Which is better— a cigarette or an E-cig? This is a question that has been asked by millions all over the world. Approximately 21 percent of people smoke cigarettes. Smoking is something that is a dirty habit to many people, since it is a major cause of lung cancer, which kills over a half a million people a year. In recent years, a new alternative to smoking has risen.
E-cigs have been used around the world for a long time and is a new a way that can help those who are smokers be at less risk for lung cancer. But are E-cigs really the best alternative? According to The New Stall Times written by Cabrini College Health Services, the FDA still has not approved the E-cig as a quitting device. Cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals, whereas an E-cig components are nicotine, Propylene glycol, found in asthma inhalers, and vegetable glycerol, which is used in medication, cosmetic and food items. Not only is it appropriate to step outside for a cigarette, but some might also feel the pressure while smoking. This is another great advantage to using the E-cig, since there are not the most harmful chemicals in them. Being able to smoke around others and not harm them physically is an advantage to the E-cig.
The average person will spend about $5,000 a year on cigarettes. Most E-cigs vary on how they operate, but for the most part, they are rechargeable. One can to find a decent E-cig starter kit off Ebay for about $22.
According to Time Magazine, smoking an E-cig can cause some strange side effects. After research from the American Thoracic Society, smoking an E-cig may suppress the ability to cough. Having the ability to cough is oddly important, it keeps one from choking and also eliminates elements that cause infection. Another study produced by University of Toronto recommends that people who want to quit smoking should find a more established option. In the study, they found people who began using the E-cig only lasted about three to six months.
“I wanted to quit smoking and I thought using an E-cig was a great alternative. I used it for about two months but gave up on it eventually,” senior Dylan Takats said. “There are definitely safer ways to quit smoking and looking back, I probably would’ve used a different way to try and quit.”
Nicole
I’m not going to tell you or anyone else what to do. Ride a bike. Go Base Jumping. Watch reruns of Baywatch whilst eating Doritos. Vape. Smoke. It’s up to you.
You don’t know what the specific risks for you doing any of these things are and neither do I.
Neither does anyone else.
You might be a rare case of fatal Baywatch sensitivity.
How about considering the following though…
Some of the risks of smoking, namely Cardio vascular, Cerebro vascular and Pulmonary obstructive diseases are caused by exposure to by-products of combustion, something which is absent in e-cigarettes.
These diseases develop more quickly than longer term things like cancer and so cause more short term chronic disability (e.g. shortness of breath; lethargy)
To my mind, at the very least, vaping buys you a bit of time in which to make some choices.
You can wait and see how the science pans out and decide for yourself in due course, knowing that- short term at least- you have offset some risk and will probably feel healthier.
This was the clincher for me.
Good luck with your choice.
Millions of us use them to quit smoking. As you said they are way safer than smoking. They are not for everyone but close to 99% safer says we should be giving them away to smokers.