Smoking cigarettes kills around eight million people every year – equating to roughly half its users. The evidence is there, and the product has been around long enough for there to be little doubt about what smoking can do to you.
It causes lung disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and it’s the leading cause of lung cancer. However, there was a time when doctors would encourage women to smoke after giving birth, which meant that at one point, research was scarce on the effects of smoking cigarettes as well.
That’s why many people who might be looking at giving up smoking are not 100 percent convinced by vape products in NZ. There is not enough evidence to suggest it’s not harmful in the long term, but plenty to say it’s better than smoking.
If you want every reason perceivable to give up smoking, then read on to discover all there is to know about whether vaping is safe. You’ll find that while scientists don’t know what it can do to you in the long term, it’s still a safer option than smoking cigarettes ever will be.
What the Heart Foundation Says
According to the Heart Foundation, vaping is safer than traditional cigarette smoking. However, they do say that there is a risk with anything you inhale into your lungs. If you’re a non-smoker, it’s in your best interests not to start vaping. If you’re a cigarette smoker, switching to vaping can be a relief for your body after the thousands of chemicals you have been putting in your body through cigarettes.
While some of the flavouring substances in E liquids have big question marks over their safety, the two primary components are considered safe. Both vegetable glycerine and propylene glycol are found in food, medicine, makeup, and sweeteners, and their presence in vape products in New Zealand shouldn’t ring any alarm bells. After all, there are thousands in cigarettes, and many of them cause cancer.
That’s not to say there aren’t potential health risks associated with some chemicals in vape liquids, but walking in front of a car exhaust poses a health risk as well. Only time will tell what long-term risks vaping may pose.
Short-Term Effects of Vaping
Vape products in NZ have helped thousands of people stamp out the cigarette habit for good. Those people are now enjoying the vast array of vaping products, or they’ve used vape devices as a cessation tool to quit the nicotine habit for good.
It’s clear to see that vaping is safer than cigarettes, but users should be aware that there are some short-term effects. Once again, the long-term side effects are not as yet known.
Abdominal pain, throat and mouth irritation, coughing, headaches, and nausea are all common side effects associated with vaping. Many of these are related to nicotine dosage rather than the product itself.
The little information we do have at our disposal also shows that E-cigarettes can reduce lung function, but far below what you would experience with cigarettes. Vape products also pose a risk to children and foetuses, but largely from misuse and accidents such as nicotine poisoning and fires caused by vape product malfunction.
Very little else has come out of studies into vaping so far, except that it’s a way in which to quit the larger of the evils – cigarettes.
Vape Product Malfunctions
If you’re asking if vaping is safe, then you may find that the biggest concern is not so much the health effects, but misuse of vaping products that can cause injuries and damage. If you use an unsuitable charger or leave your vape device on a charger for too long, it can be a safety concern. Battery explosions are caused by rising battery temperatures, resulting in fires and skin burns.
You can reduce this risk significantly by only using the supplied charger and never leaving it on charge for extended periods – especially unsupervised.
Conclusion
Like anything, vape products in NZ come with some risks. They can make you feel uncomfortable, and they may have long-term health consequences we don’t yet know. But when you consider that smoking kills millions of people every year and is the leading cause of lung cancer, it’s the lesser of two evils.
It’s also fast-becoming a smoking cessation tool for people around the globe. No one can answer with certainty whether vaping is safe, but if you need a far safer alternative to smoking to help you quit cigarettes, then vaping can most certainly be an option for you.