In our fight to keep the vaping industry alive we have endured slander to no end and without merit. The biased studies funded by Big Tobacco, the blasphemous claims by the mainstream media, and the looks we get from people who just don’t get it continue to pile up.

Well with the help of honest studies and real-life testimonials from each and every one of us, we can start to prove all of the naysayers wrong. Here is a list of 12 vaping myths that have been debunked and backed up by concrete facts.

1) E-Liquids Are Dangerous And You Don’t Know What You’re Putting In Your Body

This tends to be one of the most common myths used by non-vapers and people who are uneducated on the subject of vaping. There are only 3 or 4 ingredients* used in e-liquid depending on what you vape; propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, natural/artificial food grade flavoring, and nicotine (optional).

Each of these products, with the exception of nicotine, are in many everyday products we use or consume like cosmetics, food, and drinks.

2) E-Liquids Contain Anti-Freeze

This is one of our favorite myths to hear. One of the ingredients in vape juice, propylene glycol, is used in anti-freeze. I’m not exactly sure how that translates to e-liquids containing anti-freeze, but the claim was made and ruffled the feathers of the vaping industry. To us, that’s like saying you’re drinking water when you’re really drinking a soda or a beer.

The funny part about PG being used in anti-freeze is that it is intended to make the anti-freeze less harmful if it is swallowed. You want to know what else contains PG that is meant for adult consumption? Fireball whiskey. On top of that, PG is used in many hospitals to help keep areas sanitary.

3) Vaping Causes You To Inhale Formaldehyde

Ahhh, the infamous formaldehyde myth. This one caused quite the stir when the “study” making this claim was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The intention of the study was to calculate the risk of cancer in humans, which would be a great thing to know.



Open this in UX Builder to add and edit content

Unfortunately the researchers botched the study by having machines simulate the act of vaping at temperatures that were so high they caused dry-hit conditions. Each and every single one of us can tell when we are getting a dry hit and immediately quit vaping. After dying and feeling the heat of 1,000 suns in our throat we then come back to life, address the problem, and fill our tank or re-drip on our coil. The machines did not simulate the real act of vaping in their study. They took those e-cigs to pound town and never looked back.

You can view the whole study here: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1413069

You can view the facts behind debunking the myth here:

http://www.clivebates.com/?p=2706

http://www.ecigarette-research.com/web/index.php/2013-04-07-09-50-07/2015/191-form-nejm

4) E-Cigarettes Will Give You Popcorn Lung

Oh man, another myth that took the vaping industry by storm and still gets brought up every so often… Vaping gives you popcorn lung. This claim is just comical when you get down to the facts.

The big fuss was about e-liquids containing diacetyl, which caused popcorn lung in popcorn factory workers from breathing in high levels of diacetyl from the butter flavoring. The primary e-liquid flavors of concern were custard flavors. While we think all e-liquids should be diacetyl free for the safety of all vapers, the levels of diacetyl that were found in e-liquids were so insignificant compared to the levels of diacetyl that are found in regular cigarette smoke

Dr. Michael Siegel concluded that smokers are exposed to diacetyl levels that are 750 times higher than the diacetyl levels of vaping. An average vaper is exposed to 9 micrograms of diacetyl per day while the average smoker is exposed to 6,718 micrograms.

Siegel also went farther in-depth when he looked at the Harvard study that caused the diacetyl concerns in the first place. He found that the e-liquid with the highest levels of diacetyl exposed vapers to just 239 micrograms whereas a heavy smoker is exposed to 20,340 micrograms. We aren’t rocket scientists, but the numbers speak for themselves.

http://www.ecigarette-research.org/research/index.php/whats-new/whatsnew-2015/236-da2

http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/14/media-bias-exposed-popcorn-lung-chemical-750-times-greater-in-tobacco-vs-e-cigarettes/

5) Nicotine Causes Cancer

We feel like this myth was used more as a scare tactic than anything, but you can see why people would draw that conclusion if they don’t know their facts. Plain and simple, nicotine is not a carcinogen. There have been multiple studies done by independent groups and government agencies that have not found a link between nicotine and cancer. This means that it has to be the thousands of chemicals in cigarettes that cause the cancer. In fact, while it is addicting, nicotine is about as harmful for your body as caffeine.

http://www.nysmokefree.com/Subpage.aspx?P=40&P1=4030

http://www.tobaccoharmreduction.org/faq/nicotine.htm

6) E-cigs Are a Gateway to Tobacco Use for Teens

A lot of the people opposed to vaping bring up children and teens using these devices and then later switching to regular cigarettes in the future, which is a valid concern. However, tobacco harm reduction education in public schooling is much more effective now. Most teens know the consequences and think it’s gross. That doesn’t debunk the myth though.

