From Tobacco To Vape Juice: New Study Proves That Vaping E-cigs Helps With Quitting Smoking.

May 19, 2019

One of the best things a smoker can do for their health is to quit smoking; however, quitting is one of the most challenging things to achieve! Withdrawal from nicotine is an intense feeling; cravings cause smokers to miss the taste of cigarettes every second of every day.

Vaping, as a bridge to quitting, is an excellent option for those having difficulty succeeding. Many people in the vaping community have shared stories about how e-cigarettes have helped them more than other cessation products such as nicotine patches and gum. According to scientific studies, vape juice and e-cigarettes are more effective in helping people abstain from smoking than conventional cessation aids.

Table of Contents

What Is Vaping?

To better understand how vaping can help you quit smoking, you first need to understand what vaping and vape juice signify. E-cigarette liquids (or vape juices) are solutions of alcohol, chemical flavoring, and tobacco-sourced nicotine. This liquid is heated to create a vapor that a person inhales (vapes) using an e-cigarette (vape pen).

It is important to note that, for the most part, vaping still involves nicotine. However, the vape juice does not contain the hundreds of other carcinogens, poisons, and other harmful chemicals found in traditional cigarettes. In fact, a recent study found that vaping is about 85% less harmful than smoking!

Vape juices also come in a variety of flavors – some do not even contain nicotine. People hoping to quit smoking often use flavored, nicotine-free vape juices. People who smoke that are also trying to lose weight also use these flavored, nicotine-free options. Vaping can taste like your favorite dessert without all of the added fat and calories!

Vaping has become such a popular alternative to traditional cigarettes that big tobacco companies have taken notice. There has been such a noticeable dip in the profits of conventional cigarettes that companies are selling their own lines of vape juices and pens.

Using Vape Juice to Quit Smoking

Why is vaping to quit smoking so successful?

Using vape pens gives a person a quick “fix” of nicotine, helping to calm their cravings.

Unlike patches and gum, vape pens feel like a traditional cigarette and give you something to hold between your fingers. A smoker can calm their fidgeting when they use a vape pen and will be less inclined to reach for a cigarette to hold something in their hand.

You can also hold the vape pens between the lips like a real cigarette. Someone using a vape pen to quit smoking is less likely to reach for a cigarette as something to chew on or keep their mouth busy. They’re also less likely to chew on pens, pencils, or their fingernails as well!

Vape juices are available in a variety of flavors. Having several flavors available helps a person quit smoking despite the most intense cravings. A vape pen user is less likely to reach for snacks in place of cigarettes, so they avoid gaining weight during their quitting journey. Furthermore, they will learn that they do not need to smoke to keep their weight under control.

Using a vape pen allows a person to still feel like a smoker, which can be important if that individual’s close circle still smokes! You won’t feel out of place in the break room at work or when out on the town with your smoking friends if you bring along a vape pen.

Why the Debate Over E-cigarettes?

The use of e-cigarettes has helped people quit smoking while also reducing their smoking-related symptoms. A recent New England Journal of Medicine study found that in comparison to participants that used conventional smoking cessation products, those who used e-cigarettes had a “greater decline in the incidence of cough and phlegm.”

Despite these findings and other benefits of e-cigarettes, the scientific community remains divided over the use of vaping and vape pens. Critics of e-cigarettes cite the rising practice of vaping among teenagers. There is substantial evidence that shows e-cigarette use in youth/adolescence increases the risk of smoking standard tobacco cigarettes in the future. Furthermore, many e-cigarette users do not realize that most vape juices contain nicotine in addition to other toxins.

E-cigarettes are not benign products. Many critics cite the fact that the overall safety of e-cigarettes is not well-known or understood. Unlike smoking cessation medications such as bupropion and varenicline, E-cigarettes are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). More research needs to be conducted to ensure the long-term safety of e-cigarettes.

Nevertheless, there is some consensus that people who use vaping as a bridge to quitting are able to reduce their use of traditional cigarettes more quickly and are more successful in stopping overall.

Studies Show Vaping Helps You Quit Smoking!

The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine was held at the Queen Mary University of London and funded by Britain's National Institute for Health. Independent experts conducted the experiment and included 886 smokers seeking to quit.

The 886 smokers in the study were divided into two groups. One group was randomized to use refillable second-generation e-cigarettes, and the other group was randomized to a 3-month supply of the nicotine replacement therapy of their choice, such as patches, lozenges, sprays, or gum.

The e-cigarette users received vape pens along with a few bottles of liquid as a primary starter back. They were then encouraged to purchase supplies on their own.

The study gave one-on-one support to all participants regardless of the group for four weeks. The researchers also allowed e-cigarette users to choose their vape liquid flavor. There is a hypothesis that using various flavors and having the autonomy to choose may play a part in helping an individual quit.

After one year, participants were tested to determine if they had continued to smoke tobacco cigarettes during that time. The study found that the rate of abstinence from smoking tobacco was 18 percent in the e-cigarette group vs. 9.9 percent in the standard nicotine-replacement group. In summary, even with one-on-one support, an individual using vape pens and juices may be about twice as likely to quit smoking than an individual using standard smoking cessation products.

Furthermore, a group at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (Health and Medicine Division, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice) found that in addition to helping people quit, “e-cigarettes likely confer lower risk compared to combustible tobacco cigarettes, because they do not expose users to toxicants produced through combustion.” In other words, it may be safer and better for general health to inhale heated liquid vapor than to inhale cigarette smoke.

For people hoping to quit smoking, this is all good news! Even if you opt to use nicotine-infused vape juice, you will still better your health by avoiding the hundreds of carcinogens and poisons found in traditional cigarettes. Vaping will allow you to adjust your nicotine craving based on your intake and you may also be able to keep your weight under control while you attempt to quit! You do not need to burn your mouth and lungs with tobacco smoke any longer! Let vaping help you on your journey to quitting.

How to Use Vaping to Quit Smoking

If you’re interested in using vaping to quit smoking, check out some helpful tips that will make your journey to becoming a former smoker easier and more successful!

Start with a low concentration of nicotine-infused juice and see if you still experience cravings. You can move on to a higher concentration if needed, but if a low dose of nicotine is enough to calm your cravings, stick with that concentration. It will be easier to abstain from nicotine use altogether.

Try a few different flavors of vape juice, so you don't get bored with your vape pen. Make sure you have a good supply of juice on hand at all times, so you don't run out and need to wait for a new shipment!

Invest in a few vape pens so you can keep them around the house, in your car, at the office, and wherever else you might crave cigarettes! You’ll be less likely to reach for a pack of cigarettes if you have a vape pen handy at all times.

Be sure you follow advice about quitting smoking in general, such as drinking lots of water to get the nicotine out of your system, staying busy, keeping cigarettes out of the house, and enlisting the help of friends.

Keep a food and smoking diary while you quit. Tracking what you eat can help you control your snacking and keep your weight under control. Noting how many cigarettes you still have can also motivate you to work harder to quit!

It’s also good to join a vaping community online. The group's encouragement, as well as advice and tips on how they were able to quit using e-cigarettes, can be great motivation to anyone looking to quit as well!



