Vaping potentially as harmful as tobacco cigarettes? - A study by chemists at the University of Connecticut

in #health7 years ago

I myself had been smoking tobacco from the age of 15 to 20. I've quit for a year now and I have been vaping (sub-ohm) pretty heavily ever since. I do get a bit scared though and might actually consider to quit vaping aswell. I think quiting vaping would be actually harder for me than transitioning from cigarettes to vaping, as I really enjoy vaping itself. I will probally take steps to lower my nicotine % to 0 first.

I am getting a bit scared and worried. Should I? What's your opinion on this, vapers and non-vapers?

*"How much DNA damage e-cigarettes cause depends on the amount of vapor the user inhales, the other additives present, whether nicotine or non-nicotine liquid is used, and other factors, says Karteek Kadimisetty, a postdoctoral researcher in UConn's chemistry department and the study's lead author.

But one finding was clear.

"From the results of our study, we can conclude that e-cigarettes have as much potential to cause DNA damage as unfiltered regular cigarettes," Kadimisetty says."*

Main source (12th June, 2016): https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/uoc-epa060917.php
Alternative source (12th June, 2016: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/e-cigarettes-potentially-as-harmful-as-tobacco-cigarettes-says-study_uk_593e56c2e4b02402687acb0c

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I quit smoking and started vaping so I was wondering same thing!

Good for you that you quit smoking! If vaping has the potential to cause just as much DNA damage, atleast you don't smell like a trashcan anymore haha!

This is an excellent retort to the original article you posted. I hope it clears up any doubts.

E-cigarettes as harmful as their analog counterparts? Not so fast https://tnw.to/2rbNjo0

Thank you, i will take a look into it after class

I think it's bullshit what they are talking!
I myself are a vaper for more than 3 years.
Vaping itself MUST be less harmful then smoking cigs, simply due to the fact, that you have the same ingredients in the liquid as they are present in the cigs.
Liquid contains mostly substances called: Glycerin, nicotine, water and flavours if you choose to have any.
All those substances are present in cigarettes. Further the cigarettes give of the wanted nicotine through combustion which BURNS the tobacco at higher temperatures, creating way more chemical reactions then the electric cigarette.
On the other hand: our vaping devices heat the liquid to a way lesser temperature where those chemical reactions don't even occur.
Keep in mind, that nicotine is a nervous poison and that long-term effects of it are only thoroughly researched in combination with the combustion of tobacco products. But the healthy understanding of basic chemistry tells me, that it is way less harmful then smoking cigs. Best would be to stop consuming nicotine at all, but who is willing and able to do so? It's one of the most addictive drugs known to man.

If you guys are interested in this kind of topic I advise you to search for the study made by the UK health ministry. They claim E-cigs to be 95% less harmful then their counterpart.

hey thanks for the input. I'm not sure myself what to believe. I however will do my best to lower the nicotine and gradually move it down to 0%.

I've added the source for nixklick's anekdote: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e-cigarettes-around-95-less-harmful-than-tobacco-estimates-landmark-review

It's however an article from 2 years ago.

Ingredients in E-cigs haven't changed until now, so I'd say the credibility of that source hasn't changed. Also thanks for searching up the source I've mentioned. If you want some more input on this topic I could write a whole post about it because I learned so much about vaping since I've started.

Also many people argue, that the moisture from the e-cigs isn't good for your lungs, which is also BS, because your lungs are wet all the time and even if the liquids would add moisture to your lungs, they have several mechanisms to get rid of too much moisture. Thats something I heard many times, when arguing that vaping is a healthier alternative.

If you want a more recent study then you should check out the following by Cancer Research in the UK

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/cancer-news/press-release/2017-02-06-e-cigarettes-safer-than-smoking-says-long-term-study

I'm aware of several similar studies that reached the same conclusion. People in our society just 'do what others do' without questioning if others know what they are doing first --- great information here ---

Thanks for your response :). Too bad there are so many "studies" that are contradicting each others when it comes down to the subject vaping.

Yes this is true i also heard of a study that e cigarettes is mush more damaging it makes sense its all chemicals where normal tobacco is a plant

I stopped smoking! Now I'm just waiting for some research that will tell me that chocolate is dangerous to life ...