Vaping FAQs

does vaping help you give up smoking

by Prof. Kip Stehr DVM Published 1 year ago Updated 1 year ago
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  • Vaping is not better than smoking and it still causes long-term lung damage.
  • Side effects of vaping include shortness of breath, nausea, and chest pain.
  • To quit smoking, avoid vaping and instead try Chantix, nicotine replacement therapy, or counseling.

Also known as vapes or e-cigs, they're far less harmful than cigarettes, and can help you quit smoking for good.

Full Answer

What happens when I stop smoking and start vaping?

Within 24 hours of quitting smoking and starting vaping, your body will have gotten rid of all of the residual carbon monoxide in your system. But your lungs, too, will begin to detoxify as they work on removing toxic debris and mucus that had accumulated while you were smoking.

Are you better off smoking or vaping?

Vaping is less harmful and cheaper than smoking, and can have a similar feel. Smoking is bad for your health as the toxins produced by burning tobacco cause smoking-related illnesses. The majority of health benefits are seen when you stop smoking completely.

How many puffs of vape is equal to a cigarette?

Typically, manufacturers advise that 10 puffs on your vape are about the same as 10 puffs on your cigarette. They further speculate that 10 puffs are all you take on one cigarette. Of course, this varies based on how big your puffs are, how strong your vape device is, and how much nicotine you are using.

What is worse smokes or vapes?

Vaping nicotine is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but it doesn't mean vaping is harmless, or easy to quit once started.

Why do people pick up e-cigarettes?

You see some cigarette smokers pick up e-cigarettes for convenience, because of course cigarette smoking is not permissible in many areas, particularly inside, in stadiums, and so on. So for some people, it’s just a matter of convenience, for others, they’ve tried FDA-approved devices and therapeutics and they’re having trouble quitting, and they resort to e-cigarettes because of the satisfaction they feel with these products.

Do e-cigarettes help smokers quit?

Andrew Stokes: Well, thank you for having me, it’s a real pleasure to be here. In theory, e-cigarettes may help some smokers to quit. In particular, it may be an alternative for people who’ve tried other FDA-approved measures, such as nicotine replacement, and have failed with those solutions.

Is the FDA moving to get tobacco flavors off the market?

So, it does appear that the FDA has decisively moved to get flavors off the market. The caveat to that is that ultimately all devices are flavored in one way or another. One might say that even tobacco flavors will have appeal to youth. And in that sense, we’re certainly not in the clear even with these new decisions that have come through.

Do people use e-cigarettes?

The issue is that today at the population level in the United States, most people who are taking up e-cigarettes are switching to dual use of both cigarettes and e-cigarettes. While they may be reducing their cigarette consumption, we are seeing very few people in the population of cigarette smokers who are entirely switching from one device to the other.

Can Vaping Help You Quit Smoking?

With research and debate continuing about whether using e-cigarettes can actually help a person quit smoking traditional cigarettes, BU Today spoke with Andrew Stokes, a BU School Public Health assistant professor of global health.

What percentage of e-cigarette users are still using the devices?

Borrelli noted that after one year, 80 percent of the e-cigarette users in the study were still using the devices. Nine percent of the participants in the other group were still using gums and other nicotine-replacement products. No vaping company has announced plans to seek FDA approval of their products as a quit-smoking aid.

How much is electronic cigarettes worth?

Electronic cigarettes, which have been available in the US since about 2007 and have grown into a $6.6 billion-a-year industry, are battery-powered devices that typically heat a flavored nicotine solution into an inhalable vapor.

What is a tank based e-cigarette?

Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids noted that the British study used so-called tank-based e-cigarettes, which allow users to customize their flavors and nicotine levels. Those devices have largely been overtaken in the US by Juul and similar devices that have prefilled nicotine cartridges, or pods.

How many people die from smoking a year?

Smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable death worldwide, blamed for nearly 6 million deaths a year. Quitting is notoriously difficult, even with decades-old nicotine aids and newer prescription drugs. More than 55 percent of US smokers try to quit each year and only about 7 percent succeed, according to government figures.

Can vaping help you quit smoking?

Vaping really can help you quit smoking, study finds. WASHINGTON — A major new study provides the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes, with e-cigarettes proving nearly twice as effective as nicotine gums and patches. The British research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, ...

Does vaping help smokers quit?

At the same time, Rigotti and other experts cautioned that no vaping products have been approved in the US to help smokers quit.

Is vaping approved by the FDA?

No vaping company has announced plans to seek FDA approval of their products as a quit-smoking aid. Winning such an endorsement would require large studies that can take years and cost millions of dollars. The FDA has largely taken a hands-off approach toward vaping.

Why do young people use e-cigarettes?

Many young people say they’ve tried e-cigarettes in part because of the appealing flavors. More than 80% of teen users say their first e-cigarette product was flavored.

What do tobacco companies want to do?

Tobacco companies want to hook a new generation on nicotine and smoking.

How old do you have to be to sell e-cigarettes?

Enforce the new federal law that raised the minimum age for sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years.

Is vaping bad for health?

E-cigarettes’ biggest threat to public health may be this: The increasing popularity of vaping may “re-normalize” smoking, which has declined for years. Reversing the hard-won gains in the global effort to curb smoking would be catastrophic. Smoking is still the leading preventable cause of death and is responsible for 480,000 American lives lost each year.

Is vaping harmful to you?

The American Heart Association recommends proven methods to successfully quit smoking. Many people think vaping is less harmful than smoking.

Can vaping harm a pregnant woman?

Most e-cigarettes deliver nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm the developing brains of teens, kids and fetuses in women who vape while pregnant. Some types expose users to even more nicotine than traditional cigarettes.

Can you use e-cigarettes if you don't smoke?

People who do not currently smoke or use tobacco products should not use e-cigarettes.

How does vaping work?

E-cigarettes, or e-cigs, are battery-powered devices that release a vapor of flavored nicotine from a liquid heated by a coil. Traditional cigarettes, on the other hand, release smoke from burned tobacco and contain about 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of these chemicals have been proven harmful. E-cigs contain fewer chemicals than conventional cigarettes, but those chemicals can also potentially negatively impact your health.

How many people quit smoking with e-cigarettes?

A 2019 study found that 19 percent of participants who used e-cigs to quit smoking were no longer smoking a year later, while those who used nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches and gum, quit smoking at a rate of 9 percent.

Why are e-cigarettes bad?

E-cigarettes are appealing for harm reduction, or the idea that addicts should reduce harm if they cannot quit altogether. But e-cigs contain dangerous chemicals like diacetyl and vitamin E acetate, which can injure lungs, and heavy metals like lead.

Do e-cigarettes depend on nicotine?

In another 2019 study, e-cig smokers and dual smokers – those who smoke both e-cigs and conventional cigarettes – were more dependent on nicotine than conventional cigarette smo kers. The convenience of e-cigarettes, which are often allowed indoors, might make it difficult for smokers to resist them.

What are the health concerns of e-cigarettes?

E-cigarettes raise a number of health and safety concerns. E-cigarettes have been the subject of several public health warnings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). These include warnings about lung disease and injury, second-hand smoke, device explosions, ...

Can vaping help you quit smoking?

Could e-cigs and vaping help you quit smoking altogether? The research is mixed. You might have heard that smoking electronic cigarettes, or vaping, could help smokers eventually kick the habit. But research on the subject is mixed. While e-cigarettes contain fewer chemicals than conventional cigarettes, e-cigs carry their own health risks.

Can e-cigarettes harm pregnant women?

E-cigarette vapor is akin to secondhand smoke from traditional cigarettes in that it can also harm bystanders, including pregnant women. Some advocates say e-cigs could save smokers from the dangers of combustion, or the burning chemicals in conventional cigarettes, and that alone is worth giving them a try.

