Is Vaping a lot more safe than cigarettes?

[Isitanybetter]

I'm ignorant about this, but is vaping definitely much more safe than cigarette smoking? Are there any good recent studies?

I remember the "popcorn lung" side effect was debunked as not to do with vaping a few years ago, and it seemed like it was nowhere near as damaging as cigarettes. Is this still a general consensus?

It's still unknown at the moment it took quite a long time to find out the effects of smoking!

Interestingly I just did a life insurance quote one of the questions was did I vape or smoke in the last 12 months so they treat it the same it would appear!

As a non-smoker with pathetic post-Covid and asthma lungs, I could A LOT more around vapers than I do around smokers.

If I spend a day with a smoker I cough but then am mostly over it. With vaping it takes me a few days to ‘cough it out’.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they find vaping is A LOT worse. It’s wetter and sticky.

Safer but not safe.

Cough, not could.

Vaping has not existed long enough for there to be sufficient research data.

I am surprised at my mate who vapes having what sounds like a fairly bad smoker's cough.

A dear colleague collapsed at work with “lung issues” and was off for six months.

before constantly vaping for two years, he did smoke 30 a day for 25years, but he says vaping is worse than smoking, cos you can’t tell how your beating your body like you know when you’ve smoked way to much over a weekend.

Hes now Mr Heslth and fitness now, and he looks and smells good too

Likely worse because its so easy to go through so much more vape liquid. You see people take a quick puff as the doors open on the tram or my colleague subtly too apull on a vape as we were walking back from the sarnie shop. Cigarettes are anti social and you have to smoke them somewhere. Vaping is incredibly addictive and difficult to quit.

Its not worth the risk.

I can't believe vaping hasn't been banned yet. Pulling hot wet chemicals into your lungs regularly is never going to end well, and the environmental impact from all of those tiny batteries and single use plastic is insane.

I used to think so, but I'm not so sure now that I've heard of people going through 2 disposable vapes in a day!Is that really any than smoking under 5 cigarettes a day? I'm uncertain.

If they have fairly recently (last six months) switched from tobacco to vaping, the lack of additional pollutants in the vape/inhaling less nicotine + other particulates allows the lungs/cilia to start to expel the detritus of years' smoking. You get similar if you stop smoking outright - a worse cough once there isn't soot and tar going in multiple times a day. There's also the aspect that vapes aren't hot like smoke, so the airways are moister and the gunk is easier to expel.

The wettest, nastiest coughs I've ever heard have all been from roll up smokers, though - practically liquid tar bubbling around in there.

Vaping hasn't been around long enough for in-depth studies to be done.

No one can know effects of long term vaping especially as it is relatively new in comparison to smoking tobacco

I hope its safer.
Was smoking for 16 years 20 a day sometimes more.

Been off the fags and on the vape for 6 months. Feel better 😊

Also google the inside of a vape. Absolutely ridiculous anyone wants to puff on that, I presume peoples insides are rotting

My cousin had lung cancer and switched to vaping rather than cutting down smoking further. His consultant told him to switch back as there was no research which could indicate the impact of vaping on his lungs at that time whereas he understood the impact of cigs (obvs the advice was to stop altogether). Ultimately he should have stopped decades before but it was an interesting point. Tbh til that time I had always thought of vaping as being cleaner but I see so many random products out there now I do worry about the crap people are putting into their bodies. As others have said it took a long time to understand the impact of smoking so I hope we don't find vapes end up being a similar issue.

I used to have a terrible smokers cough. Switched to vaping seven years ago and I hardly ever cough now. Plus my ceilings and paint are still pure white after being done three yrs ago. Somethings going to kill me one day anyway, but I think vaping is less harmful than cigarettes.

I think the answer varies around the world. If you vape in the UK and use UK produced products you are probably at a lower risk of harm. The popcorn lung epidemic in the US in 2019 was largely linked to people vaping THC products, which were mixed with some really nasty chemicals.

Is it better than smoking cigarettes ? Yes and no, as an aid for smoking cessation it is very useful, should it be started by never smokers, absolutely not !

Is it worse for you than routinely sitting inside a car in stationary traffic, breathing in particulates from exhausts ? probably not, but life is full of risk !

The Mexican Ministry of Health banned vaping a while ago because of all the toxins involved.

My lungs were much worse on vaping, it did help me give up smoking though, and when I lapsed it was on a vape and then back off again. I will never smoke another cigarette. I probably won't vape again. So yes it did work for me, but I did have chest infections for the first time on vapes, as well as some digestive issues and other problems. It also gave me a couple of asthma/allergy attacks which was frightening when I switched brand.

@Coyoacan Thats really interesting, do you have any info on the toxins involved ?

The vapour in vapes is exactly the same as in smoke machines, which have been well trialled.

Popcorn lung is very rare and falls under devil folk and moral panic mentality.

Here's the nhs guidance around vaping:

www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/#is-vaping-harmful

Hot wet chemicals? What? Vape mist is not hot or wet. It's exactly the same chemicals as smoke machines in night clubs.

They will be, because cigarettes contain bronchodilators Eg medicine to widen your airway making you more addicted to nicotine. That's why people vape more frequently, the amount of nicotine absorbed is vastly reduced due to the lack of bronchodilators

Might be safer than smoking, might not. Even if it's safer, that doesn't mean safe though.

There's been plenty of studies and lots of data and they've pinpointed the exact ingredients that cause vape lung. Of course it's just as bad if not worse. Anything you burn and inhale is going to be carcinogenic.