Vape has been criticized a lot since its introduction to Vietnam. Although I still occasionally hear news about the benefits of vape, in general, the coverage of this news cannot compare to the articles that exaggerate the negativity that vape has received from the media. Of course, I do not affirm 100% that vape is not harmful to health. In fact... it is very difficult to draw objective conclusions when finding research on vape is not easy at all.
Vape has its advantages and disadvantages, if you are someone who has never used vape or is planning to learn about vape, you may be wondering about this. So let me find out the advantages and disadvantages of vape in this article, maybe it will help you decide whether vape is suitable for you or not.
I. Benefits of vaping
1. Vape is safer than traditional cigarettes
Organizations such as the Royal College of Physicians, Public Health England, and the American Academy of Engineering and Medicine all agree that vaping is 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes. This 95% figure is based on many studies and surveys on many volunteers over many years, not something anyone came up with on their own. If you have time, read these scientific articles on the websites of these organizations, it will change your perspective on vaping. According to PHE (Public Health England), vaping does not involve combustion, so it does not produce smoke (smoke here is understood as tiny dust and ash particles that will stick to your respiratory system). Cigarette smoke contains a lot of tar and carbon monoxide, dangerous chemicals that will affect the long-term health of both direct and passive smokers. No one can quit smoking all of a sudden, and vaping appears as an effective solution to speed up this process. Switching from traditional cigarettes to vaping brings about significant health improvements, most notably increased heart and lung performance, along with enhanced taste and smell. In a more poetic way, using vaping helps “smokers” live healthier and quit smoking less arduously.
2. No unpleasant odors
One of the advantages that makes vaping more civilized than traditional cigarettes is that your clothes, furniture, curtains and everything in your room will no longer have the pungent smell of cigarettes. A big plus in the eyes of your girlfriend, right? Vape smoke does have a lingering smell, but it is far from being as terrible as the smell of cigarette butts scattered in the ashtray. For someone with a stuffy nose like me, the smell of vaping lingering in the room is almost undetectable, and if it does, it will disappear after just a few hours of opening the door.
3. Control the amount of nicotine entering the body
Vaping gives you complete control over the amount of nicotine in each puff. Vape juices come in a wide range of nicotine levels, from high nicotine to no nicotine at all. With so many options, you can choose exactly the level that feels right for you. Most vapers start with a high nicotine level (12-18mg freebase nic or 30-50mg salt nic) and then gradually reduce the amount of nicotine in the juice. This is also what makes vaping an effective way to quit smoking. Have you noticed that smokers often gradually increase the amount of cigarettes consumed in a day while vapers gradually reduce the nicotine level?
4. Control the amount of smoke emitted
With vaping, you can freely adjust the amount of smoke you release - one of the best parts of using a vape. Some vapers like concentrated flavors, small amounts of smoke so as not to disturb people around them, they will use small pod mods or vape combos that can customize airflow, power. Others like to "go big" with large clouds of smoke to do tricks, perform. All of this depends entirely on your preferences and how you choose your vape device.
5. Satisfy the taste of the most demanding people
Talking about vape is talking about the explosion of taste and smell. It is impossible to name all the vape flavors, e-juice is so diverse and the flavor combinations are endless. You can experience from fruits, soft drinks, desserts,... And if you are still not satisfied, there are also establishments that allow you to mix your own juice according to your own exclusive recipe, a "bespoke" style for vape that I find very interesting and worth trying.
6. Instant “gratification”
Vaping is about satisfaction, nicotine is about satisfaction, flavor, smoke volume, temperature are about satisfying your own preferences. You may have to spend a little time learning, setting up the initial device but once that process is done, every puff of vape brings instant refreshment. After all, we own a vape kit for ourselves, not for others, so let's be different, show off your ego.
7. Cost savings
The difference may not be too big when you only smoke a few cigarettes a day, but if you have been smoking for a long time, about 2 packs a day for example, you will find vaping much more economical. Especially when you have knowledge and experience about vaping, know how to change cotton, make coils, ... then the "budget" for vaping only stops at the initial investment combo and the money to buy new juice. Doing a simple calculation can also see that in the long run, vaping is more economical, right?
