Vaping vs Smoking – The Benefits of Quitting

Vaping is a much less harmful alternative to smoking and can help you quit

27 January 2022 | Hannah Rubery

We all know by now the hazards of smoking and just how harmful cigarettes are to us and those around us. In the UK it is still one of the leading causes of preventable death with around 74,600 people dying a year attributed to smoking. But kicking the habit and doing so for good can be tricky for many. There are around 2.7 million adult vapers in England – that’s a lot of lives saved. Unfortunately, there are around 6.9 million adults in the UK who still smoke cigarettes. Although figures are decreasing each year there is still much to be done until the UK becomes a smoke-free country.

If you are still one of those who have yet to make the change, or know someone who still smokes, here’s our top 5 reasons why/how vaping can help.

1. Better for your health

Completely switching from smoking to vaping is likely to give you substantial health benefits over continuing to smoke. Burning tobacco in cigarettes creates thousands of harmful chemicals such as tar and carbon monoxide. Almost all of the harm comes from the burning of tobacco, as such the NHS (National Health Service) in the UK continue to back vaping as a better alternative to smoking.

Although nicotine is an addictive substance there is relatively low harm associated with nicotine. At low doses, nicotine is a stimulant and is not the cause of death from smoking. Most, if not all of the harm in cigarette smoking comes from burning tobacco.

For a better look at the health benefits you are likely to see, check out our article on what happens when you quit smoking.

2. An easier, less harmful way to quit

E-Cigarettes have been shown to be a very useful smoking cessation tool with studies finding that they can be almost twice as effective as traditional NRTs (Nicotine Replacement Therapy). It has been estimated that there are up to 57,000 additional quitters a year in England thanks to E-Cigarettes, due to how similar they feel to smoking a cigarette.

E-Liquids and E-Cigarettes are much less harmful than traditional smoking, due to the inhalation of vapour rather than burned tobacco. Although there is still much to study on the effects of vapour, regulations in place within the UK stipulate that all nicotine-containing products made & sold in the UK must meet strict guidelines to ensure the safety of users. Within the UK, and here at Pod Salt, we continue to maintain that vaping is considerably less harmful than traditional smoking.

3. Cost Effective

It’s no secret that tobacco smoking is expensive, and with the push to try and dissuade people from smoking, the prices of cigarettes continue to rise. Now for those who smoke you are looking at around £400 a month to fund the habit, which works out to about £5000 a year. On the other hand, with vaping, minus any initial cost for a vape device etc, you are looking to spend about £30-40 a month.

Check out this article for a breakdown on the latest tobacco tax rise and how prices differ.

4. Better for those around you

Second-hand smoke is incredibly dangerous to those around you. The smoke exhaled from tobacco cigarettes contains more than 7000 chemicals and 70 known carcinogens (cancer-causing ingredients). It can lead to increased respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia in those around you, increased risk of ear, nose & throat infections, severe asthma, and asthma attacks and more.

In adults, second-hand smoke can even raise your risk of heart disease, lung cancer and strokes among many others – a lot of risks for those that don’t even smoke but are around those who do.

Inhaling second-hand vapour has been shown to not have the same risks as second-hand smoke. Although there may still be a lot to learn about second-hand vapour, all current evidence shows that the effects of second-hand vapour are negligible. As vapour quickly evaporates compared to smoke, it does not cause harm to those around you, which makes it far safer than cigarette second-hand smoke. Some health professionals do recommend though that you do not vape around small children and pregnant women, just to be on the safe side.

5. Easier to quit altogether

Due to the versatility of vaping, not only are there things in place to help you make the switch easier, but to help you quit altogether - not just quitting cigarettes but also nicotine. E-Liquids come in a wide variety of flavours all to make the act of vaping more pleasant, to incline you to prefer vaping over the taste of tobacco cigarettes. For those who even enjoy the taste of cigarettes, there are also plenty of tobacco flavoured options available. Not only this but there are different types of E-Liquids.

Nicotine salts are the preferred type of E-Liquid for those making the initial jump to vaping from smoking. This is because nicotine salts offer higher nicotine strengths that smokers often require when making the change. And unlike traditional freebase E-Liquids, these higher strengths are kinder to your throat whilst still giving you a satisfying hit that you may be used to from smoking. Our nicotine salt E-Liquids continue to win awards each year as the best nicotine salt on the market; if you’re looking to make the switch, switch with us.

In terms of quitting altogether, there are many E-Liquid ranges that offer different strengths to let you control your nicotine intake. For example, you may start off with 20mg/ml of nicotine salts but after a few months switch to 11mg/ml of nicotine salts. Once you feel comfortable with cutting out nicotine even more, you can even switch to freebase nicotine E-Liquids that offer even lower strengths of nicotine.

To get full control of your nicotine intake you can also try shortfills. These bottles of E-Liquid come nicotine-free and are available in a huge number of flavours from fruit to desserts, beverages and more. Each bottle contains slightly less liquid than the bottle can hold, allowing you to mix in a nicotine shot to add nicotine to your E-Liquid. These can also be used without any nicotine as the last step of kicking the habit altogether.

By learning the methods of mixing E-Liquid and using different strengths/quantities, you can lower your nicotine intake even more via this method. Check out this article for more information on how to mix a shortfill and reduce nicotine strength.

These are just a few of the benefits of switching from smoking to vaping. There are far more reasons why quitting smoking should be on your list of things to do this year, and if you’re still using cigarettes alongside vaping, now’s the time to completely cut them out. Make the change and let us know the benefits you’ve noticed.