| Is Vaping Bad for Your Lungs?27 April 2016 As with any major new discovery or invention, vaping has caused quite a stir. Since it was introduced to the market in 2004, there have been multiple debates, discussions and essays surrounding the subject of how bad vaping is for your lungs and general health. All of this generally comes down to the same point: we don’t really know yet. Research into vaping has been largely positive, with no reports of anyone suffering a fatal vape or lung problems as a result of vaping – something certainly encouraging when you compare this to the 100,000 deaths caused by smoking each year in the UK. In spite of this, it’s important to remember that we’re still ignorant to the long-term effects of vaping. People once thought cigarettes were good for you, that the Titanic was unsinkable and that the world was flat. Whilst they too lacked long-term knowledge, they also didn’t have the facts which, to an extent, we do. So here they are – the facts which we do know. Vaping is Smoke FreeIt doesn’t take a genius to know that drawing a load of toxic smoke into your lungs is probably not good for them! Cigarettes are NOT the same as vaporisers. When you draw on a cigarette, you are inhaling smoke which contains thousands of chemicals, including cancer-causing carcinogens. This impairs your breathing and is hugely damaging to your lungs. Comparatively, nothing is burnt during the process of vaping, only heated, therefore no smoke is produced. When you vape, you inhale (you guessed it!) vapour, which consists of four or five simple, known ingredients. Vaping Liquid is Tobacco and Tar FreeThese ingredients are natural vegetable glycerine, non-toxic propylene glycol, flavouring and distilled water. Vaping liquid also contains varying amounts of nicotine, although you can choose nicotine-free variants. There is no tobacco – this is the stuff which is burnt in cigarettes, producing toxic tar as a by-product. Compounds in tar cause inflammation inside the lungs, eventually breaking down lung tissue and causing lung disease. Whilst many vaping liquids are tobacco flavoured, there is no actual tobacco inside vapes. As mentioned earlier, nothing is burnt either which means no combustion, no smoke and no horrible tar in your lungs! Nicotine is Not Linked to Lung CancerThe word nicotine has become synonymous with tobacco, cigarettes and smoking, and as such has a pretty bad rep. It’s often assumed that nicotine causes lung cancer and disease. Whilst it is an addictive substance that’s by no means good for you in large quantities, in responsible amounts - as found in reputable e-liquids - nicotine is not linked to cancer or lung disease. Vapes provide users with a nicotine fix without delivering the same harmful chemicals as smoking, which is why many choose to switch from cigarettes to vapes in attempt to wean themselves off nicotine and kick the smoking habit. Long-Term Effects UnknownBringing us back to the start, the fact still remains that vaping is still a relatively new concept so we don’t know the full effects it may have on the lungs. Even if vapour is said to be harmless, it’s pretty obvious that inhaling anything into your lungs is not going to be as good for you as breathing normal air alone. Having said that, compared the known effects of smoking on your lungs, vaping seems to be a wiser alternative. With no burning tobacco, tar, or smoke, the future of vaping certainly looks bright!
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