Electronic cigarettes are gradually gaining popularity amid rising tobacco prices and all sorts of smoking bans in public places. Many people believe that using such devices is absolutely safe. Is it so? Is vaping harmful to he alth? What substances are contained in the liquid for refilling such cigarettes? Can vapes help you quit smoking? We will try to answer these and other questions in our material.
A Brief History
The author of the innovation is a Chinese inventor named Hong Lik. A rather sad story led to the decision to create an electronic cigarette. In his youth, Hong experienced a huge addiction to smoking. However, he decided to quit the addiction when his father passed away suddenly due to the development of lung cancer. The example made the man seriously think about his own he alth and attitude to life in general. From that moment, Hong Lik began to devote everythingfree time to develop a device that would allow him to win the war against addiction to tobacco. The inventor achieved his goal in 2004, when the world's first electronic cigarette was presented to the public.
What is a vape?
The electronic cigarette acts as a kind of inhaler. The device operates on battery power. Aromatic liquid is placed in a special cartridge. When tightened, the spiral heats up, which heats the composition, turning the latter into water vapor. According to the structure and appearance, it is practically no different from ordinary smoke that occurs when smoking a regular cigarette.
When the puff is completed, the vape battery is turned off. The heating element gradually cools down. Most electronic cigarette models contain a special button that activates the battery. However, there are vapes where steam is generated automatically when you take a puff.
Composition of liquid
Vape refills consist of just a few components. Nicotine is not always present in such liquids. At the same time, the properties of each of the substances used are well known, in contrast to the same numerous chemicals that are found in tobacco smoke. So, what is the composition of the vape:
- Propylene glycol is a substance that is widely used in the food industry. It is added to liquids for electronic cigarettes in order to create a strength effect whenvapor inhalation.
- Food glycerin is another safe substance. Responsible for the fact that when smoking a vape, the thickest vapors stand out.
- Water - acts as a solvent for the remaining components of the liquid and softens the structure of the steam.
- Aromatic substances - shape the flavors of the vape.
- Nicotine - may be present in the liquid at the request of the consumer. There are a whole host of vape refill products that do not contain this substance.
Cigarettes, hookah or vape? To answer this question yourself, just look at the above composition of liquids for refilling electronic cigarettes. As you can see, the main components of such products are additives that are actively used in the food industry.
Does e-cigarette smoking harm others?
In civilized countries, bans on the use of tobacco products in public places have long been practiced. However, is vaping harmful to the he alth of other people? Special liquids do not contain carcinogens, but they sometimes contain nicotine. The latter is not at all different from the substance that is contained in the smoke of ordinary cigarettes. If vaping occurs indoors, the space becomes saturated with nicotine. The surrounding people, as in the case of cigarettes, become hostages of the situation. Even if the concentration of the toxic substance here is quite small, such water vapor still manages to negatively affect everyone who inhales it. Naturally, all of the abovefor vapes without nicotine. Indeed, in the latter case, substances entering the airspace do not cause any harm to the he alth of others.
Vaping - is it unhe althy compared to a regular cigarette?
Let's look at the list of substances found in traditional cigarettes:
- Aromatic hydrocarbons and amines.
- Pyrenes.
- Naphthols.
- Complex phenols.
- Carbon monoxide.
- Ammonium.
- Cyan.
- Isoprenes.
- Acetone.
- Acetaldehyde.
It is easy to guess that the transition of a smoker to an electronic cigarette eliminates the impact on the body of the above chemical compounds. Therefore, in order to reduce harm to he alth, it may be worth asking how much a vape costs. However, the safety of electronic devices is also not a proven fact.
Why should heavy smokers switch to vaping?
The use of an electronic cigarette by an experienced smoker will result in a number of positive aspects for him:
- The characteristic yellowness of the teeth will gradually disappear.
- The smell of tobacco smoke will disappear.
- Shortness of breath will be eliminated with moderate physical exertion.
- Skin condition will be greatly improved.
- The effect of bleeding gums will disappear.
- Adequate perception of smells will return, taste sensations will improve.
That being said, seasoned smokers should find out how much a vape costs. Applicatione-cigarettes can not only bring the state of the body back to normal, but also probably save the material resources that are spent daily on the purchase of conventional cigarettes.
Who shouldn't vape?
The following people are not recommended to start smoking e-cigarettes:
- Persons who have not reached the age of majority. Is vaping bad for teens' he alth? In fact, smoking an electronic cigarette is not dangerous for them. However, such an addiction leads to the development of dependence on a psychological level. At a young age, people develop new habits especially quickly.
- Pregnant women - expectant mothers especially important to give up smoking in advance when expecting a baby. Is vaping harmful to he alth during pregnancy? The negative point here is the difficulty with the complete rejection of addiction. Quite often, women who smoked an electronic cigarette during pregnancy, after the birth of a child, return to regular cigarettes.
- Non-smokers - inhalation of vapors of aromatic liquids is the starting point on the way to the consumption of tobacco products for those who have never even put a cigarette in their mouths.
- Allergy sufferers - vape liquids may contain flavors that can cause acute reactions in the body. Therefore, people who suffer from all kinds of allergic manifestations are not recommended to smoke an electronic cigarette.
Does vape help quit smoking?
To answer this question,it is immediately worth clarifying whether we are talking about a complete rejection of conventional cigarettes or the elimination of dependence on nicotine? Indeed, the transition to vaping makes it possible to rid the body of the harmful effects of the widest range of harmful chemicals. At the same time, many fans of electronic cigarettes prefer liquids that contain nicotine. Therefore, we are not talking about getting rid of addiction here. In addition, there is a high probability that such smokers will return to the consumption of tobacco products in the future. In general, the effectiveness of the decision in terms of giving up addiction remains an extremely controversial issue.
However, people who are really determined to quit smoking should try switching to vaping for the sake of experiment. For this purpose, it is necessary to gradually reduce the strength of the liquids used and choose products with a lower concentration of nicotine. After a few months, attempts to return to regular cigarettes usually begin to arouse only disgust in the smoker, because tobacco smoke seems to them extremely unpleasant in taste and even disgusting. The same goes for the flavor of traditional cigarettes.
About the explosiveness of electronic cigarettes
Not so long ago, American scientists from the University of Washington published data confirming the dangers of certain electronic devices. Thus, in the period from 2015 to 2016, medical institutions recorded more than a dozen cases of injuries of varying severity due to the use of steamfixtures. Explosions of electronic cigarettes occurred as a result of overheating of lithium-ion batteries. Thus, the victims had a need to treat complex burns. In some cases, even skin grafting was required. Although such situations are extremely rare today, researchers suspect that as the popularity of vaping grows, the number of accidents will only increase.
In closing
It is too early to say that the use of electronic cigarettes is a panacea for nicotine addiction. However, such a solution certainly has potential. Currently, vape is the only product that does not force the smoker to give up the habit and at the same time eliminates the effects of harmful carcinogens on the body. The level of toxicity of substances in e-liquids is much lower. This is due to a decrease in the load on the lungs and organs of the cardiovascular system, which also looks like a positive thing.
