Due to recent negative media coverage and the indiscriminate sale of vaping products to non-smokers, teens, and even children as young as 5, vaping is seen as a scourge worse than smoking.
But is it, really?
Nicotine vaping products (NVPs) were originally intended as a smoking cessation tool to help motivated smokers quit by having something to puff on when withdrawals become too terrible.
However, when opportunistic people abroad started exporting their single-use, disposable vaping products as a ‘completely safe’ alternative to smoking, many people who didn’t smoke wanted to try them. After all, they came in delicious sounding flavours and bright fluro colours.
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This push for higher volumes and profit margins led to an explosion of potentially hazardous products flooding our streets, and being sold to anyone with $35, even children.
In today’s post, let’s find out if vaping is worse than smoking, or if it all just depends on where you’re buying them from.
So, is vaping worse than smoking? If you’re buying them illegally, they can be just as bad (or potentially even worse) than smoking – you simply don’t know what’s in these blackmarket products.
Luckily, there are responsible NVPs designed to help you quit that you can buy from pharmacies nationwide with a GP’s prescription.
NVP products sold in pharmacies are:
- Made under stringent pharmaceutical standards on the manufacturing process and ingredients,
- Are toxicologically assessed for inhalation,
- Are locally insured, and
- Are specifically designed to help you stop smoking.
How Does Vaping Work?
Vaping works by using aerosolised liquid rather than smoke to deliver nicotine.
While pharmacy vapes may look similar to some of the illicit products out there, that’s very much where the similarities end.
More About Illegal and Pharmacy NVPs
If you use illegal vaping products, you’re potentially endangering yourself on the same level as cigarettes. Let’s learn more about illegal NVPs.
Illicit NVPs
Illicit NVPs (such as those in convenience stores and tobacconists) are imported under the radar, just like illicit tobacco and drugs, and are made as cheaply as possible for maximum profits.
They are imported by criminal groups with zero regard for the safety of their customers. They are purchased wholesale by your local convenience store and tobacconist for as little as $1, and passed on to non-smokers, teens and children at a 3,400% mark-up.
The biggest danger of illicit NVPs is you don’t know what you’re inhaling. Lab tests have shown that these products can contain metals that are dangerous to the body. Furthermore, they’ve been proven to contain as much as 357mg of nicotine in a single vape.
They’re cheaper than NVPs you can buy from pharmacies, but this saving comes at the cost of your health and safety.
For something going into your sensitive lungs up to 200 times a day, it’s best not to cheap out.
Pharmacy NVPs
NVPs you can buy from pharmacies are the most trusted and responsible vaping products you can find anywhere. They’re made purely with your health and smoking cessation in mind and can only be bought if you’re under a smoking cessation programme and a GP has prescribed it to you.
They are supplied, trusted and audited by the same pharmaceutical wholesalers who distribute all other medicines, so you can rest assured that what you’re inhaling is up to a standard you would expect from anything else behind the counter at your local pharmacy.
Feel free to pop in and have a chat about these with your pharmacist.
Vaping Vs. Smoking
Cigarette smoke has over 7,000 chemicals, with 69 of them known to be carcinogenic.
With illicit NVPs, millions of these untested products are flooding the market (and many of these are counterfeits), so it’s 100% impossible to know what’s actually in it, and if it’s going to cause even worse health issues for you.
But with pharmacy NVPs, you have a responsibly manufactured and heavily tested product that health experts trust.
Both pharmacy NVPs and cigarettes contain nicotine, but pharmacy NVPs don’t produce the smoke containing 69 carcinogens. Furthermore, they’re made purely for smoking cessation – manufacturers of cigarettes and illegal vapes don’t want you to quit.
With pharmacy NVPs, you’re using a smokeless product that helps you with your nicotine withdrawals in a way that NRT (like patches, gums and sprays) can’t.
You can just give it a puff when cravings strike, such as with your morning coffee or while having a drink with friends – triggers that are all too familiar for most smokers.
Why You Should Use Pharmacy NVPs Under a Smoking Cessation Programme
Nicotine is an addictive substance that’s hard to shake off. Without proper guidance and focus to quit, it’s likely you can end up dual-using (continue smoking while vaping), staying addicted to NVPs long term, or even relapse back to cigarettes at the first stumble.
In a smoking cessation programme, a GP can oversee your use of pharmacy NVPs all the way to fresh air, when you’re ready for that. If you’ve tried and failed using first-line treatments in the past (such as patches, gums and sprays), they can prescribe NVPs from pharmacies to manage your cravings.
The latest Cochrane Review found high-certainty evidence that NVPs are more effective than NRT in helping people stop smoking.
Summary
Illegal NVPs may contain just as many dangerous chemicals as cigarette smoke, and due to the criminal element in charge of this supply, you simply don’t know what’s going into your lungs.
With pharmacy NVPs, you have a vaping product designed to help you quit, manufactured to the highest standards possible, and trusted and supplied by Australia’s medical industry.
We know you’re reading this because you want to know if vaping is worse than smoking. We hope you found this information useful – you can find plenty more trustworthy information here.
Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around!
If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to bulk-billing Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good, including using responsible vaping products where appropriate.
Click here to book your bulk-billed telehealth consultation with an Australian healthcare professional and quit smoking today.