One study done by the CDC confirmed that increased use in e-cigs in high schoolers did not translate to an increase in smoking rates. This study actually proved a lot for vaping advocacy and you can see our 9 key takeaways from that study here. https://aspenvalleyvapes.com/9-key-takeaways-from-the-cdcs-electronic-cigarette-report/

Another study done by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center looked at 1300 college students with an average age of 19. Of the 1300 students in the study, 43 of them said an e-cig was their first nicotine product. Of those 43 students, only one of them said that they went on to smoke regular cigarettes. You can see more about that study here: http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/tobacco-and-kids-health-news-662/e-cigarettes-may-not-be-gateway-to-smoking-study-681597.html

7) Vaping Causes The Same Harm To Your Body As Smoking Cigarettes

As vapers, we probably don’t need to bust out the facts to debunk this myth because we are living proof that vaping doesn’t cause the same harm to our bodies as smoking cigarettes. Aside from the fact that our e-liquid has 4 ingredients compared to the thousands of chemicals found in cigarettes, we know our bodies best. We know we can breathe better, have more endurance, and we have an increased sense of smell and taste. All things that were hindered by smoking.

Well now you have some scientific evidence to back up the way you feel! A study led by Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos from the Department of Cardiology at Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens, Greece found that smoking cigarettes caused a greater elevation in blood pressure and heart rate compared to e-cigarettes. The study also found that while cigarettes acutely impaired diastolic function there was no difference in diastolic function observed in e-cig users.

You can view the full study here: http://spo.escardio.org/eslides/view.aspx?eevtid=54&fp=1375

8) E-cigs Are More Addictive Than Regular Cigarettes

This myth may have some truth behind it because we are addicted to getting new mods and tanks, but science proves that e-cigarettes are not as physically addictive as cigarettes.

Two independent studies, one conducted by Dr. Murray Laugesen and one by Dr. Thomas Eissenberg at Virginia Commonwealth University, found that e-cigs do not deliver nicotine as efficiently as regular cigarettes. In fact, e-cigs deliver nicotine in lower levels than tobacco smoke.

On top of that, some argue that it’s not the nicotine that makes cigarettes so addictive. While there is no denying the fact that nicotine is addictive, many claim the thousands of other chemicals and by-products of cigarettes make them much more addictive than they’re made out to be.

You can read more about Dr. Laugesen’s study here: http://vaperanks.com/e-cigarettes-200-times-less-toxic-than-analogs-new-study-shows/

You can read more about Dr. Eissenberg’s study here: http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/smoking-cessation-news-628/benefits-of-e-cigarettes-may-outweigh-harms-study-finds-690268.html

9) E-cigs Are Explosive

This myth is somewhat tricky to debunk because of all of the news stories we have seen published, but in reality e-cigs are no more explosive than your smartphone. It all comes down to battery safety and education.

We’ve all seen the stories of people’s eGo batteries igniting while charging, we’ve seen the videos of batteries venting in pockets, we’ve seen the aftermath of batteries venting in cars, but we never hear the full story.

When used properly and safely, e-cigarettes do not pose threat to explode in your pocket or your hand. For those of you with mods and external batteries, ohms law and battery safety need to be a top priority for you to know. You need to know what resistance is safe to run on your mod based on your type of battery. You need to know how to safely transport your batteries. You can learn all about battery safety here.

As for the eGo style batteries catching fire while charging, well that’s a manufacturer’s defect or an operator error. It’s very similar to the stories of phones catching fire. If you smother it while charging, it will get hot and can potentially start a fire.

Just practice safety at all times and you will be good to go!

10) Non-Smokers Will Pick Up Vaping

E-cigarettes were introduced as a tool to help smokers quit smoking. They aren’t marketed towards non-smokers, they aren’t marketed towards young teens, they are marketed to people looking to quit smoking.

A study done by the CDC completely debunked this myth. According to the study conducted in 2014, among the group of adults who had never smoked cigarettes only 3.2% had ever tried vaping. The age group that had the highest rate of people trying an e-cig without ever smoking a real cigarette was the 18-24 age group at 9.7%.

You can view the full study here: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db217.htm#e-cigarettes

11) E-Cigs Aren’t An Effective Tool For Smoking Cessation

We are all living proof that this myth is complete and utter garbage. We can personally say that if it wasn’t for vaping that we would still be smoking cigarettes to no end. The hundreds of thousands of vapers across the world are proof of this, but if that’s not good enough for some of the naysayers, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) released a study that concluded that e-cigarettes should be added to the list of primary tobacco harm reduction modalities. Aka e-cigarettes are a great tool for helping people quit smoking.

You can view the full study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4078589/

12) Second Hand Vape Is Dangerous Just Like Second Hand Smoke

With second-hand smoke being so dangerous, it’s easy to see why people were so worried about second-hand vapor, especially with the big formaldehyde myth that floated around. Another concern was the amount of nicotine that might be left in second hand vape. Astonishingly, Lolliard Tobacco Company came out with a study in support of e-cigs rather than bashing them.

The study done by Lolliard compared the levels of carcinogens found in 2nd hand vape to 2nd hand smoke. The study concluded that 2nd hand vapor contains the same levels of carcinogens as ambient air. The study also found that the levels of nicotine in 2nd hand vape are negligible.

The NCBI also conducted their own study comparing the effects of 2nd hand vapor and 2nd hand smoke on indoor air quality. The report concluded that there is no apparent risk to human health from e-cig vapor based on the compounds analyzed.

