Much like a plume of sweet-smelling vapour, e-cigarette use from a vape shop has risen almost fivefold over the past decade.
Whilst there were roughly 800,000 users who vaped in 2012, there are over 4.3 million vapers in 2022, according to Press Association data published by the Independent.
During that time the culture surrounding e-cigarettes has changed substantially owing to the growth in popularity, and this has regrettably led to a lot of myths being reported in the media about vaping as well as the nicotine that is used to transition existing smokers away from objectively harmful cigarettes.
Here are some of the most common myths and falsehoods surrounding vaping and the truth behind them.
Vaping Is Not A Gateway
Much has been discussed about a potential gateway effect between vaping and smoking in a way that is similar to theorised gateways between different classes of drugs.
The general idea is that people who try vaping will go on to become smokers, but the problem with this is that it does not align with smoking rates.
As more people have started to vape, smoking rates have continued to fall, to the point that e-cigarettes have been considered for wider use in smoking cessation treatments.
As well as this, whilst nicotine can be a highly addictive substance, the information that is known suggests that young people who try vaping do not get addicted to nicotine, even in the United States where the nicotine concentration limit was five per cent, more than double the UK’s two per cent maximum rate.
A Disposable Vape Does Not Contain More Nicotine Than A Cigarette Pack
A common misconception is the idea that an Elf Bar disposable vape contains far more nicotine than a standard packet of 20 cigarettes, but this is evidently not the case.
A standard disposable vape contains 40mg of nicotine compared to 250mg of nicotine in a standard pack of cigarettes.
Part of the reason for this is based on how many reports discuss the two in terms of puffs to smoke. A packet of cigarettes needs up to 320 puffs to smoke, whilst a disposable vape bar needs up to 600, but as anyone who has smoked and vaped knows, the two types of puff are very different.
Nicotine Is Not Inherently Harmful
It is important not to conflate what makes smoking addictive compared to what makes it harmful.
A typical cigarette contains nicotine, which is the substance that makes people addicted, but what makes smoking so harmful is the huge number of harmful chemicals such as tar and a significant number of carcinogens and contributors to heart and lung conditions.
Nicotine on its own is far less harmful, with overdosing resulting in most cases in minor unpleasant symptoms, which is why nicotine patches and gum are often prescribed as an aid to stop smoking.
By contrast, vape juices contain nicotine (in the case of nicotine products) flavourings and either propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine. All of the ingredients in any vape product are highly regulated to ensure they are safe to use, with all ingredients on the bottle or packet.
