Smoking Versus Vaping — Which One Is Safer?

With flavored cartridges and a false promise of being safer than traditional cigarettes, vaping has become an epidemic among young adults. Unlike traditional cigarettes that emit an offensive odor, electronic cigarettes are generally misperceived as being harmless to human health — but nothing could be further from the truth.

The health risks of smoking are generally well-known, despite the fact that nearly 40 million Americans smoke cigarettes, causing nearly 6 million deaths worldwide each year from cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, cancer and other health problems. Smoking quite literally rots your body from the inside. Cigarettes contain over 7,000 potentially harmful chemicals — some of which are known to cause cancer, like formaldehyde and benzene.

Short-term effects include bad breath, stained teeth, premature wrinkles, gum and tooth loss, stomach ulcers, a weakened immune system and sudden weight change. Long term side effects can include cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, increased risk of stroke, respiratory problems, pregnancy complications, reproductive health issues and an increased risk of multiple types of cancer.

Thanks in part to the way electronic cigarettes are marketed, many believe they are doing themselves a favor by vaping instead of smoking traditional cigarettes. Don’t be fooled — vaping is not a safer alternative to smoking. Vapor from electronic cigarettes contains acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also detected antifreeze chemicals in e-cigarettes.

In addition to the highly toxic chemicals in e-cigarettes that increase risk of heart disease and other health issues, researchers also found that vaping liquid increases inflammation in the lung and damages lung cells responsible for protecting lung tissue, leading to an increased risk of infection and COPD.

Children as young as 11 are becoming addicted to high levels of nicotine found in e-cigarettes, but their age prevents the use of many of the quit-smoking products on the market today, leaving parents, physicians and addicts without treatment options. Experts warn that exposure to nicotine at a young age may increase risk of additive behavior.

Talk with your kids at an early age to make sure they know the dangerous of smoking, whether it’s a traditional cigarette, a cigar, an e-cigarette or something else. When it comes to smoking, there is no “safe” option.