In this article...
- Misinformation about vaping is potentially harmful
- Health risks of smoking
- Government backs vaping as a smoking cessation tool
Smoking is responsible for 74,600 deaths each year in the UK
408,700 hospital admissions can be attributed to smoking per year in the UK[i]
Is Vaping Better than Smoking?
As someone who has successfully quit smoking by switching to vaping, it's frustrating to read the abundance of misinformation so confidently published by the mainstream (and not so mainstream) media. Even my own friends and family are among those repeating badly researched news snippets, convinced these articles are telling them the truth. To be fair, if it wasn't my job to be privy to extensive research on the topic, I could well be among those believing that vaping is dangerous. It's therefore understandable that so many people find it hard to believe that vaping is safer than smoking.
Correcting Misinformation
According to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), four in ten people in Great Britain believe that vaping is as harmful or even more harmful than smoking[ii]. Perhaps surprisingly, according to our recent customer survey, almost 6% of customers who responded don't believe vaping is safer than smoking.[iii] I'm surprised that customers who believe vaping to be on par with smoking would still choose to vape despite their concerns! I sincerely hope I can allay these concerns in this article.
In my role at Totally Wicked, I've spent years surrounded by experts in all aspects of vaping. In addition, I am nothing but thorough in my own research. Within this article, I'll lay out the actual facts as to why vaping is safer than smoking. I'll also address the question of, "Are vapes safe?", and what current research reveals in order to answer this question. It's my hope that this researched, credible information will alleviate any concerns you have about ditching that unhealthy smoking habit by switching to vaping.
The Health Risks of Smoking
The stats regarding health issues caused by smoking are extremely concerning:
- Smoking causes 70% of cases of lung cancer in the UK[iv]
- 7 million people die each year across the globe due to direct tobacco use
- 1.2 million non-smokers die each year globally from exposure to second-hand smoke[v]
- Tobacco kills up to half its users who don't quit[vi]
In contrast, vaping is significantly safer than smoking, and Cancer Research UK emphasises that, "There is no good evidence that vaping causes cancer". The charity also states that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking.[vii]
The NHS Promotes Vaping as a Way to Quit Smoking
Although I know that vaping is safer than smoking, I can understand why you could be reluctant to take me at my word. After all, I'm employed by a vaping company and am a vaper myself and so it could be said that I'm biased. Yet, when an institution as credible and laudable as the NHS is telling you that vaping is safer than smoking, surely, it's time to accept the truth?
Why vaping is safer than smoking according to the NHS
The NHS points out that:
"E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke[viii]...Nicotine vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking. It’s also one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking."[ix]
These statements could, and should, be enough to reassure you that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking and is an effective quit smoking tool. But, if you need further assurances from the NHS, it also states:
"You're roughly twice as likely to quit smoking if you use a nicotine vape compared with other nicotine replacement products, like patches or gum"
Now, for the NHS to publicise and promote the efficacy of vapes compared with other nicotine replacement products (NRPs) is quite something. Why? Because the topic of vapes is extremely controversial, whereas nicotine patches and gum aren't met with such hostility. In fact, although you can't get vapes on prescription in the way you can be prescribed some other quit smoking aids, many adult smokers can still get vapes for free via your local stop smoking services.
What about nicotine in vapes and e-liquids?
Some people focus on the inclusion of nicotine in vapes. Although nicotine is an addictive substance, it's the thousands of other chemicals produced from cigarettes that tend to cause health problems.
According to the NHS inform site:
" Nicotine is a very addictive substance, but it isn't harmful. It's the other ingredients and chemicals like carbon monoxide and tar in tobacco that'll cause serious damage to your health."[x]
And it's worth bearing in mind that nicotine replacement therapy products have been around much longer than vapes. Such treatments which, as the name suggests, contain nicotine, yet have not faced as much vitriol as vapes.
The UK Government Supports Vaping as a Quit Smoking Method
Included in the launch of the Government's Smoke-Free England by 2030[xi] ambitions, is the Swap to Stop campaign. The campaign launched in 2023 with recommendations to provide Swap to Stop[xii] vaping packs along with accurate information on the benefits of switching from smoking to vaping.
