The benefits of using electronic cigarettes to help stop smoking tobacco cigarettes are something well known to anyone working in the wholesale and retail industries. Now it seems that not only does it help people who want to quit but even those who don’t want to.
Reluctant Quitters
According to a new study from the University of East Anglia, some 17% of e-cigarette users once enjoyed smoking and had no intention of quitting. Instead, they had tried using a vaping product on a bit of whim or because they had been persuaded into it by friends. Once they had tried it, they were surprised to find they liked it and saw it as a substitute for the smoking they had so enjoyed. Currently, there are nearly three million people using e-cigs and e-liquid products around the UK while some 15% of US adults are using the products. E-cigarettes have been shown to be a potential stepping stone to quitting tobacco smoking for a huge number of people.
Vaping Habits
The study talked to 40 vapers and asked a range of questions including how long they had been using e-cigarettes, what their favourite flavours were and why they started vaping in the first place. They also asked about previous attempts to quit tobacco smoking. Head of the study, Dr Caitlin Notley said they found that vaping was good support from long-term smoking abstinence. It acts as a physical, psychological, social and cultural substitute for smoking and it is also enjoyable in its own right. Added to that is the fact it is cheaper and more convenient than tobacco smoking. The study group said they felt better in themselves with improved breathing as well as smelling and tasting better than when they smoked tobacco products. Plus there were the reluctant quitters who didn’t want to stop smoking but who had by using the e-cigarette products.
Safer Than Tobacco
The study shows that there are clear benefits to making the switch for users and this is backed by experts such as Cancer Research UK. The cancer charity were the one who funded the research into the habits of vapers and their switch from tobacco smoking. Their director of cancer prevention, Alison Cox, said that there is clear evidence so far that vaping is safer than tobacco. While e-cigarette products do contain nicotine which is addictive, it doesn’t cause other harm to the smoker than tobacco does. That’s why they are encouraged to see more people using vaping as a means to quit smoking. The study group also said that they found vaping to be a ‘no pressure’ way to quit smoking compared to other approaches that can involve patches, inhalers and even tablets to help. Some had tried approaches like the Stop Smoking Service without success. Some did also admit to occasionally relapsing into the odd tobacco cigarette, but others found the process of vaping more enjoyable than smoking and therefore didn’t consider going back to their old habits.
