Vaping is often viewed as a healthier alternative to smoking. But a growing number of studies have identified health risks with vaping. Could vaping be just as bad as smoking? This post briefly explores the health effects of both vaping and smoking to determine whether you’re really better off trading smoking for vaping.
What does vaping do to the body?
Studies have found that vaping can increase the risk of heart disease and lung disease. Vape liquids contain a number of chemicals and heavy metals that are not good for our respiratory system and may lead to asthma or worse lung diseases. Most vape liquids also contain nicotine, which increases your blood pressure and your risk of having a heart attack.
Vaping can also give people a dry mouth and irritate the throat and nose. This can increase the risk of dental problems or loss of taste/smell.
How does this compare to smoking?
While vaping does seem to carry many of the same risks as smoking, the health risks of cigarettes are believed to be far worse. In fact, many experts agree that vaping is 95% safer than smoking.
There is a much greater range of toxins found in cigarettes and they are present in much higher amounts. The risk of cancer is so much greater if you smoke – the risk of developing cancer from vaping is thought to be less than 1% of the risk of smoking.
It’s also worth noting that while many people inhale vape liquids containing nicotine, you have the option of nicotine-free vape liquids or liquids with lower levels of nicotine. This is not the case with cigarettes – which always contain nicotine. Many people are able to use vaping to slowly wean themselves off of nicotine by buying e-liquids with smaller amounts of nicotine until they can vape without it. Doing this could be very beneficial for your heart in the long run.
Some vape cartridges such as these delta 8 THC vape carts or CBD vape carts can be used to provide pain relief. If you smoke cannabis with tobacco, switching to vape liquids could be a healthier way of consuming it as you can get rid of many of the chemicals.
Are there any ways in which vaping may be unhealthier than smoking? One study suggests that vaping may be worse for your throat and nose due to the vapour content and tendency to exhale out of the nose more when vaping. However, further research is needed to solidify this.
So is vaping a better option?
If you currently smoke, switching to vaping could be a lot better for your health. The health risks are drastically less when you vape compared to smoking.
Of course, it’s important to understand that vaping still has its risks. If you don’t smoke, you shouldn’t take up vaping. It’s worth also noting that there are many other ways to give up smoking beyond vaping such as chewing gum or using nicotine patches, which may be healthier than vaping.