Everyone knows that smoking causes a lot of long-term health damage, which is why quitting cigarettes for vaping products could be the ideal option, after experts confirmed it is the far healthier choice.
Despite the government’s efforts to discourage smoking in the UK, there were still 5.5 million adults who smoked cigarettes in the first quarter of 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics. This equated to 13.5 per cent of the population and the figures could be even higher now, after many people admitted to returning to smoking during the pandemic.
In fact, 15.3 per cent of the public said they smoked during the start of lockdown in April 2020. However, this rose by one per cent by August that year, due to the stresses that the pandemic brought, including not being able to see family and job losses.
There is a significant number of people still lighting up despite knowing the serious health consequences. Of course, quitting smoking can be incredibly difficult, which is why swapping them for e-cigarettes could be a good solution.
Researchers at King’s College London recently revealed findings from a study that showed there is a “significant reduction” of exposure to toxic substances, which can result in lung and cardiovascular disease, and cancer, with vaping.
Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addiction at King’s College London, who was also the lead author on the study, told the Guardian that vaping is much less harmful than smoking.
She said: “Vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking in the short to medium term.”
The study, which was commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in the Department of Health and Social Care, looked at 400 studies comparing the level of harmful substances on the body when smoking or vaping.
It found levels of toxins were either the same or lower in those who vaped than smokers, which means they had less carbon monoxide and fewer nitrosamines and volatile organic compounds in their system.
While most people know the health consequences of smoking, including a huge variety of cancers, heart attacks, strokes, pneumonia, peripheral vascular disease, heart disease, poor fertility and impotence, a lot of Brits think vaping is just as harmful.
In fact, two-thirds of adult smokers in England think e-cigarettes are no safer to use than traditional ones. However, this report proves them wrong.
According to government figures, fewer adults in England vape than smoke. Around 8.3 per cent are regular vapers.
Among those who use e-cigarettes, 22 per cent are current smokers, while just 11.6 per cent are those who quit smoking.
Of those who have swapped smoking for vaping, 27.9 per cent only ditched cigarettes less than a year ago, and nearly one-tenth gave up more than 12 months beforehand.
There are also some vapers who have never smoked before, with 0.6 per cent using e-cigarettes without having ever tried tobacco.
Despite this, the most common reason for taking up vaping was to quit cigarettes or resist the temptation to start smoking again.
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