Today’s final look at vaping
and quitting smoking considers the following question: Does the use of vaping
to quit smoking result in eliminating the dependence on nicotine? Based on the
research, the answer is no, because there’s no research that attempts to answer
that question that I could find. Knowing the powerful addictive qualities of
nicotine, the only assumption we can make is that vaping does not result in breaking
away from nicotine. Therefore when it comes to that question, vaping transfers
the nicotine addiction from one delivery system, tobacco, to another delivery
system, electronic nicotine-delivery devices. The addiction remains.
But we can still say vaping
is better than smoking or chewing tobacco simply for the reduction in chemical
exposure.
Maybe the assumption is that nicotine is benign. It isn’t. It has powerful effects on the cardiovascular and nervous systems as well as the adrenal and pancreatic glands. But that isn’t the only issue.
Research
Questions
Besides
the long-term effects of vaping on the body as well as the question I posed
above, there are still several questions that have to be answered.
- What is the effect of the
incineration of the flavors used in vaping juices? The assumption is that
because they come from fruit and other juices, they’re natural and won’t have
any negative effect on the teeth, the trachea, and the lungs. We know that
cooking changes the chemicals in the fruits and vegetables we eat; we also know
that when eaten, they have no negative impact on the digestive system, but
there’s concern that some of the by-products may be harmful to the lungs. We have
no idea what incineration of the juices at high temperature will create. Remember
that tobacco is a plant, too—it’s not that different.
- What is the effect of the
smoke or vapors on other people? Vaping generates second-hand smoke just as smoking
does, but there’s no research on that.
- Will childhood vaping lead to nicotine experimentation and addiction? Vaping devices have been marketed like candy to children for their taste. Nicotine cannot be advertised to children, hence the warning in the television ad that began this series, but the concern is that once using the same type of e-cigarette delivery system with fruit juices, it will be a small step for the kids to try the nicotine forms when they’re old enough, if not before.
The Bottom
Line
At
this time, vaping is better than smoking or
chewing tobacco
due to the reduction in exposure to toxic chemicals. However, it’s not correct
to suggest that vaping is safe until the above research has been done. Until
research demonstrates that vaping will lead to helping smokers break their
addiction to nicotine, it’s the best route available to help people quit smoking
and probably to quit chewing tobacco, although that’s not been tested. But that
still doesn’t make it healthy.
If
you want to know more about nicotine, the business of vaping and my personal
experience with cigarette smoking become a Member or Insider at drchet.com. I cover those
issues in the latest episode of Straight Talk on Health.
What
are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
Reference: Ther Adv Respir Dis. 2018 .doi:
10.1177/1753465817744960.