Vapers Aware of the Dangers of Traditional Tobacco Promote E-Cigarettes as a Smoking Alternative

  I used to think I was the biggest TV-series addict around, but to my surprise, the two older people in our editorial office (the editor-in-chief and Mr. Huang) have recently become binge-watchers too. Every day they talk about the plot of A Better Life: how the story starts with a heart transplant and immediately pushes the drama to a climax, or how Zhang Jiayi’s show finally swapped Cadillac for JEEP… It really left me curious, so I rushed home and caught up on it. And when we discussed the show afterward, we all noticed the “heart transplant” storyline!

  The heart is, of course, one of the most important organs in the human body. If any of us hears that something is wrong with our heart, we immediately feel uneasy — especially people who have smoked traditional tobacco for a long time. That’s because smokers have a 3 to 4 times higher rate of coronary heart disease than the general population; the risk of myocardial infarction rises by 20%, and mortality is higher than among non-smokers; rates of cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction are 3.75 times and 3.73 times higher, respectively, than in non-smokers. Some even say that for cardiovascular patients, smoking is the same as chasing death. For patients with coronary heart disease, successfully quitting smoking can reduce mortality by 36%.   The main culprits behind these high-risk conditions are tar and carbon monoxide in traditional tobacco. Tar is widely recognized as a carcinogen — basically, wherever it passes through the body, it may contribute to cancer. Carbon monoxide not only causes oxygen deprivation, but also directly damages the heart muscle, reduces the heart’s pumping ability, and can permanently impair cardiac function. Atherosclerosis, which is very common today, is linked to smoking traditional tobacco because it increases carbon monoxide levels in the blood, causing hypoxic damage to vascular endothelial cells and promoting the development of atherosclerosis.   Of course, this is not the kind of issue vapers would typically face, because vaping products do not contain carbon monoxide, tar, and many other harmful substances found in traditional tobacco. At most, they contain some nicotine. But don’t forget: although nicotine is now often regarded as a harmful substance, a team of London scientists announced in Geneva that they found nicotine may have potential therapeutic effects related to learning, memory, and attention, while also helping reduce the risk of addiction. This research may help in the search for new treatments for dementia.   Every vaper is an advocate of healthy living. I believe many people turn to vaping as an alternative because they understand the dangers of traditional tobacco. I also hope that while vapers enjoy their own “better life,” they can make use of that love of sharing and help the smokers around them enjoy a “better life” too. After all, heart transplants may happen in TV dramas, but in real life, there aren’t that many hearts waiting for you to replace your own.