People are becoming more interested in vaping and wondering if it’s safe. this article define vaping and discuss any potential risks to you and those around you.
Inhaling nicotine vapour made of water is known as vaping. An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or other vaping equipment produces this vapour. Vaping accessories come in a variety of names, including mods, tank systems, cigalikes, and vape pens.
All experts agree that not smoking at all is the safest option. But if you smoke, switching to vaping, or using vaping to help you quit, is much less harmful than continuing to smoke tobacco cigarettes.
Tobacco cigarettes produce smoke that contains thousands of chemicals (some of which are known to cause cancer). E-cigarettes produce vapour, instead of smoke, through the heating of liquids that contain nicotine.
Studies have found much lower levels of chemicals in e-cigarettes compared to tobacco cigarettes. In fact, Public Health England say they’re 95 percent safer than tobacco cigarettes.
There is currently no medically licensed vaping (e-cigarette) product available in the UK. This means that they haven’t been approved by the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
But, in the UK, we have some of the strictest regulations for e-cigarettes in the world. For example, lots of potentially harmful chemicals been banned from being added.
Regulations also control the volume and strength of refills. This is important because it means you know just how much you’re using.
There is no evidence that second-hand vaping (passive vaping) is harmful. But because vapes are still relatively new, we can’t be sure there aren’t any long-term effects.
Currently experts think passive vaping is unlikely to be harmful. They also think it’s definitely better than second-hand tobacco smoke.
There can be significant health impacts on people who breathe in tobacco smoke produced by cigarettes. This is called passive smoking. They can get the same diseases as smokers, including lung and heart problems and cancer. Children are particularly vulnerable to passive smoking and are more likely to get:
Because of this, it’s been against the law to smoke in a vehicle containing a young person since October 2015.
There have been some incidents of young children being poisoned from drinking e-liquids. So, it’s important to make sure you store your e-cigarettes well away from children, as you would household cleaning products.
There have also been a few cases of e-cigarettes catching fire or exploding. But this is much less common than fires caused by tobacco smoking.
There have been cases where small toddlers who drank e-liquids became poisoned. Just as with household cleaning supplies, it’s crucial to store your e-cigarettes well away from youngsters.
Additionally, a few e-cigarettes have burst into flames or exploded. However, this is far less often than tobacco-related fires.
For the best chance of quitting for good, get advice from your GP or pharmacist or use your local Stop Smoking Service.
