So is vape bad for you? It’s complicated. Because vape juice is manufactured, it’s entirely possible to vape with any amount of nicotine the user wants; that means, theoretically, it would be easy to switch from smoking to vaping, and slowly wean off nicotine altogether. Nicotine, after all, is the danger to heart health, while other substances generated by smoking contribute to lung disease, cancer, tooth decay, and the other ills.
So, simply comparing vaping to smoking, vaping is obviously healthier – and insofar as vaping can help smokers stop smoking, vaping is a net positive for public health. A former smoker’s health improves every year after quitting, as their body naturally works to repair the damage, and within 10 years, nearly all of the dangers of smoking are reduced or reversed altogether. The sooner a smoker quits, the better. So the question, “Is vape bad for you?” can be answered, “Well, it’s better than smoking.”
Obviously, though, complete, permanent smoking cessation – without substituting another nicotine delivery system – is the healthiest option. Nicotine is still linked to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular problems (although, to nicotine’s credit, it’s also linked to attentiveness, memory improvement, and may even be used medicinally to combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s). When the potential side effects of vaping are added to the mix, it’s obvious that we’re operating on a sliding scale – vaping is safer than smoking, but more dangerous than not vaping or smoking at all.
So is vaping good for public health? At this time, considering what we know and what we hypothesize, the answer is a tentative and qualified “yes.” It helps adults cut down or stop smoking altogether, improving public health in the long run, and while concerns about whether vaping leads to smoking in teenagers are valid, they’re not definitive.
No one or no single entity in the US has really addressed the issue of parental negligence with regards to vaping. After all flavoured alcohols have existed for generations and no one raised the possibility of a ban on these alcohols. Teenagers and children will always try and breach boundaries they are not meant to at that given age, and most vaping companies exercise total due diligence and restriction when it comes to this matter. There is an air of demonisation however toward the vaping industry, and the motives (subjectively) may not be for the good of health, rather it is an issue of preservationism on the part of the government bodies and existing cigarette industries who still hold massive sway over tax and economical matters.
A very interesting divide occurs when we compare how the US has approached vaping, as opposed to how the UK has approached it. As reported by the Guardian, the British public health authorities have almost unanimously embraced as an alternative to smoking, reasoning that the greater good to public health outweighs the potential (and unsubstantiated) dangers.
From the outside, initiatives like New York City’s ban on indoor vaping seem like typical American fear-mongering. While the Royal College of Physicians in the UK has declared vaping almost completely safe, and a definite improvement over smoking, the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the US focuses on the potential for harmful chemicals. Meanwhile, while the FDA has dragged its feet on either further study or regulation, prompting conspiracy theories about the influence of Big Tobacco, UK citizens rate vaping their number one choice to stop smoking.
Ironically, its seems as though the American anti-smoking movement of the last 40 years or so has been too successful. While smoking bans and public health announcements have drastically reduced the number of people who smoke, and made significant improvements in public health, smoking and nicotine have been so thoroughly stigmatized that even a healthier alternative – namely, vaping – is subject to the same stigma.
Unfortunately, as with other addictions, stigma and bias makes it harder for smokers to ask for help, or to help themselves. When people who have addictions are made to feel ashamed, they are more likely to become defensive and less likely to seek help. By offering the alternative of vaping, without the stigma, the US could potentially see a significant reduction in smoking.
Stopping smoking, moving onto vaping, and then gradually reducing the nicotine content is one of the best things a smoker can do. Obviously vaping is healthier and less damaging than smoking, but like every indulgence and addiction, there are always going to be downsides. Even running too much can destroy a persons knees. Vvapour have been established for 8 years and were one if the first UK based companies to offer products and advice on using vaping to quit smoking. Visit our products and starter kits, or even message us if you have any questions
www.vvapour.co.uk