Smokers have two options

by VAEP Info | Mar ,Fri, 2023 | Key Concepts

Smokers who can’t quit really only have two options: smoking-related diseases or harm reduction. Here’s why.(1)

Smoking-related diseases are caused from the thousands of chemicals found in cigarette smoke.

(2) Harm reduction means to reduce the consequences of risky behaviours such as wearing a helmet when biking or using a condom during sex.

(3) Did you know, if a smoker switches to vaping – they virtually eliminate all of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke that cause disease?

(4) Yes, they still inhale nicotine but nicotine doesn’t cause disease.

(5) Vaping has been studied since it’s invention in 2004 and since 2016, the United Kingdom has been successfully helping smokers quit by promoting vaping as an alternative.

(6) Through ongoing review of the scientific data, the UK health experts such as the Royal College of Physicians and Public Health England have concluded that vaping is less than 5% the risk of smoking and an effective aid in breaking the addiction to cigarettes.

(7,8) Smokers in the UK aren’t unique, so vaping can be used as harm reduction for every smoker in the world. I’m Kellie Ann from Vaping Advocacy and Education Project, better known as VAEP. Our nonprofit reviews the science on vaping and makes it easy for everyone to understand. Go to VAEP.info for vape info. https://VAEP.info

Sources referenced:

integrating-a-harm-reduction-approach-to-nursing-practice-advice

nicotine-vaping-in-england-2022-evidence-update

harmful-and-potentially-harmful-constituents-tobacco-products-and-tobacco-smoke-established-list

phe publishes independent expert e-cigarettes evidence review

nicotine-without-smoke-tobacco-harm-reduction

https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5429

Nicotine

by Kellie Ann Forbes | Sep ,Mon, 2020 | basic info, education, shareables, youth

Nicotine

A mild stimulant, much like caffeine

VAEP Shareables are images utilizing graphics, colour and text to quickly teach people about vaping. Each Shareable provides the reference on the bottom.

Smokers have two options

Smokers who can’t quit really only have two options: smoking-related diseases or harm reduction. Here’s why.(1)

Smoking-related diseases are caused from the thousands of chemicals found in cigarette smoke.

Nicotine

Nicotine

VAEP Shareables are images utilizing graphics, colour and text to quickly teach people about vaping. Each Shareable provides the reference on the bottom.

Nicotine myth

Like any substance, too much can cause adverse effects. For instance 4000mg of Tylenol can cause severe liver damage.

Medications that are available on the shelves in a drug store are called over-the-counter (OTC) medications. They available without a prescription and used safely by the public.

More on nicotine

Nicotine treats neurological disorders

Nicotine is a mild stimulant and can form a dependance, much like caffeine. Nicotine in eliquid helps smokers transition to a source of nicotine that doesn’t kill them.

Nicotine is in your body

Nightshade plants naturally have nicotine in them to protect them from insects. So if you eat tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants, you have nicotine in your body.

Fraction of the harm

Vaping offers the smoker an alternative that allows them to continue inhaling nicotine without all the disease causing chemicals found in cigarette smoke.

Nicotine is not the problem

Dr. John Britton of the U.K. Center for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies explains that nicotine addiction isn’t a big deal because “…nicotine itself isn’t particularly hazardous.”

It’s not the nicotine which causes harm

Burning something causes toxins to form whether it is tobacco, or wood, or fabric. Vaping heats a liquid into a gasseous state like water into steam.

An extensive and facinating investigation

This documentary was motivated by the pervasive fear-provoking narratives on nicotine. It’s surprising what they discovered!

It’s not the nicotine which causes harm

Burning something causes toxins to form whether it is tobacco, or wood, or fabric. Vaping heats a liquid into a gasseous state like water into steam.

An extensive and facinating investigation

This documentary was motivated by the pervasive fear-provoking narratives on nicotine. It’s surprising what they discovered!

Nicotine and fear

Nicotine alters rat brains

It would be unethical to give nicotine to teens and then test their brains. In this referenced study used by Health Canada to scare smokers away from harm reduction, rats were given nicotine all day through an IV (2mg/kg/d).

Tobacco smoke causes damage

Tobacco smoke has 7000 chemicals in it, many of which cause damage to the body. This fear-provoking message from Health Canada suggests that all smokers have some kind of brain damage. How is it that they can identify nicotine as the cause and not the 7000 toxins found in cigarette smoke?

Claims without evidence

Health Canada claims vaping “can” cause lung damage. They provide no evidence to support this speculation. Health Canada “can” deceive the public about harm reduction. They “can” have a motive to promote disease and serve the pharmaceutical industry.

