Vaping is NOT 95% healthier than smoking: Pulmonologist busts myths
Vaping has become increasingly popular as an alternative to smoking cigarettes.
Picture: Haiberliu via Pixabay
Clarence Ford speaks with Dr Erica Shaddock, a Pulmonologist at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital.
Listen below.
There are many myths associated with vaping and some people claim it is healthier than smoking, and helps people quit.
Pulmonologist Erica Shaddock breaks down some of those myths.
ALSO READ:
Vaping now more common than smoking among young people
Vapes or e-cigarettes as way to 'quit' smoking: 'It's just exchanging one vice for another'
Is vaping 95% safer than smoking?
One of the common statements people see about vapes is that they are 95% safer than tobacco cigarettes.
Shaddock says this is completely false and comes from a deeply flawed study.
“It was 12 people sitting around a table who were debating what they thought the risks are... there is absolutely no research in that study.”
- Dr Erica Shaddock, Pulmonologist - Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
“All of these products are poisonous.”
- Dr Erica Shaddock, Pulmonologist - Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
Does vaping help you quit smoking?
Vaping does help a person stop smoking tobacco, but it does not help with nicotine use at all.
Many people who have switched to vaping will still be addicted to nicotine.
People who quit smoking without switching to vapes are more likely to have no nicotine use at all, adds Shaddock.
Are vapes causing more young people to be addicted to nicotine?
Shaddock says clear data is showing an increase in nicotine usage in adolescents around the world due to vaping.
The marketing of vapes is often targeted to young people by using fun and sweet flavours.
“What 58-year-old smoker who is trying to quit is needing a crème brulee or bubble-gum flavoured e-cigarette to help them?”
- Dr Erica Shaddock, Pulmonologist - Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
Research says that a quarter of adolescents who do vape will do so within 30 minutes of waking up, which Shaddock says highlights how severe nicotine addictions are becoming.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.