Is Vaping The Road To Smoking Cessation?
Every year nearly 70% of all those who smoke report that they desire to kick the habit. Considering how bad this vice is for our health, it’s not surprising how high this number is. Quitting provides significant benefits for nearly every organ in your body. Your heart health, in particular. Nearly 33% of all heart disease-related deaths have their foundation in smoke exposure, both directly and from secondhand smoke. For this reason, many smokers are looking at vaping and wondering if it might be a first step to quitting.
Vaping And Its Effect On Smoking Cessation
There’s a growing movement of smokers attempting a change to vaping to help them on their way to quitting. This has prompted a growing number of studies into the health effects of vaping. The following tips have been shared by Michael Blaha, M.D, M.PH, who serves as the John Hopkins Ciccarone Center For the Prevention of Heart Disease director of clinical research.
- Vaping is safe(r) than smoking: Your lungs are meant to take in clean air and extract oxygen from it. Anything else entering your lungs isn’t good for them, including vapor. However, tobacco smoke is known to contain over 7,000 chemicals. In addition, there’s the heat of the vapor and the tar in the smoke. While vaping isn’t good for you, it’s definitely got fewer chemicals than tobacco smoke.
- Research Suggests Vaping Still Affects Your Heart and Lungs: If you’re using vaping juice that contains nicotine, then it continues to be addictive. As long as you’re inhaling nicotine, you’ll be craving smoke and undergo the same withdrawal symptoms if this craving is ignored. If you’re using nicotine-free vape juice, however, you’ll avoid this risk and have a better chance of quitting smoking with vaping.
- Nicotine Bearing E-Cigarettes Are Just As Addictive: It’s important enough to bear mentioning twice. Studies indicate that nicotine can be as hard a habit to break as cocaine and heroin. Higher-strength cartridges of vape juice may actually contain more nicotine than cigarettes. Adjusting the voltage upward will also result in more nicotine occurring in each pull. If you’re trying to vape to quit smoking, use low to no-nicotine vape juice.
- E-Cigarettes Work For Some, But Aren’t The Best Option: While E-Cigarettes are often marketed as a way to quit smoking, this statement hasn’t been validated by the FDA. Studies suggest that those who take vaping up as a way to quit smoking often end up using both.
- Vaping Is Addicting A New Generation: A poor understanding of the health consequences of vaping over smoking has led to more youth picking up vaping. This new generation may have never touched traditional tobacco. Despite this, there’s a rising tide of youth that are taking up vaping.
It’s important to recall that, in most cases, vaping has fewer health consequences than smoking traditional tobacco. However, what remains unchanged is that it is not as healthy as not taking up either vaping or smoking.
Speak To Your Medical Provider For Smoking Cessation Tips
If you’re looking for ways to quit smoking, speak to your medical provider. The majority of medical clinics provide numerous smoking cessation options. Call yours and speak to them about what options are available.
