19 Foremost Pros and Cons of Vaping

Vaping is a physical process that is similar to smoking. Instead of inhaling smoke, however, it is the act of inhaling and exhaling an aerosol product. It is often mistaken for vapor because of how it is expelled, which is why it is called “vaping.” The use of e-cigarettes involves vaping, and it has been available in the United States since 2007.

Vape pens and personal vaporizers, or mods, allow for vaping as well. You can then use dry herb in some products, while most will accept vape juice or e-juice. You’ll find that there are several nicotine options available in these products, including zero-nicotine juices. Most contain either vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol at a 90% ratio compared to the flavorings included with the product.

Before you consider vaping as an option, there are several pros and cons worth considering. Is this something that is right for you? Here are the key points to think about.

List of the Pros of Vaping

1. Vaping eliminates the typical odors found with cigarettes.
There is an ashy smell which tends to linger when you smoke cigarettes. This is due to the various tars, oils, and products that are contained in the cigarette smoke. Even your breath can smell like ash after a single cigarette. When you transition to vaping, many of these odors go away. In addition, vaping uses different flavors and scents which make the experience more pleasurable for everyone around, with options ranging from cinnamon to cotton candy.

2. It changes your personal perspective.
Many smokers decide that they’re stuck with their habit, so there isn’t much effort made to exercise, eat healthy, or make better life choices. Why start exercising if smoking makes it hard to exercise in the first place? Vaping changes the perspective. Many who switch from smoking to vaping report improvement with depression, obesity, and other chronic issues that have plagued them with their vice.

3. Vaping can eliminate bothersome physical symptoms.
Cutting out the cigarette smoke can have immediate health advantages as well. Vapers tend to cough less than smokers. Their skin hue often looks healthier. There are fewer mood swings, better energy levels, and less nausea associated with vaping as well. Some vapers even report having a better sense of smell after stopping their cigarette smoking habit.

4. It saves you money.
Vaping is very affordable when compared to the cost of cigarettes today. You can purchase a starter kit for vaping for about half the cost of a carton of cigarettes. After you invest into a good pen or vaporizer, your only costs are a new coil head and the juice you prefer when you begin to run out. According to NerdWallet, if you smoke a pack of cigarettes per day, vaping an equivalent amount will save you almost $1,200 per year.

5. You gain access to more variety.
According to Vice, there are more than 460 different brands of e-cigarettes, mods, and pens available right now. There are also more than 7,700 different flavors from which to choose. Instead of being stuck with the same old flavor from your preferred brand of cigarettes, you can choose from green tea, lime, blueberry, or coconut. You can try a different flavor each week if you wish. For those who prefer a tobacco flavor, there are several options available here as well, such as “swagger,” which provides a similar taste, without the odor and other issues, of cigarettes.

6. You can customize the experience.
If you smoke cigarettes, then your only option to control nicotine levels is to choose a different brand or type that has more or less in it, based on what you prefer. With vaping, you can choose the exact nicotine level you need. This helps vapers be able to avoid smoking altogether and can even help those trying to quit to get a head start on the process.

7. Vaping can include more than juice.
With today’s vaping equipment, you can also choose to vape dry herb instead of juice. That allows you to gain the benefits of your preferred tobacco or other legalized product without the additives, like tar and carbon monoxide, which make smoking cigarettes such a difficult habit. These vaporizers burn at low temperatures, which means your dry herb is roasted instead of burnt, creating fewer odors than smoking cigarettes in most cases.

8. The experience of vaping is not as harsh as smoking.
Vaping is the preferred way to consume medical cannabis because the experience is smoother than it is when smoking. The heat from smoking can be just as bothersome to a person’s air passageways as the chemicals in a cigarette. Because vaping allows you to customize the temperature, you can dial your product to the correct temperature for a more pleasurable experience.

9. You get the option to stop.
If you smoke a cigarette, you’re usually stuck finishing it. If you decide you don’t want it any more, then you must put it out somewhere. That means you waste the product, which means you are wasting money. With vaping, you get the option to stop, even if you’re enjoying a single session. Look for a vaporizer or pen which offers on-demand heating to take advantage of this unique benefit.