The Government is investing multiple millions of pounds into its efforts to help people stay smoke-free via vaping. Would they do so if research didn't show how effective vaping is and if it wasn't a much safer alternative to smoking?
Research Into the Safety of Vaping
You've undoubtedly heard it said that we don't know enough about vaping to be fully aware of its effects which is why you are probably asking, is vaping safer than smoking?. It's also been said that there isn't yet enough research to definitively state that vaping is safe. This view is based on the fact that when compared with smoking, vaping is relatively new. However, this doesn't mean that there isn't any research available at all. In fact, multiple studies have been conducted worldwide and research is still ongoing. So, what does this research reveal?
Vaping research from Cancer Research UK
The charity, Cancer Research UK, has many interesting things to say about research into the effects of vaping[xiii]. They focus in particular on reasons for some of the more negative publications.
Key points include:
- The concentrations of e-cig vapour used in tests are often much higher than the vapour people would be realistically exposed to. Therefore, the results are not completely accurate.
- Reports can often be misleading. For example, in 2019 in the US there was an outbreak of EVALI, an illness attributed to vaping. It transpired the illness was caused by illegal cannabis vapes containing contaminants not found in legal vapes, and never in nicotine vapes.
- Although results are not conclusive on the topic of whether or not vapes are safe for very long term use, there is plenty of research available to analyse on short and medium term use. What are the real chances that something very much safer than smoking in the medium term would turn out to be very much different in the long term?
- After much analysis of available research, Cancer research joins the NHS, and the UK Government in recommending that people who smoke should consider using vapes as a way to quit.
The British Heart Foundation's research on vaping
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) funded a study conducted by the University of Dundee in 2019[xiv]. This study suggests that
"Vaping may be less harmful to your blood vessels that smoking cigarettes"
The BHF goes on to say:
"Within just one month of switching tobacco for electronic cigarettes, measures of blood vessel health, including blood pressure and stiffness of their arteries, had started to improve. "
The Foundation caveats these findings by saying what we already know, that vaping hasn't been around long enough to declare them completely safe. They also state that e-cigarettes shouldn't be used by adults who haven't previously smoked - a statement with which we completely agree. Yet, while taking these observations into account, the fact that this study shows such a marked improvement in blood vessel health is something that shouldn't be ignored. Furthermore, the BHF agrees that vaping is a "useful tool to help people stop smoking completely".
To Sum it All Up....
Current research leaves no doubt that the use of legally produced vapes is safer than smoking traditional tobacco products. And it isn't just the one source that declares this to be true. As this article has shown, multiple reputable institutions and organisations promote the use of vapes as a safer alternative to cigarettes. So, no need to just take my word for it (I promise I won't be offended that you don't!) when there's plenty of research available that supports the statement, vaping is safer than smoking.
References:
[i] https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-public-health/2023
[ii] https://ash.org.uk/media-centre/news/press-releases/four-in-ten-smokers-wrongly-believe-that-vaping-is-as-or-more-harmful-as-smoking
[iii] Survey of 223 respondents conducted in 2023
[iv] https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/what-are-the-health-risks-of-smoking/
[v] https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/facts-at-a-glance#:~:text=Tobacco%20kills%20up%20to%20half,exposed%20to%20second%2Dhand%20smoke.
[vi] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
[vii] https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2021/04/26/e-cigarettes-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont/
[viii] https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/using-e-cigarettes-to-stop-smoking/#:~:text=E%2Dcigarettes%20do%20not%20produce,at%20a%20much%20lower%20level.
[ix]https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/
[x] https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/stopping-smoking/when-you-stop/myths-around-stopping-smoking/#:~:text=Myth%3A%20’Nicotine%20is%20harmful’,help%20you%20to%20stop%20smoking.
[xi] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9655/
[xii] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-khan-review-making-smoking-obsolete/making-smoking-obsolete-summary
[xiii] https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2021/04/26/e-cigarettes-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont/
[xiv] https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/e-cigarettes
