I have a friend who has been using an e-cigarette for 10+ years. He doesn’t seem any less addicted to smoking as back when he was using old-fashioned cigarettes.

I understand e-cigarettes are supposed to help you quit… but has anyone actually had success with them? Or, is it more like trading one vice for another?

  • Atmosphere99@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    There are tons of harmful chemicals and tar you aren’t inhaling by vaping, instead of by combustion with traditional cigarettes. Not sure if they’re worse.

    • Cyanogenmon@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      Being that I now vape from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed simply due to accessibility, I’d say it’s worse.

      • Aesthesiaphilia@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        It’s not though. Your inhaling nicotine - which does not cause cancer or any other health issues - and water vapor. Probably burns your throat which can’t be too great, but no internal damage except from the mental standpoint of addiction.

        • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Quick correction: the base isn’t water, it’s a combination of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine. Barring sensitivities, these are GRAS—Generally Recognized As Safe for human consumption.

          Source: I make joose.

          PS: Stay away from any flavours containing diacetyl.

        • Cyanogenmon@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Honestly I’m not yet in that camp. Sure for short term it is for a fact much better than analog smokes, but we know nothing of the long term.

          Gotta remember: for quite a while, doctors recommended cigarettes. Sure tech and general knowledge have improved drastically since then, but the method of proving a hypothesis is still done the same way: testing.

          I hope it is better. Maybe I’m just getting jaded in my age.

      • ANGRY_MAPLE
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        You could also argue that that doesn’t apply to everyone. I treat vaping like it’s smoking, and I have from the start.

        On the health side, I don’t want other people to be exposed to my bad choices either in public or residential buildings. So, I only vape when I am far away from others out of respect for them.

        From another angle, I don’t enjoy the residue buildup that would happen over time. Imagine that stuff building up on your walls, in your PC, on your counters and cabinets, etc. The vapour you exhale doesn’t evaporate like steam in the sense that it isn’t water.

        I think it might be an individual thing. You have the choice whether or not you treat it like a cigarette. It sucks going outside in poor weather, but it makes me actually want to quit more.