For more information on youth and vaping, please visit our VAEP Shareables gallery and choose the “Youth” category.

Other pages in the Basic Vaping Information section:

Learn about the deception:

Quitting smoking

Quitting smoking

VAEP Shareables are images utilizing graphics, colour and text to quickly teach people about vaping. Each Shareable provides the reference on the bottom.

Using vaping to quit smoking

Vaping triples the quit rate of the patch

Controlled clinical trials are the gold standard of science. In 2014, a group of smokers who didn’t want to quit smoking were given eliquid and simple vapes (the vapes today are even more effective). 21% of the smokers quit smoking; compare that to 6% success with patches.

Long term vaping increased quitting smoking by 300%

Smokers that bought a vape and used it while still smoking were compared to smokers that didn’t buy a vape. After 2 years, 42% of smokers who also vaped quit smoking, while those that didn’t vape, only 15% quit smoking.

Smokers finally quit with vaping

Vaping satisfies the nicotine addiction & smoking behaviour PLUS vaping offers thousands of flavours to help the smoker replace the taste of smoke with something better. That is why it is more effective than sticking a patch to your arm or chewing gum.

Half of successful quit attempts was with vaping

The 5.7 million Canadian and 34 million American smokers demand for a safer alternative has driven the vaping industry’s growth. If vaping didn’t help smokers quit smoking then there would be no vaping industry.

Using vaping to quit smoking

Vaping triples the quit rate of the patch

Controlled clinical trials are the gold standard of science. In 2014, a group of smokers who didn’t want to quit smoking were given eliquid and simple vapes (the vapes today are even more effective). 21% of the smokers quit smoking; compare that to 6% success with patches.

Long term vaping increased quitting smoking by 300%

Smokers that bought a vape and used it while still smoking were compared to smokers that didn’t buy a vape. After 2 years, 42% of smokers who also vaped quit smoking, while those that didn’t vape, only 15% quit smoking.

Smokers finally quit with vaping

Vaping satisfies the nicotine addiction & smoking behaviour PLUS vaping offers thousands of flavours to help the smoker replace the taste of smoke with something better. That is why it is more effective than sticking a patch to your arm or chewing gum.

Half of successful quit attempts was with vaping

The 5.7 million Canadian and 34 million American smokers demand for a safer alternative has driven the vaping industry’s growth. If vaping didn’t help smokers quit smoking then there would be no vaping industry.

How vaping works

Vaping uniquely satisfies the ritualistic behaviour

The ritual: bringing the smoke to the mouth; tasting the drag; sensations in the throat & lungs on a big inhale; a visible exhale and nicotine enters the blood through the lungs. A pack-a-day smoker does this 87,600 times a year. Vaping uniquely satisfies this ritual.

Vaping is NRT only better

Weaning off nicotine with vaping

After dual use for a while, a large percent of vapers quit smoking. Because eliquid comes in a variety of nicotine strengths (mg/ml), the vast majority of those that switch to vaping, lower their nicotine strengths; some all the way down to zero.

Dual users have a 60-80% decrease in smoking

The anti-harm reduction zealots claim that vaping is ineffective for quitting smoking because many dual use for a while. Dual users observed in controlled clinical trials reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke by 60-80%. This significantly reduces the toxins they inhale.

Why are people vaping?

People vape to quit smoking

This bar graph illustrates that the MAIN reason for vaping is smokers seeking to quit. Flavours are not the main reason but vaping wouldn’t work if it didn’t offer smokers a more pleasurable and novel experience than smoking because cigarette smoke is more addictive than nicotine on its own.

Types of people that vape

Surveys and reports show that less than half a percent of people that never smoked are vaping. However, 15% of smokers and 13% of ex-smokers vape. This shows that SMOKERS are vaping to either quit smoking or stay quit. They deserve to continue to have access to harm reduction.

Medical smoking cessation

Dying to quit

Smoking is so bad for health and so hard to quit that doctors prescribe psychoactive medications to help their patients quit. Side effects include killing yourself.

What does your doctor recommend?

Youth and smoking uptake

Smoke vs vapour and addiction

Eliquid contains 4 ingredients and only the nicotine can cause dependence. The chances of a youth becoming a smoker is 20 times higher if they start their experimentation with smoking verses with vaping. Vaping is interrupting the historical process of creating smokers.

Preventing the next generation of smokers

A common fear tactic is to suggest that vaping leads youth to smoking. If that was the case then the increase in youth vaping would mean an increase in youth smoking. This graph clearly shows that youth smoking continues to decline.

Youth smoking is plummeting