How Hard Is It to Quit Vaping?
E-cigarettes were meant to help people quit smoking, but now Americans are having a hard time putting down the vapes
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Close to 1,300 people in the United States have recently experienced lung injuries from vaping, and 26 people have died from these injuries. This string of illnesses and deaths is prompting bans on e-cigarette sales in cities like San Francisco and states like Massachusetts. The number of injuries is raising questions about the long-term implications of vaping, and over two-thirds of vapers say they plan to quit — an ironic turn of events, considering e-cigs were positioned as a tool to help people quit smoking. But how hard is it to stop?
Cigarette use reached its lowest rate ever recorded in 2017, but throughout the past decade, e-cigs have amassed a usership of nearly 11 million U.S. adults, over half of whom are under 35. And with flavors like strawberry cheesecake and pina colada, vaping has found a foothold with teenagers.
Though vaping was initially billed as a lesser evil compared to cigarettes, due to the fact that e-cigs contain less toxic chemicals, recent research has shown that vaping comes with unique dangers. People using e-cigs as a means to quit smoking traditional cigarettes tend to vape for longer durations than the time they spend using other cessation methods, like nicotine patches. And although e-cigs deliver less nicotine (the addictive substance in cigarettes) per puff than cigarettes, studies have found that experienced vapers may take more hits and deeper inhales, resulting in a similar amount of nicotine exposure.
“They’re inhaling it more deeply and holding it in longer than our traditional combustible cigarette smokers,” says Jennifer Folkenroth, the national senior director of tobacco programs for the American Lung Association (ALA). “E-cigarette users are dosing their brain significantly more frequently throughout the day.”
Newer vapes have also been shown to administer as much nicotine as a traditional cigarette. One cartridge from JUUL — the leading e-cig brand in the United States — contains as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes. Even worse is the fact that many people do not understand that vape cartridges contain nicotine, and not simply water…
