Vaping vs. Smoking: 4 Differences

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A guy vaping

Most people are aware that vaping is safer than smoking, and even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) intends on encouraging innovation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) such as e-cigarettes, but what makes vaping better than smoking? In today’s blog post, we’ll look at four major differences between vaping and smoking.

Composition

The basic ingredients of traditional cigarettes are tobacco and chemical additives, which are wrapped in a thin paper and fitted with a filter at one end. According to the FDA, there are 93 known toxic chemicals in cigarettes, including ammonia and lead. The basic elements of e-juice, on the other hand, are propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavoring, and nicotine, although zero-nicotine options are also available.

Process

Combustible cigarettes burn tobacco, and that process releases smoke containing nicotine, which is then absorbed through the lungs and bloodstream. Vaping involves using a device such as an e-cigarette to heat e-liquid to vaporize the nicotine, or in the case of zero-nicotine liquid, it releases the flavors in the form of a vapor.

Smoke

The combustion process in smoking traditional cigarettes releases smoke, which contains over 7,000 chemicals, more than 70 of which can cause cancer. In addition to containing tar, smoke can also yellow teeth and destroy taste buds, not to mention the fact that it leaves an odor that lingers and sticks to everything. Vapor, however, is 95 percent less harmful according to a report released by the Royal College of Physicians, and it is airborne for less than 30 seconds.

Litter

According to Keep America Beautiful, although smoking in the U.S. has decreased by 28 percent in the last decade, “cigarette butts remain the most littered item in the U.S. and across the globe,” and that includes discarding of cigarettes on the ground, in planters, and waterways. With vaping, users have the choice between e-cigs that are disposable as well as those that are not, and even disposable e-cigarettes are recyclable. Vapers can easily recycle most of the components in an e-cig, including the battery and cartridges.

Are you an ex-smoker who has successfully transitioned to vaping? Tell us in the comments section below what vaping vs. smoking fact influenced your choice to change!

Doctors in Australia Advocate for E-Cigarette Reforms

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Doctors in Australia Advocate for E-Cigarette Reforms

According to recent statistics released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, for the first time in decades, since the implementation of anti-smoking campaigns and taxes on cigarettes, the number of Australians who smoke has increased. Currently, there are 2.4 million Australians who smoke cigarettes, an increase of 21,000 since 2013, prompting the question of whether or not the nation’s anti-smoking policies are still effective.

Dr. Alex Wodak, retired Doctor and currently the Director of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation told the Australian press that “Australia is doing everything right in terms of tobacco control,” which includes plain packaging and high taxes on traditional cigarettes. However, he notes that a key difference between the Australian approach and that of countries such as the U.K. and the U.S., where smoking rates have dropped, is that Australia still maintains a hostile attitude towards electronic cigarettes.

While e-cigarettes and vaping devices are legal in Australia, the sale and possession of the nicotine used in them is illegal. Unlike a combustible cigarette which burns tobacco to release the addictive substance, the e-cig heats a liquid to release nicotine; the process doesn’t produce any tar or smoke, which is known to contain “over 7,000 chemicals, of which over 70 cause cancer.” Many ex-smokers in the U.S. and the U.K. have turned to these devices to help them successfully quit cigarettes, and as recently as late July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a comprehensive roadmap to reduce nicotine addiction, including plans to encourage innovation of products like e-cigs, which deliver nicotine in a safer way.

Doctors across Australia are now pleading for e-cigarette reform, stating that smokers deserve access to a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes. Dr. Alex Wodak cited a major study conducted by the Royal College of Physicians in England which found vaping to be 95 percent safer than regular cigarettes. He added that Australia should provide easy access to flavored nicotine products, which he says would entice smokers to quit.

Do you think that Australia should change its approach to nicotine laced e-juice? Tell us what you think by commenting below.

