Is Vaping Actually a Good Alternative to Smoking?

Vaping is the cultural phenomenon that became popular in the late 2000s, when tough anti-smoking campaigns made people more aware of the serious health risks posed by smoking tobacco. Vaporizers were billed as a great way to quit, and people took it up in their droves.

Since then, e-cigarettes have been a fixture on the streets – you can’t walk outside without seeing someone using a vape stick, and there are vaping stores on every high street. There are popular vaping YouTube channels, and even vaping conventions held in arenas and attended by hundreds.

E-cigarettes have even become the norm for non-smokers who feel left out by the social element of smoking. While vaping is a much safer alternative, doctors and scientists admit they still don’t know what the long-term effects of heavy use will be.

Should we be advocating vaping to people trying to give up smoking? Some say that of course vaping should be encouraged over much more dangerous smoking; others say it doesn’t actually help people quit smoking, and glamorizes the act of smoking to young people.

We’ll lay out some facts about vaping and some of the best vaping tech in this guide, so that if you choose to use e-cigarettes, you can do it with the best quality equipment.

Vaping v Smoking

When contrasting the two, vaping has without a doubt much less negative impacts on the body than smoking tobacco. However, vapers may want to bear in mind that health professionals can’t advise on the future impact of vaping on the lungs because it’s such a new field.

While the ‘e-liquids’ that fill up vape sticks don’t contain any of the carcinogenic tar, ammonia, carbon monoxide or arsenic commonly found in cigarettes, they do contain nicotine and other ingredients that could potentially cause health problems in the future.

The ingredients differ per each flavoring of e-liquid, and it’s not always known what goes into them. If you want to be on the ultra-safe side, stick to flavorless vapes.

Some companies claim to sell natural or organic vaping liquid – this can be an avenue to explore if you’re worried about what’s going into your lungs.

What is the Best Vape Stick?

There are thousands of different sticks out there; it’s all about what you want from yours. Many can be customized with add-ons and of course, you can change the flavor of the vapor.  

Check out this helpful guide on the best vape mod for you. Recommended models include the slick Smok T-Priv kit, the little red SX Mini Q Class, and the futuristic-looking Yihi SX Mini G Class 200W TC.

Does it Help with Quitting Smoking?

Vaping is a useful way to shift people away from their tobacco addiction, since it simulates the act of smoking but without all the harmful ingredients in regular cigarettes. However, most of the e-liquids that fill up a vape stick to make the ‘smoke’ do contain nicotine – the addictive ingredient in cigarettes.

Nicotine isn’t the cancer-causing agent in tobacco, though – vaporizers do not contain tar and the hundreds of other carcinogens in tobacco. That means that even though there’s addictive nicotine in your e-cig, you’re not becoming addicted to very harmful substances.

You can slowly wean yourself off nicotine by buying e-liquids that have smaller nicotine content each time you refill your stick. Gradually, you can move to liquids that contain no nicotine, then ideally eventually give up your vape stick all together.

Many people continue to vape after they’ve graduated off nicotine for good, because they enjoy the taste of vaping, the social element of vaping culture, and just because ‘smoking’ is a habit they’ve always had.

Some people report that vaping helped them give up smoking for good; some didn’t find it helped at all. It’s down to you which method you use to stop smoking, and doctors are generally in agreement that using a vape stick is better than reaching for the tobacco pouch.