There’s a lot of false information about e-cigarettes and vaping out there, and it’s available to the public. Vaping is blamed for several issues like the rising number of lung-related injuries and deaths.
All this misinformation on vaping impairs people’s decisions, taking away their freedom to decide for themselves. Here are six common myths about vaping debunked.
- Vaping Is Just As Harmful As Smoking Cigarettes
A large number of people believe that vaping is just as unhealthy as smoking, if not more, according to a poll done by Reuters. These impressions are growing in number daily. Several retailers like Walmart and Walgreens have stopped selling e-cigs but continue to sell traditional tobacco cigarettes and other related products.
A study done in 2018 by the American Journal of Physiology concludes that e-cigarette vapor is less toxic than tobacco smoke. However, it’s an undeniable fact that e-cigarettes are harmful to your health. They expose users to carcinogenic substances and toxins that may later affect their health, but these don’t compare the effects of nearly 7,000 chemicals that make cigarettes so lethal.
Additionally, e-cigs don’t expose you to tar and carbon monoxide as traditional cigarettes do.
In a comprehensive review done to note the effects of e-cigs, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine discovered that making a jump from cigarettes to e-cigs will lower one’s exposure to the many carcinogens and toxins of tobacco cigarettes.
In short, e-cigarettes and vaping are not as harmful as smoking, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. However, if you want to switch from traditional cigarettes to vaping, consider checking out Hyde vape for great vape devices and e-juices.
- E-Cigarettes Aren’t Regulated.
Many activists continue to urge their governments to take action against vaping and get it regulated, sometimes implying that the industry continues to elude oversight. However, this is not the case in the United States. E-cigarettes are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Back in 2016, a ruling granted the FDA authority to regulate e-cigarettes and any e-cigarette related product. The FDA immediately banned the sale of e-cigarettes for any persons under the age of 18.
Any product related to e-cigarettes that contain nicotine must also carry a display warning to state they do so. Additionally, the makers have to submit a list of ingredients to the FDA.
E-cigarettes may not be well regulated, especially for online stores that may sell to minors sometimes, but they do have oversight.
- Vaping Will Cause’ Popcorn Lung.
Popcorn lung is a rare condition affecting both your lunch and airways. It causes irreversible obstruction to your airways, and it severely damages the bronchioles. The name “popcorn lung” comes from an outbreak in a microwave-popcorn factory experienced by workers because of being exposed to significant levels of diacetyl — which is sometimes used to create butter-like flavors and causes the disease.
There is no direct link between e-cigarettes and popcorn lungs. Still, the American Lung Association reports that there may be a risk through their published article, — “Popcorn Lung: A Dangerous Risk of Flavored E-Cigarettes.”
Inhaling diacetyl and other chemicals used for flavor may undoubtedly be risky to vapers, but diacetyl levels in cigarettes are significantly higher than those in e-juices. Still, smoking has never been considered a causative agent for popcorn lung, making it very unlikely that e-cigarettes would cause this disease.
- Vaping Is Addictive
E-cigarettes typically have nicotine, just like cigarettes, and it’s highly addictive. However, nicotine levels vary significantly among products, and some don’t even contain nicotine. Vaping is more accessible to quit than cigarette smoking because of the various levels of nicotine.
Many cigarette users who switch to vaping to quit the former may gradually reduce the levels of nicotine that they take in until finally, they’re in the clear. Thus vaping cannot be addictive when you control the nicotine you take in.
- E-Cigarettes Are a Gateway Drug
Several studies documented that young people who use e-cigarettes were more likely to try cigarettes and other substances later. This “gateway” effect is further pushed by the FDA, which recently released a promotional video featuring the famous magician Julius Dein who is seen transforming a vaping device into a cigarette and saying, “It’s not magic. It’s statistics.”
Despite these claims, studies have yet to justify that e-cigarettes are an actual gateway to cigarettes. There are a lot of discrepancies with these claims. Some youth may have already tried smoking in the past, even if they do e-cigarettes now.
It’s possible that using e-cigarettes may cause some young people to turn to cigarettes because they pack a higher punch, but that doesn’t prove this myth. If e-cigarettes are a gateway to cigarettes, then the number of young people smoking should increase, but this isn’t the case.
Only a 78% increase in e-cigarettes use between high school students was seen between 2017 and 2018, and nothing significant in the smoking rate among the youth. It has dropped to a historic low of 5.8 %.
- E-Cigarettes Contain Nicotine Which Is Harmful
Many smokers and ex-smokers alike think nicotine causes tobacco-related cancer when the evidence shows nicotine has very minimal health risks.
Nicotine is, however, not out of the woods because it causes smoking addiction. E-cigarettes contain nicotine and not the many carcinogens in tobacco smoke. The present chemicals are, however, very minimal levels.
Conclusion
In summary, e-cigarettes aren’t as scary as they’re portrayed to be. With these myths debunked, it doesn’t mean e-cigarettes are entirely risk-free. They carry some fraction of the risk smoking has. So do your research and know the truth from false.