Is Vaping useful for its intended purpose?

Discerning Facts and Myths about e-cigarettes

The electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, was first created in the mid-2000s and marketed
as a healthy alternative to traditional cigarettes. Today, it is now the leading medium by which
people intake nicotine, eclipsing even traditional cigarettes with a total of 41 million people
using e-cigarettes in 2018, but just how much do we know about e-cigarettes? Depending on who
is being asked the question, that will vary, but here is what we do know about e-cigarettes

First, just to get this out of the way, is the fact that e-cigarettes are in almost every regard,
better for you than traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes do not produce something that is notably
produced by traditional cigarettes, tar, which is known to contain the majority of the carcinogens
within cigarette smoke. This makes electronic cigarettes inherently better than traditional
cigarettes on a surface level, but this does not mean e-cigs are without their risks.

To clear up a misconception, the vapor released from electronic cigarettes is not actual
water vapor, rather it is an aerosol. An aerosol is a suspension of particles in gas enclosed under
pressure in order to be released in a spray. According to a blog post from Penn Medicine, the
misleading name of “vapor” was used by e-cigarette companies when marketing because there is
a negative connotation to the word “aerosol”, most likely due to other aerosols past effects on the
environment.

Most e-cigarette companies’ marketing strategy is targeting the audience of people

looking for a crutch while they attempt to free themselves of their nicotine addiction. Ironically
enough, e-cigarette juice nicotine amounts can total up to 32mg, which is about double the
highest nicotine content in traditional cigarettes. While there are low and even no nicotine
content vape juices, the existence of such an unbelievably high nicotine content juices is grounds
for the belief that the business model of e-cigarettes is not to get its users to eventually quit,
otherwise they would not supply levels of nicotine that available to the public by normal means.
Further evidence shows that people who take up smoking e-cigarettes still end up jointly
smoking both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes equally, so it is not as if existing addicts are
even transitioning to a healthier alternative.

Not only are e-cigarettes not getting rid of existing addicts, they are also apparently
creating new addicts. These new addicts are seemingly taking the form of the youth of our
society. According to Hopkins Medicine, e-cigarette use among youth has increased 900 percent
to 10 times the original number of teen smokers, 40 percent of which never actually smoked
 Is Vaping useful for its intended purpose? Discerning Facts and Myths about e-cigarettes

traditional cigarettes prior. This shows that e-cigarettes are actually drawing in teenagers that
would not otherwise smoke to e-cigarettes, which is a good point in further highlighting the
motivations behind e-cigarette marketing strategies.

In the end, it is the individual’s choice as to whether or not they want to smoke, vape, or
do anything else that is possibly harmful, just make that you or others understand that all nicotine
products may be addictive and have negative effects on your health with continuous use. We
hope we have helped supply you with the knowledge to make that decision for yourself properly.
 Is Vaping useful for its intended purpose? Discerning Facts and Myths about e-cigarettes

Sources

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/5-truths-you-need-to-know-about-
vaping

https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2019/july/vaping-myths

https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/20/clearing-up-some-myths-around-e-cigarettes/(F)

http://classifieds.usatoday.com/blog/marketplace/the-truth-about-vaping-7-common-misconceptions/