However, nicotine alone is relatively harmless, and switching from daily tobacco smoking to daily e-cigarette use can be an important step for people to stop smoking completely. Researchers noted that study participants using both types of cigarettes had a higher nicotine dependence in relation to e-cigarettes. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that around half of all smokers try to quit every year, while only 6% manage to do so.Ī 2019 study suggests that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes may have a higher addiction potential than standard cigarettes among young adults. Addictive properties of smoking and vaping Meanwhile, people who were smoking e-cigarettes non-daily had a 3.1% rate of quitting smoking and a 10.2% rate of cutting down to non-daily tobacco smoking.Ī 2019 randomized control study also found that daily e-cigarette use leads to an almost doubled rate of smoking abstinence than other nicotine-replacement products after one year. Of the participants who were not using e-cigarettes, only 5.8% had quit smoking altogether by the end of the survey, while 9.9% had stopped smoking daily. However, researchers found that only daily e-cigarette use had a statistically significant effect on smoking cessation rates. Researchers assessed data from the 2014–2019 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, focusing on smokers who were not planning to quit smoking at the start of the period.Īt the end of the survey, 28% of smokers using e-cigarettes daily had ceased smoking tobacco altogether, while 45.5% had ceased smoking tobacco daily. Using vapes to quit smokingĪ 2021 study found that daily e-cigarette usage among tobacco smokers can increase the likelihood of quitting smoking by eightfold.

However, the CDC states that there is insufficient evidence to suggest vaping can help people quit smoking. Additionally, in 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted the marketing of three e-cigarette products, specifically citing their potential benefit in helping people quit smoking.

Health services in the United Kingdom recommend that vaping can be an effective tool for quitting smoking. Learn more about how smoking affects the body.

an increased risk of developing health conditions, such as heart disease and stroke.

about 80% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

more than 480,000 deaths a year in the United States.

Unlike vaping, which is relatively new, there are years of research to fully back up claims that smoking is damaging to human health. Learn more about the potential harm of vaping here. However, the CDC also acknowledges that since the removal of vitamin E acetate from vaping products, along with other harmful ingredients, the number of symptoms that people experience from vaping declined.

Vaping may normalize smoking again as it becomes more popular.Īccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by early 2020, there had been around 2,800 hospitalizations or deaths total with 68 of those confirmed deaths from vaping.

Vaping also delivers dangerous chemicals, including diacetyl, cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The liquid that creates the vapor is dangerous to adults and children if they swallow, inhale, or get it on their skin.

E-cigarettes can contain a large dose of nicotine, a substance known to slow the development of brains in fetuses, children, and teens.

People who vape may be at risk of harm for the following reasons: The AHA notes that while vaping liquids contain fewer contaminants than cigarettes, they are not entirely safe. Hundreds of these chemicals are toxic, and around 70 cause cancer. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. However, this does not mean that vaping is safe. Based on the available evidence, smoking appears more harmful than vaping. Neither smoking nor vaping is beneficial to human health.

Quitter smoking