Can Vaping Help You Stop Smoking for Good?
We all know the dangers of smoking. In fact, almost 500,000 people die each year in the US from diseases caused by the use of tobacco.
It’s estimated that over the next ten years, nearly eight million people will suffer premature deaths every year worldwide due to smoking.
But can vaping help you stop smoking for good? In this article, we’ll take a look at the facts.
Dangers of Tobacco
You wouldn’t be reading this article if you didn’t know how dangerous tobacco is. The laundry list of conditions and diseases caused by tobacco use continues to grow. It includes conditions such as:
- Asthma, bronchitis and emphysema
- Cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack
- Diabetes
- Lung and other cancer types
- Tooth decay
- Skin weathering
- Eye damage
- Low-birthweight babies
There are many others. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you already do, it’s time to quit.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping
When a person vapes, they use an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) to inhale a vapor that’s created by heating flavorings, nicotine and other substances. Generally speaking, it seems to be agreed upon that vaping is a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. It can, however, cause nausea, throat irritation and coughing.
Because vaping is still relatively new, the long-term effects aren’t known.
Vaping has been all over the new as of late. Officials have been concerned that vaping has been marketed to kids because of the various flavors available.
We know how addictive nicotine is. We also don’t know the long-term risks of vaping. The fear is that the rise in vaping popularity among kids could create bigger health problems in the future.
There have also been concerns about teenagers and young adults who vape. Once they become addicted to the nicotine, they could be more likely to try traditional cigarettes as adults. Worse yet, they might experiment with other addictive drugs.
Did you know that a lot of people who vape also continue to smoke? In fact, it’s not uncommon at all for people to do both. Although they may start vaping with the intent of quitting smoking, soon they find themselves addicted to both.
Is Vaping a Solution to Quitting?
Vaping advocates promote it as a way for smokers to get off cigarettes. Remember that the goal should be completely getting off nicotine. But are there health benefits from turning away from smoking and starting to vape?
In a recent study, researchers compared vaping with other nicotine replacement options. What it uncovered showed that vaping does assist some smokers.
For the study, 900 individuals that wanted to quit smoking were brought in. Half were randomly assigned to use traditional nicotine replacement products such as gums and patches. The other half received e-cigarettes.
Each participant was given individual counseling for four continuous weeks. After a year concluded, smoking cessation was measured by exhaled carbon monoxide.
Here’s what the study uncovered.
1. 18% of individuals assigned to vaping had stopped smoking completely. Only 10% of those who were assigned patches and gums had quit.
2. Among individuals who had successfully quit, 80% of quitters in the e-cigarette group were still using vaping products. Comparatively, only 9% of the group using traditional nicotine replacement products were still using them.
3. Surprisingly, reports of excess phlegm and cough dropped significantly more in the group that was assigned to vape.
While vaping was nearly twice as successful for smoking cessation, the vast majority continued to vape a year later.
Can Vaping Help You Quit for Good?
As you can see, vaping does offer a decent chance that it can help you finally get off cigarettes. The questions to ask yourself is if it is a safe long-term replacement, and if you’re OK replacing one addictive habit for another?
If possible, try to get off nicotine completely. If that’s not possible, vaping could be a better alternative than smoking.