You may have been wondering how you can use an e-cigarette to help you to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes. Researchers have attempted to answer that very question and their findings suggest that your chances of quitting smoking increase with the frequency of vaping. For example, they found that vaping for five days in a month improved your chances of quitting smoking by 59%. Vaping for about twenty days in one month doubled the odds. This gives another option to people who find other cessation tools, such as nicotine patches, unsatisfactory. Improvements in electronic cigarettes, such as filtering out possible toxicants, can confer even greater benefits to those who vape instead of smoking.
Tag: Medical
Vaping Could Damage Your Blood Vessels
While many people may know that electronic cigarettes are not as harmful as tobacco cigarettes, not many are aware of the specific hazards that they may still face if they use e-cigs. A study has shed some light on the potential harm that vapers may be exposed to as they use e-liquids that contain nicotine. The researchers monitored arterial stiffness in the study subjects who used e-cigarettes that contained nicotine and participants whose e-juice didn’t have any nicotine in it. It was discovered that those whose e-liquid had nicotine exhibited arterial stiffness while those without nicotine didn’t show any stiffness in their arteries. The stiffness was transient. However, concern was raised that prolonged vaping could trigger permanent blood vessel stiffness in the way that smoking tobacco cigarettes did. Further research is needed to verify that fear. In the meantime, it is advisable to avoid excesses, such as “dripping” that could worsen any possible adverse effects of vaping.
Study Confirms Teenagers Access Electronic Cigarettes Online
A market survey by a company that makes online verification software has come up with disturbing findings which reveal that teenagers can easily buy electronic cigarettes from online sellers. The Canadian company enlisted teens to purchase e-cigs online and a clear pattern emerged regarding how easy it was for those underage individuals to access these age-restricted products. Many of those teens even received their purchases at post offices without anyone asking them to verify their age. Teenagers are at a time in life when they are most likely to become addicted to nicotine if they are exposed to it. More effort therefore needs to be directed towards developing robust methods of regulating online sales of electronic cigarettes and tobacco products so that only those who are legally allowed to use those products can get access to them. It is no longer enough for website owners to ask visitors to click “yes” or “no” when asked about being above the minimum age limit.
Electronic Cigarettes: Should The Term ENDS Be Dropped?
Regulators, such as the FDA, often refer to e-cigarettes as “ENDS” (Electronic Nicotine Delivery System). The implication of using that descriptive term is the indirect portrayal of the impression that electronic cigarettes are primarily used to deliver nicotine to the users of the devices. However, research has unearthed findings that bring into question the suitability of that descriptive term. Researchers discovered that about two-thirds of teenagers who vape use the devices to inhale flavors rather than nicotine. Could some of these outcomes also be present among adult vapers?
The name/label given to something can often have far-reaching results. For example, some policy leaders advocate for banning “ENDS” adverts or sales as a way to protect teens from nicotine exposure/addiction. Changing the label attached to these devices could trigger a more objective view that can result in the formulation of helpful policies, such as how quality issues can be addressed. Otherwise, electronic cigarettes may fall prey to the proverbial “give a dog a bad name and hang him” mentality.
Secondhand Vaping Could Be Harmful
How safe are the individuals who are close to someone who is vaping? This question goes straight to the heart of the debate regarding the extent to which vaping is safer than smoking combustible cigarettes. Research has shown that the vapor that escapes into the atmosphere while someone is using an electronic cigarette doesn’t contain any combustion toxicants. However, the study found that people who were near the person vaping were exposed to some nicotine in the vapor. This is particularly noticeable indoors. The implication of these findings is that vulnerable people, such as the elderly and young children, need to be protected from this secondhand exposure to nicotine. Vapers should therefore take precautions when they are vaping indoors. Additional research also needs to be conducted about the possible impacts of that secondhand exposure to nicotine.