While vaping has its pros and cons and its fair amount of controversies, it's still considered much healthier than smoking by the world's leading authorities.
You won't find it mentioned as a legitimate form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), but plenty of people use vapes to wean themselves off cigarettes. They deliver a considerable hit of nicotine, and many like them for the simple fact that they can still participate in similar 'social smoking' as they would with the real thing.
That said, there are still a few things you should know before you get into this, so here's the lowdown!
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How Vaping Can Help You Quit Smoking
First things first - exactly how can vaping help you kick the habit? As previously mentioned, vapes contain nicotine, the chemical compound responsible for the feeling cigarettes give you. Of course, cigarettes come with a whole heap of other toxic chemicals that are contained within the tobacco, and given that there's no tobacco involved with vapes, you don't have to deal with any of that.
When you're addicted to smoking, what you're addicted to is the nicotine, so even if you're still puffing on something, it's always a step in the right direction to forgo cigarettes themselves.
When you switch to vapes, you can control the amount of nicotine you consume over time, starting off with a hit comparable to that of cigarettes, and gradually working your way down to vape juice that doesn't contain any nicotine at all.
What Does the Evidence Say?
Of course, there are many other methods for going about the above, and these usually come in the form of various types of NRT. NRT can be gum, lozenges, patches, and more, and each have been found to be highly effective.
That said, they don't feel like smoking, and with many people admitting to being social smokers (in that they use cigarettes while they stand and chat with friends), they're not perfect. Vaping isn't perfect either, and has drawn controversy for the potential (albeit lesser) health impacts. While there's no current evidence that vaping causes cancer, it's not totally healthy to be inhaling anything into your lungs, and vaping has been associated with respiratory problems in some people long term.
That said, Studies have consistently shown vapes to be a wholly viable smoking cessation method, and researchers have also found that counseling with the addition of switching to vaping provided greater abstinence than counseling alone.
Wrapping Up
The evidence is clear that vaping can be an effective way to quit smoking, provided you use it responsibly. There are many different products on the market, but if you're a beginner, it's best to start with pre-filled vape kits and see how you get on. From there, you can move to higher-end devices.
There are many different flavours and strengths available, so be sure to enquire at either an online or physical store to find a device type most suitable for you. Good luck on your journey to quitting smoking once and for all!
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