(ThyBlackMan.com) More and more people are turning to e-cigarettes as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. While inhaling anything into your lungs is never 100% safe, e-cigarettes are vastly more healthy for you if you do smoke, and may be a way to ween yourself off of traditional cigarettes if you want to quit smoking altogether.
Using an e-cigarette — vaping, as it is widely known — has increased in popularity over the past decade due to its potential of helping people quit smoking, or as an acceptable alternative in places where smoking tobacco is no longer allowed. People all over the world have turned to vaping as an alternative and an entire industry has arisen, giving vapers many different options. Here’s a quick guide to e-cigarettes and the liquids that go in them.
How Does an E-Cigarette Work?
An e-cigarette is a battery-operated device that heats a special liquid so that it vaporizes, allowing you to inhale it, much like smoke. But unlike with traditional cigarettes, there is no flame, no ash and the only smell that’s produced is from the flavoring of the liquid you choose to use.
E-cigarette can look like regular cigarettes, but often times they are made to look like silver cylinders that have a button near the end that you smoke from. When you want to “take a hit,” you simply push the button to heat the liquid inside and inhale the vapor, which is mostly harmless water vapor.
The biggest benefit of vaping is that it does away with the harmful smoke and tar that has caused so many health problems and deaths over the years. Many users have claimed that vaping clears up their “smokers cough” and can even help them sleep better and taste their food better.
What’s in the E-Liquid?
The liquid you purchase comes in small vials that you empty into your vaping device. This allows you to change types as often as you’d like so you can try out new flavors.
The main ingredient in the liquid is water, which creates the “smoke” you inhale when it’s heated. Another main ingredient is nicotine. This is the ingredient that smokers crave, and it is not dangerous in small doses. It stimulates the central nervous system to give smokers that satisfied feeling.
The flavorings are the other main ingredient of e-liquids. As e-cigarette users have become more numerous and more savvy, the amount of flavorings that are offered has grown. You can get traditional tobacco flavoring, cherry, banana, cinnamon, apple, even chocolate and cheesecake flavorings…whatever you may want, you should be able to find.
There Are Some Concerns…
While e-cigarettes have been dubbed as a safer alternative to smoking, there are some things that you should understand about the ingredients of e-liquids.
The main cause for concern involves an ingredient that is found in some liquids, called diacetyl. This chemical has been linked to respiratory problems in the past and is deemed dangerous by several government agencies.
If you are vaping because you want to ween yourself off of smoking altogether, this shouldn’t be much cause for alarm. Diacetyl is also found in burning tobacco, so you are on the right track to reducing your risks. But even if you don’t plan on quitting your e-cigarette, vaping is still a much safer alternative to tobacco, which has much higher levels of diacetyl than e-liquids.
There have only been a small number of different liquids tested for diacetyl so far, but if you vape, you should pay attention. You can get additional details from Vaporesence.
How to Protect Yourself
Even with the concern for diacetyl, there’s good news for e-cigarette users and ways to protect yourself.
First, look for liquids that simply do not contain diacetyl. Do some research and find the liquids that don’t have the ingredient and stick with those. Also, only buy your liquids from reputable manufacturers. Some manufacturers may not adhere to regulatory guidelines when mixing their liquids, so not only may they contain diacetyl, they could contain other harmful ingredients you may not know about.
In the end, you should know what you are buying and what you are vaping, so make sure that you do a decent amount of research before deciding on vaping products. Just a few minutes on the internet should give you a lot of information you can use to make your decisions and help keep your safe while you vape.
Vaping is a safer alternative to smoking, but make sure you know what you’re getting.
Staff Writer; Bruce Brown
The main ingredient in e-liquid is not water and “water” does not create the “smoke” or vapor. The main ingredient is either vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol. No one reputable uses Diacetyl anymore.