Breaking free from the smoking addiction can be a very challenging process, and in the years to follow all kinds of methods have come across to assist the smokers to quit. E-cigarettes (e-cigs) for the use as a smoking cessation tool is one of the most controversial methods. Smart as vapes are, can they help you quit smoking? E cigarettes, also known as vapes, are touted as a less harmful way of smoking than traditional cigarettes. Read on to find out how effective e-cigarettes are in helping you quit smoking, and explore the pros and cons of making the switch.
How Do E-Cigs Work?
E-cigarettes heat a liquid — typically containing nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals — into a vapor that can be inhaled. E-cigs are different to cigarettes in that they don’t burn tobacco, they deliver your nicotine in vapor form. For that very same reason, they are often pushed as a ‘safer’ choice than smoking. Do e-cigs help you quit smoking, or simply replace one addiction with another?
The Case for E-Cigarettes in Smoking Cessation
There’s growing evidence that even by switching to an e-cigarette it helps smokers to stop. Studies undertaken by many health organizations including National Health Service (NHS), indicates that vaping is way healthier than smoking tobacco cigarettes. While nicotine itself is an addictive substance, the NHS explains that it’s not the cause of much of the damage which smokers suffer from—rather, it’s the burning of the tobacco that releases these dangerous toxins. The result is that e-cigarettes offer a way to help benefit from reduction of exposure of these bad chemicals while continuing to address nicotine cravings.
Switching from smoking to vaping may improve your chances of quitting smoking entirely, new research suggests. The American Council of Science and Health highlighted a study that found people who regularly used e-cigarettes were more likely to have quit smoking than those who did not. Overall, vapers were twice as likely to succeed (28%) as their non-vaping counterparts (5.8%) — but only the daily vapers showed that improvement. That means that being a regular e-cigarette user is an effective way to stop, or get to the point where you no longer need to smoke.
What’s more, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study also found that e-cigarettes can spur some to stop smoking traditional cigarettes. Switching to e-cigarettes appears to have led even smokers who weren’t initially planning to throw away their cigarettes to reduce their or even stop completely.
Behavioral Cues and the Power of Rituals
Because e-cigarettes allow smokers to maintain different aspects of their habits and rituals linked to smoking, like hand to mouth action and inhaling vapor, it might be that e-cigarettes are effective because they are helping smokers complete both the physical and psychological aspect of nicotine addiction. These rituals, for many smokers, stick firmly and vaping serves to preserve them while not exposing a person to the harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke. One way to make the cut to quitting easier is to continue with traditional smoking rituals that are already familiar.
The Risks and Controversies of E-Cigarettes
The controversy over prospective use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation may be related to their potential benefits. Despite what many agree is a less dangerous alternative to smoking, it’s not risk free. The long term health effects of using e cigarettes is not known because vaping is new as well. In fact, there have been studies that have worried over the potential risk of inhaling some of the chemicals in e-liquids, like flavorings that could be causing lung irritation or damage with their use over time.
As well, there is the fear that e-cigarettes themselves won’t even serve to help some people quit smoking altogether but rather would mean a dual use scenario — that smokers would still smoke traditional cigarettes while vaping. Switching is not free of health detriment if the person is still exposed to harmful cigarette smoke. The American Lung Association — and other organizations who’ve in the past opposed e-cigarettes as a quit tool — have rejected e-cigarettes because they believe that smokers should rely on proven, FDA approved cessation methods such as nicotine patch, gum, medication.
Do E-Cigs Help You Quit Smoking?
Does the use of e-cigs help you quit smoking? Working your tail off needs to be the way and everyone’s doing it… something like that. E-cigarettes represent a viable try to help some smokers who, despite their best efforts, fail to quit with other methods. Using e-cigarettes daily can be more than 10 times as beneficial at helping you quit smoking compared to just once a day or less often, according to research. Nevertheless, vaping does not have a one size fits all answer. For some, it may be enough; however, it may not be enough to fully quell your nicotine addiction, or you may still continue smoking alongside vaping.
Alternative Methods for Quitting Smoking
Those who are sceptical about using e-cigarettes or anxious about possible side effects have other proven methods to help quit smoking available. Health authorities widely use and approve nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) such as patches, gums and lozenges to help people to stop smoking. Varenicline (Chantix) and the medication bupropion (Zyban) also help in reducing nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Another form of behavioral support that can contribute in helping people quit smoking might be behavior based program which is either one on one counseling, group therapy and even online resources. Combining NRTs or medication with behavioral support does increase the likelihood of long term success. These may be safer, and more controlled than e-cigarettes, for some people.
Conclusion: Should You Switch to E-Cigs to Quit Smoking?
Many people who started smoking will switch to e-cigarettes and help reduce or stop smoking. Consequently, for some, e-cigarettes are more appealing than traditional cigarettes, and in particular they can promote the maintenance of smoking rituals. Daily vaping increases the odds of quitting smoking, even among strugglers of stopping without help, research shows. But e-cigarettes are not risk free, and the long term health effects are still unknown. For individuals, it is important to carefully consider the pros and cons of quitting smoking and to choose the best method available — FDA approved therapies and behavioral support.
