If you’re trying to quit smoking, then you’re probably familiar with how difficult it can be to deal with withdrawal symptoms. For years, smoking has been constantly warned about activity that contributes to the development of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other related breathing problems that are detrimental to your health. However, over the past few years, vaping has become an advertised alternative that users have reported having helped them quit smoking for good.
But because vaping is still an ever-evolving subject, reports have shown that e-cigarettes and vaping products with nicotine are just as harmful to your health as smoking. While vaping can be seen as an easy transition from smoking to not smoking, there are still some health effects you should be aware of if you intend on vaping.
How Vaping Can Be Harmful To Your Health
Vaping, especially to young adults, can be a tempting activity, as these products can come in numerous flavors and appear less harmful than tobacco products. For adults attempting to get rid of their nicotine addiction, vaping can sound like an easier transition device that satisfies “smoking” but doesn’t contain tobacco. However, studies from the CDC and John Hopkins Center have provided some information about the use of vaping products and the potential harm of using these products long-term.
- Vaping Still Isn’t Safe: Many vaping flavors provided by manufacturers can still contain nicotine. Nicotine is the chemical extracted from tobacco that is considered toxic to our lungs, heart, and nervous system. In more serious reports, vaping products contain THC from black market sources because of the added product Vitamin E acetate, which can damage the lungs and even cause death.
- Vaping Can Harm The Lungs and Heart: With the many unknowns about vaping, research is related to nicotine intake. Because nicotine is an addictive substance, it can raise your blood pressure, increase your heart rate, and increase your risk for heart attacks later in life. Some research suggests that e-cigarettes and vaping products are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Vaping Contains Other Harmful Substances: According to the CDC, the aerosol that’s exhaled from e-cigarette and vaping devices can contain other chemicals, such as diacetyl, ultrafine particles, and cancer-causing chemicals.
- The FDA’s Approach to Vaping: As of January 2020, the FDA has prohibited the sale of pre-filled cartridge e-cigarettes in any other flavor other than tobacco and menthol, and legislation surrounding vaping products is still being taken to reduce the impact vaping has on youth.
How To Quit Smoking More Effectively
According to us, the best to quit smoking is to begin, and for more resources for quitting smoking, you should speak with your primary care doctor about smoking cessation programs and other tools that may work best for you. Even while vaping exposes fewer harmful chemicals than smoking, using any nicotine-related product is still unsafe for your health.
