Suddenly, everyone seems to be vaping instead of smoking. At least it seems that way walking down the street or in the company of family, friends and colleagues. There they are with their little electronic device and puffing happily away — except they’re not blowing filthy cigarette smoke everywhere but harmless water vapour. Vape shops are popping up all over the place, like mushrooms on a rainy day in September. What’s going on, and is this all a big fad or something more serious, and long-lasting?
Image Source – This is a collaborative post
Essentially, vaping is about getting healthier — healthier than if you were smoking traditional combustible cigarettes that rob people of their health and kill half of those who use them. It’s no longer a secret that smoking is disastrous for your health, but there are still a billion people around the world who are lighting up all through the day. Most of them are in the so-called developing world, where there may not be much in the way of information about the hazards of smoking or public health campaigns to try to get people to quit.
But there are still tens of millions of people in the developed world, where such vital information is readily available, who continue to smoke. Giving up is an almighty battle that many people try again and again, only to fail and start smoking once more. Although there may be psychological reasons for smoking — as an emotional “crutch” in stressful times, for instance — a large part of the war in quitting cigarettes is the highly addictive nicotine they contain.
What’s the Buzz About Nicotine?
Generally, people smoke cigarettes to get a pleasurable feeling from the nicotine they contain, as the body releases dopamine in response to the substance — and the more dopamine, the greater the feeling of pleasure, or “buzz“. There’s a pervasive view that nicotine is a harmful substance, but, while addictive, it’s not known to be especially harmful to the human body. What is harmful, however, are all the thousands of toxic chemicals given off in burning tobacco.
Once you’re hooked on nicotine and the body is used to it, sudden or even gradual withdrawal can become an intensely uncomfortable experience, as smokers who have gone through the process know all too well. Symptoms can be psychological as well as physical and include irritability and anxiety as well as restlessness, trouble sleeping and depression, and an increased appetite. It’s a lot for a person to deal with all at one time, and the reason why failure rates in giving up smoking are so high.
Vapes to the Quit-Smoking Rescue
More people than ever are now vaping instead of smoking because they’ve used an e-cigarette to get off cigarettes. They may have made the change because of public health campaigns advising them to do so — like the National Health Service in the UK, which advises smokers during its annual Stoptober campaign that “thousands of people in England have already stopped smoking with the help of an e-cigarette. Plus, those who combine an e-cigarette with help from their local Stop Smoking Service have a high chance of success. In 2017-18, two-thirds of smokers who did so managed to stop smoking.“
Then there’s research into vaping and any potential risks to health from government bodies like Public Health England. It’s latest, issued last year, says that “vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits” — and if more smokers vaped instead, there could be “at least 20,000 successful new quits per year“.
All this, it appears, is incredible news for public health all over the world. And, unlike with tobacco cigarettes, when you’re using vapes instead, you can gradually lower the amount of nicotine in your vape juice until you’re vaping little or even none — just enjoying great fruity and other flavours.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post. This post has been pre-written.