II. Disadvantages of vaping
1. Too many choices
“This should be an advantage, right? This should be the strongest point of vaping.”
Wait, let me explain. Yes, vapes are very diverse in designs and flavors, but the fact that so many companies make the same type of machine or juice flavor makes new vapers overwhelmed, not knowing who to listen to, what to choose. With traditional cigarettes, very few companies "survive" in the competitive market, all you have to do is buy a popular pack, light it up and that's it. But with vapes, it's no exaggeration to say that there are millions of options, billions of combinations, both reasonable and terrible. Unlike cigarettes, where if you buy a bad pack, you just throw it away and buy another one, vapes are expensive and choosing the wrong one can greatly reduce the vaping experience.
2. Difficult to access
You can buy cigarettes anywhere, from train stations, supermarkets, convenience stores, etc. But when it comes to vapes, there are sometimes only a few shops operating in the whole district or even the whole city. Not to mention that there are products you love but no place in your area has them, the only option is to order online from elsewhere, which is very time-consuming and risky during transportation. Imagine you order a bottle of essential oil from somewhere else, looking forward to it every day but when it arrives, it's the wrong juice or the bottle is broken, not fun, right?
3. Potential health risks
Vaping is less harmful than traditional cigarettes, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely harmless. In fact, there have been cases of hospitalization due to “popcorn lung”. This is a common disease among workers in the production line of canned popcorn, caused by diacetyl - a chemical used to make popcorn rich and unfortunately, this substance is also found in vaping. However, if you are using vaping to quit smoking, you can be completely assured about your choice because vaping is nearly 100 times safer than cigarette smoke, and moreover, it minimizes the harm to loved ones caused by passive smoking.
4. Discrimination from the majority of society
For 60 years, society has always condemned smoking, adults have always taught children, teachers have always taught students that smoking is bad, is harmful to health, those thoughts have been deeply ingrained in our subconscious every time we see things considered "smoke". When vape was brought to Vietnam, this education was raised to the level of discrimination, not because vape is more toxic or causes great harm to the community. This is because vape is too new, people do not understand the definition of vape, ignorance combined with false information makes most people have a completely wrong view of vape. The saddest thing is that in Vietnam, vape is translated as "electronic cigarette", equating this product with traditional cigarettes makes the prejudice even worse.
5. “Vape is only for young people”
Vape was born as a device to load clean nicotine and give users a rich and flavorful smoke. Anyone can use it and enjoy the experience it brings. However, the image of young people using vape is flooded in both negative and positive news, making older people shy away from thinking about starting to use vape. In recent years, more and more middle-aged vapers have appeared, but it will probably take more time to completely dispel the idea that vape is only for young people.
6. Harmful misconceptions about nicotine
Nicotine is called “the most addictive drug in the world” by society. This is a completely false statement, keep this in mind. The addictiveness of cigarettes and the addictiveness of nicotine are completely different. Nicotine itself is just a mild stimulant similar to caffeine, but because of its history with tobacco (before people successfully extracted it from tobacco leaves), nicotine has a terrible “reputation”. It is the chemicals released during the burning of tobacco leaves that make people so crazy addicted to cigarettes, one of which is the compound MAOIs. This is a nerve inhibitor used in the treatment of depression, when introduced into the body, it increases the ability to transmit nerve impulses, making nicotine act on the brain much more strongly. This mechanism of increasing transmission is how drugs affect the user’s body, which also explains why people only need to smoke 3-4 times to become addicted to cigarettes.
7. The truth about vaping isn't always revealed.
Vaping is a new technology, and it is not only shaking the profits of the tobacco industry but also other smoking cessation products. It is difficult for smokers and vapers to distinguish between truth and lies. The mainstream media reports but only shows the negative aspects of vaping. Most people often do not verify this information and are easily swayed, give up or even condemn vaping as an act of destroying the community.
Above are my thoughts and research about vape, so do you think vape can develop and spread more widely?
Gia Bao
