This myth is probably the easiest one to debunk .
F I C T I O N
‘ VAPING IS THE SAME AS SMOKING ’
Vaping is lacking two key components that make smoking so harmful . One , tobacco , and two , combustion .
E-cigarettes heat a solution containing nicotine , flavourings and carriers vegetable glycerine ( VG ) and propylene glycol ( PG ).
Cancer Research UK advice states : “ The evidence so far indicates that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking as they don ’ t contain tobacco or involve combustion . There is no smoke , tar or carbon monoxide , and studies looking at key toxicants have generally found much lower levels than in cigarettes .
“ They do contain nicotine , which is addictive , but isn ’ t responsible for the major health harms from smoking .
F I C T I O N
‘ VAPING DOESN ’ T HELP YOU QUIT SMOKING ’
This claim is often made by public health figures in the US , which remains notoriously sceptical of vaping despite the evidence coming from the UK .
However , countless studies have shown that not only does vaping help you quit smoking – it is better than other quit methods .
A 2019 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that vaping was twice as successful at stopping people smoking than nicotine replacement therapy ( NRT ).
A UCL study published the same year concluded that e-cigarettes help up to 70,000 smokers in England quit each year .
F I C T I O N
‘ E-CIGARETTES ARE TURNING TEENS INTO SMOKERS ’
This is another narrative popular in the US , where a debate around a ‘ teen vaping epidemic ’ has been raging for three years now .
But is there such an epidemic in the UK ?
Not according to a recent review of UK studies which concluded : “ Surveys across the UK show a consistent pattern : most e-cigarette experimentation does not turn into regular use , and levels of regular use in young people who have never smoked remain very low .”
This belief stems from a spate of lung injuries in the US dubbed ‘ EVALI ’ by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ).
F I C T I O N
‘ E-CIGARETTES CAUSE SERIOUS LUNG INJURIES ’
A total of 68 people died between August and December 2019 , which led to regulators around the world cracking down on e-cigarettes .
However , the CDC has since acknowledged that illicit cannabis vaping products were to blame – not regulated nicotine e-liquids . The liquids in question contained vitamin E acetate , which is prohibited as an e-liquid additive in the UK .
The CDC says : “ Vitamin E acetate is strongly linked to the EVALI outbreak . It has been found in product samples tested by FDA and state laboratories and in patient lung fluid samples tested by CDC from geographically diverse states .
“ Vitamin E acetate has not been found in the lung fluid of people that do not have EVALI .”
VM32 53