Vaping to quit Smoking - Debunking Myths around Vaping

11 October | Hannah Rubery

At Pod Salt, we truly believe that vaping and E-Cigarettes are the way forward for many smokers looking to quit. However, vaping has unjustly been given a bad reputation which can potentially deter those in need. From wondering whether it’s worthwhile, to the idea that it could potentially create new smokers, let’s break down several more misconceptions around vaping.

Vaping does not help you quit smoking

Vaping is the same as smoking, right?

This is a common misconception that vaping with E-Cigarettes is the same as smoking. Smoking involves the process of burning tobacco and inhaling the smoke however vaping is the process of inhaling vapour that has been heated by a coil within an E-Cigarette. Both provide a nicotine hit but one is unlike the other. The act of inhaling smoke transfers thousands of harmful chemicals directly into your body, chemicals that have been proven to cause numerous illnesses and health issues, whereas the vapour from vaping is a much less harmful method of receiving a nicotine hit, with far less toxicants.

How can vaping help you stop smoking?

E-Cigarettes and E-Liquids excel at helping smokers quit for a variety of reasons.
Nicotine hit – as mentioned before, nicotine is an addictive substance which can be hard to give up, especially when withdrawal sets in. Vaping allows smokers to still get the nicotine hit without the harmful smoke inhalation.

Smoking habits – the habits created by smoking can also be a hurdle for those looking to quit, be it the taste, the social side of smoking or the very action of holding and drawing on a cigarette. E-Cigarettes give you the ability to retain those habits with their ergonomic shapes and similar inhaling action, tobacco flavoured E-Liquids amongst other more pleasant flavours. Notably, E-Cigarettes only emit the exhaled aerosol which contains far less harmful elements than second-hand cigarette smoke, and has shown no evidence of it harming bystanders, a certain win for those social gatherings!

Vaping walks the walk according to research!

There have been many surveys over the last few years that have investigated the cessation of smoking thanks to the efforts of vaping. Several studies looked at a proportion of vapers who also smoked since 2012. With one group they noticed a decrease from 74% to 38% of vapers who also smoked, and another group from 92% down to 51%, showing that there is indeed a correlation with vaping and quitting smoking. This study even noted that just over half of vapers reported reducing the strength of the nicotine liquid they used since starting to vape.

It has been estimated that there are up to 57,000 additional quitters a year in England thanks to vaping products, and hopefully with the debunking of some of these myths and misconceptions, there will be even more quitters to come. Keep posted for more Monday Myth-busting with Pod Salt!


Sources:
●  Public Health England – E-Cigarettes: an evidence update
●  UK Health Security Agency - Clearing up some myths around E-Cigarettes
●  Yorkshire Cancer Research – Position Statement on Vaping Products
●  Public Health England – Vaping in England: an evidence update February 2021
●  Vaping Facts – Vaping vs Smoking
●  Vaping Facts – Risks of Vaping
●  Yorkshire Cancer Research – The truth about vaping