What are e-cigarettes and how do they work?

An e-cigarette is a device that allows you to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke.

What is a vape pen?

Vape pens are shaped like a pen or small tube, with a tank to store e-liquid, replaceable coils and rechargeable batteries. Pod systems are compact rechargeable devices, often shaped like a USB stick or a pebble, with e-liquid capsules.

What about risks from nicotine?

While nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes, it's relatively harmless.

Are e-cigarettes safe to use in pregnancy?

Little research has been conducted into the safety of e-cigarettes in pregnancy, but they're likely to be much less harmful to a pregnant woman and her baby than cigarettes.

Is e-cigarette vapour harmful to others?

There's no evidence so far that vaping causes harm to other people around you.

Can I get an e-cigarette from my GP?

E-cigarettes are not currently available from the NHS on prescription, so you cannot get one from your GP.

What to do if you're a lighter smoker?

If you're a lighter smoker, you could try a cigalike, vape pen or pod system. If you're a heavier smoker, it's advisable to try a vape pen, pod system or mod. It's also important to choose the right strength of e-liquid to satisfy your needs. A specialist vape shop can help find the right device and liquid for you.

How does an E Cigarette Work?

An e-cigarette is said to be an alternative for your traditional cigarette. It basically turns nicotine into vapor and not smoke, when you inhale it. These vapes do not burn tobacco. Likewise, they do not produce carbon monoxide or tar either, which are two of the most harmful ingredients of a vape.

Types of E-Cigarettes

There are different types of e-cigarettes available. Vape pens and pod systems are used the most. Pods are rechargeable devices, resembling a USB stick. They come with e-liquid capsules. On the other hand, vape pens are small tubes, resembling a pen and they come with a tank for storing the liquid. They also have rechargeable batteries and coils.

Can Vaping help in calling quits to Smoking?

Until now, the FDA has not approved vaping as a healthy procedure to quit smoking. Research is limited and states that it can actually be helpful. But many users claim that they have quit smoking by switching to e-cigarettes. So who to believe?

CONCLUSION

To conclude it all; e-cigarettes are definitely an alternative to traditional cigarettes but they are not a guaranteed way to quit smoking. If you wish to quit smoking, then you need to be determined to do so. You can certainly convert to vaping and gradually quit the habit as doing so suddenly is difficult.

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Many downsides. Few Potential upsides.

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E-cigarette promoters claim the devices can help people quit smoking. But much more evidence is needed to determine if they are an effective way to quit. Research suggests that users are more likely to continue smoking along with vaping, which is referred to as “dual use.” The American Heart Association recommends proven …
See more on heart.org

A Threat to Kids and Young people.

  • Tobacco companies want to hook a new generation on nicotine and smoking. 1. They spent more than $8.6 billion on aggressive marketing in 2017 alone. That’s more than $23 million each day and almost $1 million every hour! 2. Nearly 80% of middle and high school students — that’s 4 out of 5 kids — were exposed to e-cigarette advertising in 2016. 3. E-cigarettes are now the most co…
See more on heart.org

More Effort and Research Are Needed.

  • The Surgeon General called e-cigarette use among young people a “public health concern.” The American Heart Association shares that view. That’s why we advocate for stronger regulations that: 1. Include e-cigarettes in smoke-free laws. 2. Regulate and tax e-cigarettes in the same way as all other tobacco products. 3. Remove all flavors, including menthol, which make these produ…
See more on heart.org

What’s The Bottom Line?

  1. Kids, young people and pregnant women should not use or be exposed to e-cigarettes.
  2. People trying to quit smoking or using tobacco products should try proven tobacco cessation therapies before considering using e-cigarettes, which have not been proven effective.
  3. People who do not currently smoke or use tobacco products should not use e-cigarettes.
See more on heart.org

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