- You are still smoking: The most common myth is also the most easily provable fallacy. When you smoke, there is combustion. Something is on fire and you are smoking the byproduct. Vapers are heating a liquid which creates vapor. These two things are as dissimilar as burning logs for a fire and boiling water for pasta.
- Vaping is a gateway to smoking: Vaping and smoking are two entirely different things. With smoking you smell like smoke, everyone around you smells like smoke and non-smokers can smell you coming a mile away. It is a lifestyle thing. If someone wanted more nicotine, they would simply get an e-liquid with a larger nicotine content. In the early days of Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign it was said that marijuana was a gateway drug; decades later, we know this to be false.
- It is marketed to children: There is scant evidence that vape products are marketed for children. As is the rallying cry for people who chronically try and restrict things, they are doing it for the children. Furthermore, those that have not reached the age of majority are prohibited from purchasing vaping devices in nearly every country in the world where they are marketed.
- Vaping is as bad as smoking: There are hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes. Many are known to cause cancer and other cell mutations when they are burned and inhaled. The primary base substance in e-liquid consists of vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, and nicotine. None if which, to date, have been found to be the cause of cancer. In fact, these products are found in everyday household items like shampoo, toothpaste and ice cream.
- Vaping causes cancer: The compounds identified to cause cancer in cigarettes over the past couple of decades are benzene, polonium-210, benzo(a)pyrene and nitrosamines. None of these are found in e-liquids used by vapers.
- Nicotine is bad for your health: Nicotine in and of itself is not harmful to human consumption. The delivery method can be. If analog cigarettes are your primary means of nicotine delivery, it can cause you to want to smoke more cigarettes as it is known to be addictive. Nicotine can be compared to caffeine in coffee. There is no harm unless it is abused.
- Vapor effects bystanders: Studies have been conducted in vape shops in the United Kingdom to test the indoor air quality. They found that vapor dissipates within seconds and that there were no elevated levels of harmful compounds found.
- No research has been done on vaping: There have been no less than 1,000 studies across the world that have been conducted on the effects of vaping. Most show minimal negative impact. This myth persists because organizations and politicians that are anti-vaping haven’t found their silver bullet to restrict the vaping industry out of existence. They trivialize the previous studies until one is produced which jives with their preconceived notions. The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA) for instance is a treasure trove of scientific studies related to vaping.
- You can’t quit smoking cigarettes by vaping: This is the clearest example of someone on the outside looking inside’s lack of understanding. I quit cold-turkey by switching to vaping. So did my roommate, my mother and my friend from the bar Chuck. When you try vaping you realize how bad smoking smells and how bad it actually tastes. I suspect that there are much more like us.
The 9 Biggest Myths About Vaping
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Joe Sylvester
Contributor
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