January is the month of resolutions. The problem is that many of them do not even make it to the first fifteen days of the year. Among those that are systematically repeated is quitting smoking. Now also, to abandon vaping, the fashionable alternative to tobacco, but which is also harmful to health.
«There is no scientific basis to say that the electronic cigarette is less harmful, for different reasons. The first is that there are very few specific studies that assess the harm of vaping; even less long-term studies, because it is a relatively recent phenomenon compared to tobacco consumption,” explains smoking expert Antoni Baena, professor of Health Sciences Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC).
On the other hand, science does explain its risks. «The main components of the electronic cigarette are nicotine, a highly addictive substance; substances that facilitate vaporization, such as polyethylene glycol and glycerol or propylene glycol; food additives (E-1520, E-422 and E-1520) of which the safe values after being heated and inhaled are unknown, which produces formaldehydesacetaldehydes and acroleins, recognized carcinogens and lung toxicants; more than 15,500 flavorings which, when thermally decomposed, generate carcinogenic aldehydes, and menthol, which, in addition to being a flavoring agent, suppresses the cough reflex,” lists the expert. A list of ingredients that is not only harmful to those who inhale it directly, but also to those around them: passive vapers.
The electronic cigarette has become a gateway to traditional smoking, especially among young people. “Smoking is the first preventable cause of death in developed countries, and vaping, its gateway, in addition to being harmful, delays quitting,” he adds.
To stop using tobacco or vaping, you must stick to the methods scientifically proven to be most effective. Professor Baena includes eight steps for the process to be successful:
1. Be clear about your motivation and the goal of quitting: improving health and avoiding addiction.
2. Fix a date to start and throw everything whatever you have to vape.
3. Identify the moments, emotions and situations that favored vaping and, initially, avoid them until you have them under control.
4. Find help professionally, mainly, or from family and friends.
5. Consult with a health professional about the use of first-line treatments for tobacco cessation (pharmacological and psychological).
6. Break routines and stay busy and distracted.
7. Do sports to realize the physical improvements that stopping vaping or smoking brings to your health.
8. congratulate for the effort.
«If you had to choose only five reasons to stop vaping, the first would be that vaping has a direct, quick and clear impact on your health. The second is that many liquids contain nicotine, although they do not indicate it, since they do not follow strict regulation and control, which clearly causes addiction. The third reason is that the long-term impact of vaping is unknown, so the sooner you quit, the better. The fourth reason is the ecological impact of electronic cigarettes, which is increasing, especially at a time when disposable ones have appeared, products that are already being banned in many countries. Finally, they do not help you quit smoking, they only encourage dual consumption,” the expert concludes.
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