List of the Cons of Vaping

1. You still end up with the dreaded dry mouth.
The bottom line is this: nicotine is a stimulant. It is going to cause your body to purge fluids when you consume it. That means you still end up with a dry mouth when you’re vaping. Make sure to have some water with you to counter this issue and it should turn out all right. For some vapers, however, the dry mouth experience can be bothersome enough that they return to smoking cigarettes.

2. It creates feelings of dizziness.
This side effect is present in vaping, just as it is with smoking cigarettes. It is due to the symptoms of nicotine consumption, not the smoke or aerosol that is produced from these habits. In high doses, you can feel lightheaded, flushed, and even experience vertigo. If you begin to feel dizzy after vaping, then stop and take a deep breath. Don’t vape again until you are feeling better and the feelings of dizziness have gone away completely.

3. There is a greater potential for an allergic reaction.
Many of the different juices that are used in vaping products are based on real food items. If you have a juice that is flavored like walnuts, for example, then there will be walnut products contained in the aerosol produced. If you’re allergic to walnuts, then you could experience an allergic reaction that is similar to what you’d experience if you consumed the actual food. For people with severe allergies to certain food products, it is necessary to avoid flavors that could trigger a food allergy.

4. It may still create a negative public reaction.
Although the popularity of vaping has been rising in recent years, the act of vaping in public is often treated similarly to the act of public smoking. People can have an adverse reaction to it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Almost 500,000 people die, in part, because of their smoking habit. Because vaping is associated with smoking, right or wrong, you’ll likely receive comments about what you do if you do it in public.

5. Vaping may come with its own dangers to consider.
If you choose vaping over smoking, then you’re eliminating the hundreds of chemicals that are present in each cigarette and the smoke it produces. That invariably makes vaping a healthier choice for current smokers. You may, however, be trading one set of problems for another. When using e-cigs, there is evidence of lead, nitrosamines, and formaldehyde exposure, which are known neurotoxins and carcinogens. These toxic items have been found to be equal, if not higher, to what is found in cigarettes.

6. There may be some second-hand exposure issues to consider.
According to a research study by the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, vaping reduces indoor air quality. It increases nicotine concentrations in the air, particulate materials, and aluminum. The compounds found from a second-hand perspective, though much fewer and less dangerous when compared to cigarette smoke exposure, are still linked to certain heart and lung disease issues.

7. Vaping creates a battery safety issue that must be considered.
Vaping products often contain rechargeable batteries. These batteries can overheat when used and create contact injuries. In May 2018, The Washington Post reported that an exploding vape pen caused a 38-year-old man from Florida to die because it sent projectiles into his head. The man also suffered burns over 80% of his body in the incident. When choosing a vaping product to enjoy, it is a good practice to purchase the best possible equipment that you can afford. Although injury incidents are rare, you can further reduce the risk by purchasing a high-quality product.

8. It can be difficult to find the right juice.
Let’s face it. When there are nearly 8,000 choices available to you when you start vaping, it can be difficult to know where to get started. There are some flavors out there that are going to be terrible. You’ll feel like you wasted your money. If that becomes a repetitive process and you can’t find one you actually like, then vaping might seem like a waste of time.

9. Nothing is completely free of odors which may be bothersome.
With vaping, you can generally get rid of those ashy odors that follow you around. You can even mask them sometimes. If you burn dry herb, the odors are less intense than they would be with cigarettes. There is no vaping equipment, however, that is completely odor-free. If you want to limit lingering odors, then you have no other option but to go outside to vape. Staying inside will still create changes to the environment which may be bothersome to some people.

10. You’re going to have a higher initial cost.
There are several vape pens that are priced in the $15-$30 range. Add in a $10 bottle of juice or your preferred dry herb and the cost to get started isn’t too bad. The problem with the cheap pens and vaporizers is that they provide a somewhat unreliable user experience. If you’re looking for a pen or vaporizer that will provide you with a consistently smooth outcome, expect to pay around $100 for the best vape pens and about $350 if you want a vaporizer with a good battery.

The pros and cons of vaping show us that it is a healthier alternative to smoking. There are more flavors, more options, and the transition will save you money. On the other hand, there are still some risks associated with the practice of vaping, including a failure of the device being used. The best option may be to avoid smoking and vaping altogether. For those who don’t want to quit or are struggling to do so, vaping may be a viable alternative that is a step in the right direction.