressed their concern about the nicotine use of this young population since it may rewire their brain and lead to addiction. Even if these products have suffered a bad reputation due to a lack of prior appropriate legislation and the reputed marketing aimed at the youth, e-cigarette use among adults is seen differently. In ​​a British Journal of Medicine article, limited evidence showed that e-cigarettes using vape juice with nicotine can help as a smoking cessation tool. The evidence also suggests that e-cigs are safer for health than traditional tobacco cigarettes. The FDA continuously tries to make these devices safer, especially for the young ones. If smokers plan to make vaping a smoking cessation tool, they must discuss this first with their physicians.

Final Thoughts

Another contentious issue as regards e-cigarettes is that their use is highly recommended by some public bodies or organizations but not by others like the World Health Organization. Most of those who vape also smoke, and this makes it unlikely for these people to experience the relative health benefits of vaping. Some also say that vaping is not as satisfying as smoking because it does not deliver nicotine to the body as effectively as tobacco cigarettes. In the end, the benefits of vaping all depend on the implementation of regulations coupled with responsible use and supervision.