You can read the full Lolliard study here:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273230014002505

You can read the full NCBI study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23033998

13) Most Studies Show That Vaping Is Risky for Your Health

At the present moment, there are many studies that are being done on vaping all across the world. Lots of prestigious colleges and universities are spending time, energy, and money trying to figure out what the long-term effects of vaping will be.

And while some studies suggest that there could be potential risks associated with vaping, many also show that the benefits of vaping could far outweigh any of those risks. In fact, Public Health England, which is an executive agency of the Department of Health in the UK, came out recently and said that it believes e cigarettes are up to 95 percent less harmful to people than regular tobacco cigarettes.

There are other studies being done to prove or disprove that, but at the very least, there is some evidence that suggests vaping could be beneficial to you.

The problem is that the studies that are pro-vaping don’t always get the same push as the ones that seem to indicate potential problems with vaping. That’s why it’s very important for you to do your due diligence and read about vaping as much as you can.

New information is being released all the time, and researchers are constantly finding out more and more about the e-cigarettes and e-juices that vapers use.

14) Vaping Can Increase Your Chances of Catching Pneumonia

Back in 2014, a report emerged indicating that a man in Spain caught pneumonia as a result of vaping, and it scared a lot of people. It was the second such case of pneumonia resulting from the use of an e-cigarette.

But in the months—and now years—following the report, Professor Riccardo Polosa of the Institute for Internal Medicine & Clinical Immunology of the University of Catania has down countless interviews in which he has discounted that report and pointed out that people most likely cannot catch what’s called lipoid pneumonia from vaping.

“After careful reviews of these clinical cases, I could identify a more plausible cause for these patients’ lipoid pneumonia,” he said during one interview. “I do not understand why my colleagues incriminated vaping.

Most probably, they reasoned that inhalation of vegetable glycerin in the e-liquid could have been the cause without considering that glycerin is not a lipid, but an alcohol. By definition, alcohol cannot cause lipoid pneumonia.”

This means that vaping will not, in all likelihood, put people at risk for diseases like pneumonia, as has been previously reported.

15) Using E-Cigarettes to Cut Back on the Number of Regular Cigarettes You Smoke Won’t Make a Difference

During a recent interview with the Deseret News, Dr. Brian King made some troubling comments about one of the biggest potential benefits of using e-cigarettes. Many people out there use them to cut back on the number of tobacco cigarettes they smoke per day.

They have been able to successfully scale back their cigarette intake from one or two packs per day to just a few cigarettes per day in some cases. Dr. King argued that “just reducing the number of [smoked cigarettes] doesn’t reduce health risks” and he said that “you have to quit completely” to reap all of the healthy benefits of quitting. He’s right in that quitting smoking altogether is the goal, but he couldn’t be any more wrong when he said that simply cutting back won’t help you when it comes to your health.



Cutting back on cigarettes can be extremely beneficial to those at risk for certain respiratory diseases. Someone who smokes a pack or two a day is much more likely to suffer from respiratory diseases than someone who smokes just a few cigarettes per day.

Of course, most people want to stop smoking completely, but that doesn’t mean that they should be discouraged simply because they aren’t able to go from 20 cigarettes to 0 cigarettes overnight.

16) Vaping Products Are Not Regulated

This was true, until just a few months ago. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has created a long list of regulations for vape shops and vape manufacturers to follow, and while many of these regulations have come under fire in the vaping community, they have also forced those who create and sell vaping products to step their games up and make sure that they are creating quality products.

The good thing is that many vape shops were already doing this. The vaping community has done an excellent job of policing itself in recent years by relying on word of mouth to promote the very best products in the industry.

Anti-vaping groups might try to sell you on the idea that vape shops and manufacturers are brewing up e-liquids in their basements and bathtubs without any regard for what they’re doing, but in reality, the majority of vape shops go out of their way to do extensive testing in order to ensure that they aren’t putting low-quality products out on the market and doing any harm to their customers.

17. Banning E-Cigarettes Would Make Them Go Away Forever

Some extremists have argued that e-cigarettes and vaping as a whole should be banned because it promotes the act of smoking. Despite the fact that many studies suggest vaping could potentially save millions of lives in the years to come, they want to find other ways to help smokers kick their habit. The problem is that, even if vaping was to be banned, it wouldn’t just disappear.

The UK-based Center for Substance Use Research shut this myth down recently by surveying more than 9,000 U.S. vapers and asking them what they would do if the vaping products that they use were taken off the market.

Almost 70 percent of them responded by saying that they would turn to the black market to continue buying the products. This would obviously be problematic, because it would mean that there would be no sense of checks and balances in place to make sure that vapers are buying quality products. And it could further tarnish the reputation of the vaping community. It’s why anti-vaping groups need to think long and hard before pushing for a ban of e-cigarettes and e-juices.

Let us know if we missed any myths in the comments below!

*Please note that the flavoring used in e-liquid may indeed contain multiple ingredients, but that does vary for each e-liquid.