Eight million deaths are annually reported every year that are directly related to smoking. Smoking is an extremely pervasive habit that has been entrenched in society for ages. From smoking tobacco through a pipe to smoking analogs, it has made generations after generation addicted to a lethal habit. Smoking not only poses health repercussions but also degrades your financial well-being and your personal hygiene. It not only poses a risk to your health but also to the health of bystanders. Among the most addictive habits that are hard to break, smoking ranks in the top 10.
But it’s not completely impossible to let go of cigarettes. And the e-cigarette industry has emerged to be the silver lining for those who are looking to quit cigarettes. Vaping is an extremely beneficial smoking cessation tool that has helped millions of people all over the world to rid themselves of their smoking habits and pave the way for a healthier lifestyle. From ciga-like prototypical e-cigarettes to award-winning e-juices and best vapes 2022, the e-cigarette industry has undergone many changes to help people cut cigarettes out of their lives.
Combustion of Tobacco and Its Effects On the Body:
The act of smoking entails the combustion of tobacco. Burning tobacco requires a very high temperature that can reach up to 900 degrees Celsius. At this high level of temperature, the molecules of tobacco break their atomic bond and give birth to a myriad of toxic substances. Therefore, what started off with the process of smoking tobacco from a cigarette, turns into an amalgam of harmful toxins due to combustion that you then put inside your body. The smoke that gets produced during the combustion of tobacco carries tar in a gaseous state along with toxic carbon monoxide. The smoke itself, when coupled with the byproducts of combustion, becomes carcinogenic in nature, which means it affects the DNA pattern in your cells, corrodes them, and turns them cancerous.
The Process of Generating Vapor from E-Liquids:
Unlike cigarette smoke, which has 7000 known additives and involves combustion along with tar and carcinogens, the vapor is completely innocuous and a byproduct of far safer ingredients. The e-liquid you vape through your device is composed of only four ingredients: Propylene glycerol (PG,) vegetable glycerol (VG,) nicotine, and artificial or natural flavors and sweeteners. A regular vape device only requires a temperature under 230 degrees Celsius to turn the e-liquid into vapor. Additionally, vaping itself isn’t an act of turning liquid into gas; it merely aerosolizes e-liquid contents into clouds of tiny droplets resembling mist. Hence it doesn’t involve any molecular breakdown, and what you vape stays the same after you vape it.
The Ingredients of E-Liquids:
To refer back to the ingredients of e-liquid, namely PG, VG, nicotine, flavoring, and sweeteners. All of these ingredients are scientifically tested and proven to be safe to use for humans. VG is a colorless and odorless substance that is responsible for creating vapor. And it is found in a number of products and utilities we use in our day-to-day lives, like medicines, cosmetics, and packaged food. PG, on the other hand, works as a flavor carrier in e-liquids and is an extremely popular and well-researched substance that has been employed by people for ages. From stage actors producing fake smoke clouds during plays to food manufacturing companies producing a variety of consumer goods, we have been familiar with the use of PG for a very long time. On the other hand, artificial or flavoring used in e-liquids is the same as those used in other food products to give them flavor.
As with the nicotine used in e-liquids, it’s not the same as the nicotine present in regular cigarettes. The nicotine present inside cigarettes is in its crude or most unrefined form, which is directly extracted from raw tobacco leaf and contains naturally occurring substances that are harmful to human health. The nicotine that is used in e-liquids mostly comes in two forms, free-base nicotine and nicotine salt. The latter is produced in labs and doesn’t grow or occur naturally, whereas the former goes through several processes in which it is thoroughly and rigorously refined, which removes all the natural impurities, additives, and chemicals that are characteristic of nicotine found in cigarettes.
The Use of Nicotine in E-Liquids:
One argument against vaping gets thrown around a lot which revolves around the presence of nicotine in e-liquids, which itself is a highly addictive substance. There’s no point denying the fact that nicotine is addictive, and in the long run, its continuous use can alter your brain chemistry. But this argument pales in comparison when we consider the long-term health risk of smoking cigarettes. Vaping not only reduces the risk of exposing the body to cancer-producing substances but also works as a tool to curb your nicotine intake. The e-cigarette industry offers a variety of e-liquids in various nicotine strengths that help people wean themselves off nicotine slowly and at their own pace. There are also e-liquids that have 0% nicotine, which anyone can employ if they are friends with smokers and feel like they’re missing out on good company because of their smoking habits.
Second-Hand Smoke Vs Second-Hand Vapor:
Smoking also poses the risk of harmful long-term diseases to bystanders if they spend too much time for an extended period with someone who indulges in smoking cigarettes. The molecules of smoke that get produced due to the combustion of tobacco tend to linger in the air for more than 15 minutes. As a result, those around them end up inhaling the same contaminated air and are exposed to the same toxins and chemicals. Smoke molecules also get entangled and absorbed on clothing, body parts, furniture, and other surfaces that start reeking of smoke afterward. On the other hand, the vapor of e-liquids dissipates extremely quickly in the air, and neither its molecules nor smell linger in the air. Vaping itself is 95 times less harmful than cigarettes, so it neither poses any health risk to vapers nor bystanders.
The Overall Impact of Vaping On Your Lifestyle:
Vaping has many redeeming features, and it manifests and brings positive changes in your overall health, finances, personal hygiene, and much more. When you switch to vaping after being a smoker for many years, you begin to notice immediate differences in your life. Your lungs start to function properly again, your blood pressure stabilizes, and your cardiovascular health improves. Your stamina and energy levels improve massively, and you begin to jog, run and climb up flights of stairs without feeling like you would die of shortness of breath. Your oral and personal hygiene improves as well, and you no longer reek of cigarette smoke and alienate people around you. One noticeable change is the return of a sense of taste and smell. Your taste buds begin to heal, and you are able to enjoy all flavors of food again and smell all the subtle fragrances like never before.