Vaping FAQs

is vaping better than smoking uk

by Carol Mertz Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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All recent studies point to the fact that vaping is better than smoking. With Public Health England stating that electronic cigarettes are 95% safer than smoking and Cancer Research UK supporting vaping in the fight against smoking relating diseases. In 2015, e-cigarettes in the UK helped 49 people a day stop smoking.

In recent years, e-cigarettes have become a very popular stop smoking aid in the UK. Also known as vapes or e-cigs, they're far less harmful than cigarettes, and can help you quit smoking for good.

Full Answer

Is vaping better for you than smoking?

This is a relatively small number of people, and the study does not prove that vaping is completely safe. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study suggests that vaping may be less harmful to your blood vessels than smoking cigarettes.

How popular is vaping in the UK for quitting smoking?

Public Health England’s ( PHE) seventh independent report on vaping in England, carried out by researchers at King’s College London, found that: nicotine vaping products were the most popular aid (27.2%) used by smokers trying to quit in England in 2020

Does vaping cause harm to others?

Nicotine replacement therapy has been widely used for many years to help people stop smoking and is a safe treatment. There's no evidence so far that vaping causes harm to other people around you. This is in contrast to secondhand smoke from smoking, which is known to be very harmful to health. What is vaping and what are e-cigarettes?

Should non-smokers switch to vaping products?

PHE ’s advice remains that smokers should switch to vaping products to help them quit smoking, but non-smokers should not take up vaping. Vaping products contain significantly less harmful chemicals than cigarettes but are not without some risks.

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What is vaping in smoking?

Vaping is the process of smoking e -cigarettes, allowing a person to inhale nicotine without other harmful substances in tobacco. The term is used as e-cigarettes do not produce smoke - instead releasing a vapour. The vapour is produced from a material such as an e-liquid. Millions of Brits now get their nicotine hit via e-cigarettes, ...

What is vaping and what are e-cigarettes?

Vaping is the process of smoking e-cigarettes, allowing a person to inhale nicotine without other harmful substances in tobacco.

Why were vaping laws created?

Vaping laws were created to restrict the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquids.

How much nicotine can you have in a e-liquid?

Unless registered as a medicine e-liquids can not have a nicotine strength of more than 20mg/ml. E-liquid packaging must be child-resistant and tamper evident. Additives including colouring, caffeine and taurine are banned.

Why did San Francisco ban electronic cigarettes?

San Francisco became the first US city to ban electronic cigarettes in a bid to curb underage use of tobacco products. E-cig manufacturers, Juul labs whose headquarters are in the city say that the move will deprive adults of healthier smoking alternatives.

What age can you sell e-liquid?

Vaping laws were created to restrict the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquids. The products cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 18. The new guidelines include: All e-cigarettes and e-liquids must be registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency before they can be sold.

How long does it take for a mouse to get a stroke from e-cigarettes?

Mice exposed to e-cig vapour for 10 to 30 days suffered more severe strokes, and greater nerve damage than those exposed to tobacco smoke. While results have yet to be confirmed in humans, the warning signs are there, the researchers said.

What is vaping in teens?

Vaping involves breathing in an aerosol that contains several chemicals, including nicotine and flavoring, through an e-cigarette or other device. A 2018 survey found that vaping is growing in popularity among teenagers.

How many people died from vaping in 2020?

Trusted Source. , by early 2020, there had been a total of 2,807 hospitalizations or deaths from vaping. However, the CDC also acknowledge that since the removal of vitamin E acetate from vaping products, along with other harmful ingredients, the number of symptoms that people experience from vaping has declined.

Is vaping safer than smoking?

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, vaping may be slightly less harmful than smoking. They note that a person who smokes inhales about 7,000 chemicals, whereas vaping likely involves a lower number of chemicals.

Is vaping dangerous?

Vaping also delivers several dangerous chemicals, including diacetyl, cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Vaping may normalize smoking again as it becomes more popular. , by early 2020, there had been a total of 2,807 hospitalizations or deaths from vaping.

Is vaping a good alternative to smoking?

