Studies conclude e-cigarettes can lead to nicotine addiction

By Rafaela Teixeira | Published March 1, 2018

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been all the rage lately as the popular vote among younger generations go to vaping.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse define vaping as the act of inhaling and exhaling aerosol (e-juice), often mistaken as water vapor, which contains many toxic chemicals not including tobacco.

It has been a popular assumption that vaping is the solution to quitting, as well as to believe that it is better for those who choose to vape when thinking about smoking.

Long-time smokers that are trying to quit will benefit from using e-cigarettes as they are one of the many methods to wean away from a nicotine addiction, according to an article published by Ecig-reviews.

“The urge to smoke is like the urge to eat,” said Nicholas Giordano, a senior majoring in communications-public relations. “It’s something you need to do daily or you just don’t feel right.”

Giordano was first introduced to cigarettes when he was 18-years-old by his friends from school.

It started out as a stress-reliever when responsibilities like school, work, sports and his personal life, all of which led Giordano into a depressing state.

Giordano described smoking as a “head rush” and claims he felt better and the stress was significantly reduced.

Despite his busy schedule, Giordano admitted smoking did not get in the way of his activities. He only did it when he was walking or driving somewhere.

Smoking had become a habit he hid from his family for four years until he quit last September.

“I quit because thinking that it could kill me at anytime scared me too much to continue,” said Giordano.

Giordano has since used e-cigarettes, or vaping, as a method to defer from regular cigarettes. He believes that vaping has its flaws, but can be very helpful to someone who has once been a slave to smoking.

Giordano also claims he has the same satisfaction from vaping as he did from smoking, but with less harmful results.

According to Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom, e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than tobacco smoking.

The American Heart Association believes that vaporizers are exponentially less hazardous than cigarettes and vaping can also help people quit smoking.

The benefits of vaping outweigh its risks. Vaping is the first genuine way of helping people quit smoking, according to the Royal College of Physicians.

Despite its instant success, the possible health risks of vaping had not yet been extensively researched.

Many e-cigarette companies exaggerated the products without first clearing things up with experts.

For instance, a London-based e-cigarette company promoted its products in a “glamorizing” way with the slogan “Love your Lungs.”

The promotional technique caused consumers to believe that e-cigarettes have no harmful properties, but rather are healthy and beneficial.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) considered it misleading and urged the company to end the marketing strategy, according to an article published by Adweek.

Scientific experts were skeptic of the popular product and prompted them to conduct research studies to understand the effects it has on the human body.

According to an article published last February by Cancer Research U.K., a study led by Dr. Lion Shahab proved the safety of e-cigarettes.

Shahab and his team observed four different groups, e-cigarette smokers, cigarette smokers, smokers of both and those using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

The study lasted roughly 17 months and researches tested participants’ urine and saliva samples.

The team found that the vaping group had similar results to the group that used NRT. A chemical called NNAL (known to cause lung cancer), was 97% lower in e-cigarette users compared to smoker, according to Cancer Research U.K.

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that vaping can also become a gateway for teens and young adults to the world of smoking.

A recent study conducted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science shows that vaping has nearly the same impact as cigarettes in terms of suppressing the essential immune system.

“I am personally against it,” said Dr. Walter Andzel, Kean University’s coordinator for Global Fitness and Wellness. “Vaping can lead to cigarette smoking because many of the e-juices contain nicotine and with chronic use can lead to addiction.”

Andzel noted that his father was a chronic cigarette-smoker and as a result, he had to have open heart surgery.

Although people continue to vape, many scientific experts still believe that a fraction of the harmful effects of smoking is in vaping, but still remains a helpful tool for ex-smokers.

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