Current adults who smoke all have one unfortunate common issue. They are not correctly informed about vaping. This isn’t really a surprise since they are all turning to the same news stories about vaping that scare them away from the potential this technology truly holds. This is truly a disservice to these adults since they could benefit the most from learning the truth.

In this blog post I will cover the most common misperceptions about e-cigarettes and provide facts that every adult who smokes should know.

E-Cigarettes are more than or just as harmful as combustibles

It is far too common to see a headline that warns against the harms of nicotine addiction or how harmful vaping is. However, the truth and science tells a much different story. Public Health England carried out the most detailed study of vaping that’s ever been done, and their conclusion was pretty decisive – electronic cigarettes are at least 95% safer than the old-fashioned kind. A lot of people think this means they will kill 5% as many of their users. In fact there’s no evidence so far that e-cigarettes have the potential to kill anyone. That 5% potential risk includes the “danger” of nicotine addiction; it isn’t actually clear that nicotine, when separated from tobacco, is addictive at all. 

There’s no evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers quit

The latest Cochrane Review finds high certainty evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective than traditional nicotine-replacement therapy. Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, Editor of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, and an author of the new publication, said: “Electronic cigarettes have generated a lot of misunderstanding in both the public health community and the popular press since their introduction over a decade ago. These misunderstandings discourage some people from using e-cigarettes as a stop smoking tool. Fortunately, more and more evidence is emerging and provides further clarity. With support from Cancer Research UK, we search for new evidence every month as part of a living systematic review. We identify and combine the strongest evidence from the most reliable scientific studies currently available. For the first time, this has given us high-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes are even more effective at helping people to quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, like patches or gums.”

Vaping (or nicotine) causes cancer

Cancer research UK debunks this one on their website stating: Many studies show that vaping is far less harmful than smoking. This is because e-cigarettes don’t contain cancer-causing tobacco, and most of the toxic chemicals found in cigarettes are not in e-cigarettes. There is no good evidence that vaping causes cancer. Additionally they mention that smoking combustible cigarettes cause 15 different kinds of cancer. And because of this fact they reiterate that vaping is FAR less harmful than smoking, stating that your health could benefit from switching from smoking to vaping. This also reduces your risk of getting cancer.

E-Cigarettes can cause EVALI

Cancer research UK clarifies this misconception for us as well stating: EVALI stands for ‘e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury’. You may have heard about vaping causing an outbreak of this lung illness in 2019 in the United States. An investigation found the cases of EVALI were linked to contaminated illegal products. It was not linked to regular or long-term vaping.

Flavored e-cigarettes only attract youth

A study by researchers at Penn State University found that adults enjoy sweet e-cigarette flavors. The researchers studied changes in flavor preference in a group of long-term, adult e-cigarette users and found that, over time, preference for the traditional tobacco, menthol and mint flavors decreased, while preference for chocolate, candy and other sweet flavors increased. In addition to this research study a recent FOIA discovery done by American Vapor Manufacturers acquired an internal report marked “confidential” that clearly shows the FDA not only knew but acknowledged the facts about flavors. This hidden data shows that Flavored ENDS use is common with adults, not just common but 75% of users were using flavors other than tobacco.

I hope this information was helpful in debunking some of these common misconceptions about vaping. If someone you know is currently smoking and is scared to make the switch please educate them on the facts. There life could truly depend on it.