Doctor reveals what’s actually worse for your long-term health: vaping or smoking
A healthcare professional has detailed the damages smoking cigarettes as well as vaping can cause to your long-term health.
E-cigarettes are often adopted by those who smoke tobacco in a bid to give up smoking for good.
But because vaping is relatively new in the grand scheme of things and the long-term effects e-cigarettes cause remain unclear at this time.
However, the facts are that an increasing number of people are vaping in a bid to quit cigarettes, but is it any better for your health than smoking?
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Dr. Michael Genovese, Chief Medical Advisor of Ascendant NY, told UNILAD: "Vaping has not been around for long enough to know all the risks of long-term use. As vaping is a relatively new practice, the long-term health risks are not yet fully understood.
"While vaping is generally less harmful than smoking, it is not harmless. Smoking, meanwhile, has well-established risks of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease.
"Evidence links vaping with respiratory symptoms and suggests it may affect cardiovascular function, but we do not yet have the decades of follow-up available for cigarettes. Still, the evidence on the health harms of vaping is growing.
"Besides nicotine, e-cigarette aerosol can contain substances that harm the body. Vapes can also expose users to other chemicals that may harm the lungs."
Those who ditch smoking cigarettes for vaping 'can reduce exposure to many harmful chemicals', according to Dr. Genovese.
He added: "E-cigarette users and cigarette users may experience different health effects due to the differences in the substances being inhaled.
"For instance, completely switching from smoking to vaping can reduce exposure to many harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke, including substances linked to cancer, lung disease, and cardiovascular disease.
"However, any smoking is harmful and the potential health benefits of switching depend on stopping cigarette smoking completely."
To put it simply, we're well aware of the long-term damages smoking can cause, but with continued studies taking place looking into the long-term effects of vaping, the substitute could prove to be just as damaging.
As a result, doctors advise smokers to quit altogether, rather than using vaping as a 'healthier' alternative.
Dr. Lauren Grawert, Clinical Advisor at Retreat of Boston, told UNILAD: "Smoking cigarettes can permanently damage your heart and blood vessels. There is, however, the potential for vaping products to reduce exposure to many harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke when adults switch completely from cigarettes.
"The long-term health effects of vaping are still being studied. Still, any smoking is harmful, and the potential health benefit comes from replacing cigarettes completely, not continuing to use both products."
Callum Jones