Smoking vs. Vaping – What Do Studies Really Say?
There is an ongoing controversy in regards to the whole issue of smoking (tobacco products) versus vaping and there are proponents on both sides as is often the case with major issues like this. It is no secret that smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of death in many developed countries, but is it accurate to lump vaping in with smoking? If you are undecided which side of the fence to park your vote, here is some information on what real clinical studies have to say on smoking vs. vaping.
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology Report Published December, 2014
Under a creative commons license, Rana Tayyarah and Gerald A Long published a report in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology and their findings are not what lawmakers and anti-smoking activists like to hear. The report clearly shows that the substances of note delivered by e-cigs and vaping devices like you can find on this website are PG and/or glycerin.
The study also noted that nicotine was delivered at rates approximately 85% lower than that delivered through cigarette smoke and regular tobacco cigarettes actually deliver the one chemical often in question, HPHCs, at levels that are 1500 times higher than that resulting from vaping. Keep this figure in mind! That’s 1,500 times higher than through vaping. In fact, there is no significant amount of HPHC categories in e-cigs!
Study Published in 2013 – Tobacco Control
Citing a study originating in Poland, the 2013 study that was published in Tobacco Control shows that the chemicals thought to be toxic in tobacco products are at least 9 to 450 times lower in concentration when vaping. The wide range is due to various chemicals that were tested. Some are nine times lower in vaping while others are as low as 450 times that of smoking a tobacco cigarette. The study used a variety of the most popular e-cigs and vaping juices as compared to the globally popular Marlboro brand cigarettes that are seen as representative of most brands.
This study also found that the dangerous chemicals delivered by smoking tobacco cigarettes are 1500 times higher than the concentrations resulting from vaping. As a result, this led the researchers to conclude that e-cigs and vaping offer extremely reduced exposure to toxic compounds than when smoking a tobacco product. In light of this information from two very different and unrelated reports, it is ludicrous to lump vaping with smoking.
There appears to be no logical reason why so many people look at vaping in the same light as smoking. Perhaps it’s a matter of fearing the unknown and since e-cigs and vaping are so new on the market, within just a decade or so, there are a lot of misconceptions circulating. So what do studies really say? As shown through these two examples, vaping is nowhere near as dangerous as smoking which causes the smoker to inhale chemicals resulting from combustion. Agreed, more studies need to be conducted, but if preliminary information is to be trusted, vaping can in no way be lumped in the same category as smoking. That’s what studies really say.
