If you’ve been out in public lately, chances are you’ve seen a now super-recognizable vape cloud. In the United States, more than 9 million adults vape on a routine basis. In Britain, more than 2.9 million people vape. Millions of people have turned to vaping as a way to quit smoking. Vaporizers have become so popular because they’re almost an exact replica of a cigarette. You get the throat hit that a cigarette gives as well as the tobacco flavor, if you choose a tobacco e-liquid.
But, the experience is much safer because vaping doesn’t produce harmful byproducts such as formaldehyde, ammonia, and even carcinogens. Since vaping has grown in popularity, there have been all sorts of myths. We’re here to debunk them and to spread the truth. Here are 5 vaping myths that everyone needs to stop believing.
- Nicotine Is Dangerous, Therefore Vaping Is Too
People who are uneducated about vaping often falsely believe that nicotine is the problematic ingredient. What some don’t realize is that nicotine isn’t dangerous and that it’s about as harmful as caffeine. The biggest problem with nicotine is that it’s highly addictive. Most people become addicted to smoking because of the nicotine. But, it’s important to differentiate between nicotine and carcinogens.
Cigarettes produce more than 70 known carcinogens. Tar is one of the biggest health concerns when it comes to smoking along with formaldehyde. But, because vaporizers don’t burn tobacco and don’t contain harmful ingredients, no carcinogens are produced. The bottom line is that smoking is much healthier and much safer when compared to cigarettes.
- Vaporizers Produce Formaldehyde Too
There was a study posted in the New England Journal of Medicine that found that vaping also produces formaldehyde, just like cigarettes do. But, the study wasn’t necessarily realistic. The researched stimulated the act of vaping by producing continuous dry-hit conditions. Anyone who vapes knows the pain that comes from a dry-hit. After one dry-hit, users immediately quit vaping and fix the problem by filling the tank with more eliquid or re-dripping on the coils. The machines used in the study didn’t stimulate the real experience of vaping.
Of course, if you continuously dry hit your vape, you’re burning at an extremely high temperature which could be problematic. But, we all know that no one in their right mind enjoys a dry hit enough to purposefully do it.
- E-Juice Has Anti-Freeze
One of the most common ingredients found in vape juice is propylene glycol (PG). PG is used for a harder throat hit as well as to emphasize the flavor. Some vaping opponents have raised concerns about the fact that PG is also used in anti-freeze. It’s important to note that the FDA as well as the EU has recognized PG as safe for human consumption. While the ingredient is found in some brands of anti-freeze, it’s actually used to make the concoction less harmful if it’s swallowed accidentally. Besides, there are plenty of other everyday items that also contain PG including lotions, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and even for medicinal uses.
- Popcorn Lung
The popcorn lung myth is one that seems to come back around every few months. At one point in time there was a big uproar about eliquids that contain diacetyl. A study of popcorn factory workers found that the workers suffered from popcorn lung after breathing in high levels of the diacetyl which is used in butter flavoring. In eliquid, the ingredient was mostly found in custard flavors.
It’s important to note that most vape juice companies don’t use diacetyl because of the potential health risk. Even more important is the fact that the levels of diacetyl were extremely low. There’s more diacetyl found in cigarette smoke than vape juice. A study found that smokers are exposed to levels of diacetyl that are 750 times higher than vaping.
- Vaping is As Addictive As Smoking
Many people jump to the conclusion that vaping is just as addictive as smoking because vape juice contains nicotine. But, two studies have found that this is entirely false. Vaporizers deliver nicotine in much lower levels than cigarettes do. While nicotine is addictive, many believe that the other ingredients in cigarettes are what make them so addicting.
The truth of it all is that people who vape aren’t addicted to the nicotine, we’re addicted to buying new mods and tanks to make our experience that much better. Some of us may also be addicted to cloud chasing but let’s save that for a different topic.
Conclusion
With the good there will always be bad. If you’re considering switching to vaping, you’re likely to come across all sorts of myths. When you come across the 5 myths above, you can breathe easy knowing they’ve been debunked over and over.