Is Vaping Safer Thank Smoking? July 27 2021
IS VAPING SAFER THAN SMOKING
By: Monica Hill, Ultra E-Liquid
An electronic cigarette or e-cigarette vapor is known for having fewer toxins compared to regular tobacco smoke. This is why the e-cig has been marketed as a safer alternative to smoking traditional tobacco products like tobacco cigarettes. It is also thought of as an effective method to quit smoking. As a result, a lot of teens and young people have started using e-cigarettes, making them the most popular tobacco product. What caused more alarm is the adverse impact of high-nicotine-content electronic cigarette smoking.
Vaping is not as dangerous as smoking. What caused the increase of severe pulmonary diseases and deaths among vapers is the addition of vitamin E acetate (tetrahydrocannabinol) to vaping devices.
E-cigarettes are not exactly the safest. That’s why they are regulated to ensure safety and quality. They are not really risk-free; however, they only have a fraction of the risk that tobacco cigarettes have. E-cigs don’t have tar or carbon monoxide, which are the most dangerous elements found in tobacco smoke. The e-liquid or e-juice still contains the harmful chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes although they are at a reduced level.
Vaping still has ingredients that risk heart health, but it’s safer compared to traditional tobacco cigarette smoking. This only means that if you have been a non-smoker, don’t start vaping. Some potential health risks have been associated with the chemical ingredients of e-cigarettes and other vaping products. The main ingredients of an e-liquid are nicotine, vegetable glycerine, and propylene glycol. These have been considered safe for use in multiple consumer products such as foods, cosmetics, kai, sweeteners, and inhaled medicines.
Using an e-cig is safer than continuous tobacco smoking; but if you are aiming for nicotine withdrawal, nicotine replacement therapy such as the use of gums or patches with low-nicotine content is the best way to go.
IS VAPING A TOBACCO PRODUCT?
It’s only in the US that e-cigarettes are totally considered a tobacco product. Some countries include electronic cigarettes in tobacco product regulations but some others do not. One of these is Canada which is a neighbor of the US. In Europe, some elements are under the EU Tobacco Products Directive, but they do not consider the devices as tobacco products. If all products that are derived from tobacco are considered tobacco products, then nicotine-replacement therapies would also be classified as tobacco products even if they are not.
According to scientific journals, a legal ruling in a country is not a reliable basis for the validity of a definition. It is more preferred for tobacco products to pertain to products that are created from and contain tobacco instead of having constituents like nicotine that is extracted from it. The term nicotine-containing products can also be applied to tobacco products as well as non-tobacco products like electronic cigarettes and nicotine-replacement therapies.
Vapes, vape pens, electronic cigarettes, e-pipes, hookah pens, and vaporizers are used to refer to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), which are considered noncombustible tobacco products by the US FDA. All these devices use an e-liquid or e-juice that has nicotine along with varying components of vegetable glycerin, flavorings, propylene glycol, and other ingredients. The e-liquid or e-juice is heated to make an aerosol that will be inhaled by the vapers.
ENDS are often manufactured to look similar to traditional cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Some of them look like USB flat drives or pens while the larger devices like mods or tank systems look nothing like cigarettes at all. It was in 2014 when the US FDA declared electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. Submissions are regularly sent to the US FDA describing vapes and electronic cigarettes as tobacco products.
IS VAPING BAD FOR KIDS?
It’s true that vaping is not as dangerous as tobacco smoking, but it still has ill effects on its own. This is particularly true when children are exposed to it. Vaping or the use of electronic cigarettes can expose children and babies to nicotine as well as formaldehyde, heavy metals, and other chemical outputs of the entire heating process.
Just the same as cigarettes, babies, and infants may still be able to inhale second-hand and third-hand vaping of harmful carcinogens and toxins like nicotine, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and organic compounds. Children may be coughing, wheezing, and frequently getting sick with respiratory illnesses, and at times may show nicotine toxicity.
Vaping around pregnant women may also affect the fetuses inside pregnant women’s tummies. Nicotine is known to be toxic to developing fetuses. Toddlers or young children are also more susceptible to vaping residues. One of the reasons is that they are more frequently in contact with their physical environment compared to adults. Children are more often on the floor while infants often put little things into their mouths. Young children are also more at risk of getting into accidents that involve electronic cigarettes.
Toddlers and children may also ingest the dangerous e-liquid refills or perhaps swallow the entire mod or pod especially since the pod looks like a little Lego with nicotine. E-cigarettes have also been known to cause burns, chemical injuries, and injuries from the explosion. This is why the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 requires all e-liquid containers to have child-resistant packaging. The lithium-ion batteries used as part of the heating system may also explode and lead to chemical fires and burns. A child can die from ingesting small amounts of nicotine. That’s why when a child ingests nicotine it is considered by law as poisoning.
The long-term effects of vaping on children have yet to be known since vaping is relatively new. The best thing to do for vaping parents now is to vape with caution all the time.
IS VAPING HARAM?
Regardless of religion, vaping appears to be a theological issue. It goes to say is vaping sinful or is it meant for healing purposes? But a more specific question is, is e-liquid or e-juice halal? Alcohol in Islam is not prohibited when used for other purposes except drinking. So what is haram or prohibited is ingesting the substance. The contention is whether inhalation is a voluntary form of ingestion. Some vape ingredients may require the use of substances of animal origin during extraction, and these are considered haram. If the vaper has to follow Islam strictly, he or she must check carefully every vape product if it is vegan or halal-certified. Nicotine is habit-forming and detrimental to health so it is haram in Islam. If you are vaping an alcohol-free, vegan, or halal-certified e-liquid with no nicotine content, then would vaping be considered haram or halal?
Vaping in public is considered haram among Muslims since it may cause harm to others. Squandering wastefully one’s wealth is haram in Islam. E-cigarettes will also be considered wasteful if they are used merely for pleasure. It is, however, halal if it is used for quitting tobacco smoking and that the vaper stops using the e-cig once the tobacco smoking is stopped.
This means that Muslim vapers must follow their rules by using e-juice that does not contain alcohol, nicotine, and no pork-derived ingredients. They must also vape alone inside a room, where no one else can see them.
It is important to look for halal-certified e-juices. This can be done by contacting a halal certification body, whose task is to specify the steps to follow to determine if a substance is halal or haram. Vaping is downright haram during Ramadan since it defeats the purpose of fasting which is to detach one's self from any worldly association.