You’ve probably seen more and more people smoking electronic cigarettes (vape pens) and they’re now being marketed as the “safe” new alternative to conventional cigarettes. However, by September 2019, there have been reports of three deaths and more than 450 possible cases of serious lung injuries related to vaping have made it clear that vaping can be just as dangerous as smoking.
While smoking can cause lung cancer, breast cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and many other serious diseases, those diseases usually develop after decades of smoking. This year it became clear that vaping could cause you to take seizures and serious lung damage after just ONE year, based on CDC reports of almost 200 patients hospitalized for lung damage apparently caused by vaping. While there have been warnings about the possible risk of e-cigarettes for a decade, it was not expected that they could cause such severe damage in such a short period of time.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; vaping is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. Yet e-cigarettes continue to be marketed as a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes, despite the various studies that continue to be released which prove the dangers of this so-called ‘harmless’ habit. But regardless of the physical harm that vaping can cause, perhaps the most harmful aspect of vaping is how others perceive it – as a habit that is cool.
A recent study from researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Centre shows that young adult smokers who are exposed to the use of e-cigarettes experience an immediate, significant and lasting increase in the desire to smoke.
Despite protests from e-cigarette manufacturers that their products are entirely different from conventional cigarettes and that they show no physical resemblance, it seems that this is now irrelevant. It is the act of vaping – the inhalation and the puff of smoke – that causes others to feel encouraged to do the same. So does this mean that vaping is worse for you than conventional smoking? In terms of the damage that it causes to your body, the answer would be no. But in terms of the negative influence that it can have on young adults, there’s a very strong case for this. What’s undeniable is that neither habit could ever be considered ‘safe’.
If you really want to quit smoking, you can’t rely on products like e-cigarettes to help you. Our laser treatments are proven to help people beat their nicotine addiction completely, not just switch to another nicotine replacement product. If you’d like to find out about our treatment, please get in touch today.