Scientists do not fully understand the long-term health effects of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) yet, but the science indicates that they are not a safe alternative to smoking. Vaping involves breathing in an aerosol that contains several chemicals, including nicotine and flavoring, ...

Does vaping cause cancer?

Vaping can: damage the lungs. release free radicals into the body, which promote cancer development. weaken the immune system. delay brain development in fetuses, children, and teenagers. Future studies will likely show that vaping has additional long-term health effects that scientists have not yet discovered.

Can you use vaping to quit smoking?

People should not use vaping to quit smoking. Instead, they can use FDA-approved methods. A person who would like more advice about quitting can speak to their doctor.

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.

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 is it called when you use an e-cigarette?

Using an e-cigarette is known as vaping.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

Several smokers often seek treatments to help them break their smoking habit and permanently quit. These treatments are referred to as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NTR) where it aims to reduce the intensity of psychological withdrawal symptoms experienced among heavy smokers.

Overview of the Study

A study from Public Health England (PHE) presents results from several test subjects that set a quit date and successfully achieved the goal by the four-week follow-up period. Additionally, it also shows an in-depth analysis of the service's key measures, including age, gender, socio-economic status, and pregnant women.

Implications for Smokers

Key results from the study show that nicotine vaping products were the most popular type of aid (27.2%) used by smokers in England who wanted to quit in 2020. The results imply that this could be due to the similar feeling vaping provides to cigarette smokers.

Road to Breaking the Habit

Habitual smoking can cause serious health risks that are often difficult to treat. While many smokers claim to have a desire to quit, many often struggle because of the addictive properties of nicotine. As a result, many smokers often opt to use vape products as a relatively safer alternative to smoking.

How many people die from smoking in the UK?

Smoking-related diseases account for around 100,000 deaths each year in the UK. Most of these deaths arise from one of three diseases: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and coronary heart disease.

What is an electronic cigarette?

Electronic cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes or vapourisers, are battery-powered devices that mimic the action of smoking, offering nicotine (in most cases), but without the toxic effect of tobacco smoke. They’ve been in the UK since 2007 and are growing in popularity.

When did e-cigarettes have to be notified?

Public Health England has published guidance to help premises come to their own decisions. Since May 2017 , all e-cigarettes and e-liquids have had to be notified to The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency before they can be sold. There are also requirements around labelling and warnings.

Is nicotine bad for you?

It does not cause acute cardiac events or coronary heart disease, and is not carcinogenic. But nicotine is a problem for people with heart disease. It raises the heart rate, contradicting the goal of most treatments.

Can you quit smoking with an electronic cigarette?

Any smoker with a heart condition has almost certainly tried to quit in the past, and failed. Try again with an electronic cigarette because you might find that’s a lot easier. And further down the line, you might want to quit the e-cigarette as well.”

Can non smokers vape?

The BHF would not advise non-smokers to start vaping.

Is it safe to use e-cigarettes?

More people may be using them, but e-cigarettes are not harm-free. A 2016 study published in Environmental Science & Technology identified harmful emissions in the vapour, including possible carcinogens and irritants, though at a much lower level than in conventional cigarettes.

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Evidence on Vaping Safety

Confusion Amongst Smokers

  • Unfortunately the evidence that vaping is safer is not reaching the people who need to know it the most. Almost two thirds of smokers believe that vaping is as or more harmful than smoking. Nicotine is not the cause of smoking diseases. However, the report also found that only 11% of UK adults knew that “none or a small amount of the risks of smoki...
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Vaping Amongst Non-Smokers

  • The report highlighted findings from a recent Action on Smoking and Health report. While the number of young people who vape has doubled in recent year, a key point is that this is almost entirely confined to young people who previously smoked. 98.3% of young people who do not smoke do not vape. The figures were similar for adults, with only 0.6 – 0.7% of non-smoking adu…
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Disposable Devices and Enforcement

  • The report also noted the increase in the sales of disposable vapes, now used by over 50% of vapers. It expressed concerns over cuts to enforcement agencies that police under-age vaping and illicit devices, and called for increased funding – a call reiterated by the independent trade body the IBVTA. Commenting on the report, Gillian, CEO of the IBVTA, stated: “Our industry need…
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