What’s The Difference Between Smoking And Vaping?

Smoking and vaping both come with a set of risks and side-effects that may be detrimental to an individual’s health and well being. The basic difference between smoking and vaping is that when you smoke, you inhale the smoke resulting from burning tobacco or any other substance whereas vaping involves the inhalation of chemicals in an aerosol form which are released by heating up the vaping liquid. 

Is One Better Than the Other?

The answer to the question ‘is vaping better than smoking’ is a tricky one. While both smoking and vaping are largely unhealthy choices, there are certain benefits of vaping if you are a regular smoker who is looking to quit.

Certain e-cigarettes or vaping devices that are free of certain harmful chemicals such as Vitamin E acetate, could reduce the harm caused to the body when compared to smoking. But such information is always to be taken with a pinch of salt since there exists little research on the long-term effects of vaping, given its recent inception and rise in popularity. 

What are the Long-Term Effects?

The first thing to note is that the healthiest and best choice for any person would be to completely avoid both smoking and vaping. The long-term effects of smoking are well documented and include debilitating diseases and symptoms such as mouth and lung cancer, damage to internal organs, increased risk of heart disease and an overall increased risk of death. 

Although vaping devices and e-cigarettes may contain fewer harmful chemicals, there are a number of health risks. Vaping is by no means a healthier alternative to smoking as nicotine is a highly addictive substance that could cause severe damage to brain function in infants, children and teens. Moreover, several harmful chemicals still enter your body that have been observed to cause lung and heart diseases. 

Final words

The argument that vaping is a healthier option for smokers has largely been debunked. Several research studies have shown that although vaping is marginally less harmful, the potential harm caused to the body makes it an extremely dangerous and unhealthy choice. 

The healthiest choice would be quit both smoking and vaping and there are several help centres and medical deaddiction services that will be able to guide you wherever you are in your journey to quit the habit.