There is a lot of anti-vaping propaganda that is being spread around by different special interest groups. We are sad to say that most of these rumors are untrue and are usually spread by people who aren’t properly educated on what vaping really is. Below, we disprove 3 lies that you probably have heard about vaping.
1. Vaping Is Just as Bad as Smoking
There is a big difference between inhaling water vapor versus inhaling carcinogenic smoke directly into your lungs. People buy into this myth simply because the puff of vapor that an e-cig creates looks similar to the cloud of smoke a cigarette makes. Although vaping is designed to simulate the look and feel of smoking a cigarette, this is where the similarities end.
There are no added carcinogens or chemicals in liquid vapor aside from the added nicotine, vegetable glycerol, and propylene glycol, all of which have been deemed safe for consumption under the FDA. The flavorings used are food grade additives that are designed for consumption. These flavorings are digestible and are added in very small concentrations.
Cigarettes, on the other hand, have 1,000’s of chemicals and carcinogens in them. They all enter your body when inhaled and many of them are highly toxic. These are the chemicals that cause cancer, high blood pressure and a variety of other health problems. Liquid vapor does not contain any of these harmful substances.
The sad truth is many public health organizations are not doing enough to dispel this myth. Filmmaker Aaron Biebert has recently spoken out about this problem in an interview, explaining that the promotion of this kind of misinformation is contributing to millions of lives that have been lost due to cigarettes.
2. Vaping Can’t Replace the Real Thing
An inexperienced vapor may not be aware of the number of options you can use to tweak and customize the taste, look and feel of your e-cig.
Most people are introduced to vaping when they try a standard to-go kit that you can pick up at your local convenience store. Although this is always a better alternative to cigarettes, a bare-bones starter kit isn’t going to give you the best experience.
If you go that route, it’s a safe bet that you won’t be impressed with the experience. You can, however, make a lot of changes to fix that. In fact, most experienced vapers will tell you vaping is more enjoyable to them now than smoking ever was.
- You can change the nicotine concentrations to increase or lessen the throat hit that you feel when you inhale. The higher the nicotine level, the harsher it will feel.
- You can change flavors. You will be able to find flavors ranging from fruity flavors to creamy and coffee flavors and anything in between. It’s easy to find specialized flavors like butter pecan, jolly rancher, or whiskey, just to name a few. E-liquid manufacturers will even make menthol and non-menthol cigarette flavors for those that want to get as close to a real cigarette as they can.
- You can change the amount of vapor that each puff produces by changing the different PG/VG levels. If you want a large vapor cloud, use VG. If you want a smaller vapor cloud, use PG e-liquid.
Although it’s not a perfect replication of a cigarette, if offers an alternative that is much better and more diverse.
3. There Is Anti-Freeze in E-Liquids
This is a sad attempt by those that are opposed to the vaping movement to attempt to lump vaping in with cigarettes. The idea here is to spread the rumor that e-liquids contain harmful chemicals in the same way that cigarettes do.
One of the more common chemicals they will mention is anti-freeze. They say anti-freeze is found in propylene glycol (PG) when in fact, it is the complete opposite. While you will find PG in anti-freeze, it is only one of the many ingredients found in the chemical. There is no presence of anti-freeze within PG.
Some may conclude that PG is bad for you because it is used to make anti-freeze. Well, that is the same thing as saying water is bad for you because it is found in anti-freeze as well.
Featured photo credit: Lindsay Fox via flickr.com
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Source: Life Hack