The FDA Takes a Positive Stance on E-Cigarettes, Cracks Down on Nicotine Instead

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The FDA Takes a Positive Stance on E-Cigarettes, Cracks Down on Nicotine Instead

The FDA Takes a Positive Stance on E-Cigarettes, Cracks Down on Nicotine Instead

Each year, smoking kills over 480,000 Americans, and that includes 41,000 premature deaths that are secondhand smoke related. The FDA recently announced a new comprehensive plan that aims to protect children from the dangers of the deadly habit and reduce smoking-related deaths by focusing on the issue of nicotine addiction.

In a surprising press release, the FDA acknowledged what the vaping industry has been saying for years: “nicotine – while highly addictive – is delivered through products that represent a continuum of risk and is most harmful when delivered through smoke particles in combustible cigarettes.” That is the exact rationale behind the vaping industry promoting Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) such as e-cigarettes and vaporizers to encourage smokers to switch to vaping. They deliver nicotine without any smoke, tar, and the thousands of toxic chemicals present in cigarette smoke while providing users with the same satisfying and familiar hand-to-mouth action that many smokers miss when attempting to quit cigarettes. Using e-cigarettes, ex-smokers can even wean themselves off the addictive substance by gradually reducing their nicotine levels and eventually, transition to zero-nicotine options.

To combat addiction, the FDA plans to reduce the levels of nicotine in traditional cigarettes so that they are no longer addictive. The agency intends on initiating public dialogue by issuing Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to discuss the positive impacts of such a step and any potential adverse effects, such as the possibility of the measure resulting in a black market for higher nicotine content cigarettes.

The agency also announced that, in an effort to encourage innovations that can have a positive public health impact such as ENDS, it has extended the deadline for the submission of noncombustible products such as e-cigarettes to August 8, 2022. In addition, manufacturers would be allowed to continue to sell their products while the agency reviews their applications.

Moreover, the FDA will be consulting the public and seeking scientific data on important complex topics such as the role of flavors in tobacco products in enticing youth and in helping smokers switch from the more combustible cigarettes to electronic cigarettes.

What do you think about the FDA’s new plan? Share your thoughts with us by commenting below!

U.S. Study Finds That E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit Cigarettes

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U.S. Study Finds That E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit Cigarettes

A new U.S. study conducted by the National Institutes of Health examining the correlation between the increase in the use of electronic cigarettes and the change in the overall smoking cessation rate of the population found that e-cig users were more likely to quit smoking when compared to those who didn’t use the smoking cessation device.

Instead of burning tobacco to release nicotine, e-cigarettes vaporize e-juice, a liquid solution containing a mixture of vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, flavorings, and nicotine, although zero-nicotine options are also available and widely popular among vapers. Citing the many benefits of e-cigarettes such as the absence of smoke, tar, or lingering odor, the vaping industry has long been promoting them as an alternative to smoking combustible cigarettes.

Smoking rates in the U.S. have been declining for decades, aided in part by taxes on tobacco products and anti-smoking campaigns. Until recently, although other nicotine delivery options such as the nicotine patch or gum enjoyed support from the medical community, e-cigs were still reviled and deemed harmful by health authorities. However, the study, which is the largest review of available data on e-cig usage, adds credence to the claim that e-cigarettes can play a significant role in helping smokers quit.

Researchers analyzed and compared survey data from over 160,000 people over almost 15 years. The findings revealed that 65 percent of vapers had tried to stop smoking while only 40 percent of smokers who didn’t use e-cigs had. E-cig users were also more likely to successfully quit cigarettes for at least three months when compared to non-users, 8 percent versus 5 percent. The overall quit rate for 2014 and 2015 was 5.6 percent, an increase of 1.1 percentage point, which, although seems small, represents about 350,000 additional smokers who quit.

According to the study, the “substantial increase in e-cigarette use among US adult smokers was associated with a statistically significant increase in the smoking cessation rate at the population level. These findings need to be weighed carefully in regulatory policy making regarding e-cigarettes and in planning tobacco control interventions.”

Are you an ex-smoker who was able to successfully quit smoking because of e-cigarettes? Share your story with us by commenting below!