Which is more harmful, e-cigarettes or cigarettes? What harm can vaping do to the body?

Which is more harmful, e-cigarettes or cigarettes, and what harm does smoking e-cigarettes have to the body? In the past two years, e-cigarettes have become a new consumption hot spot. These products focus on concepts such as health and smoking cessation, which seems to allow many smokers to find a perfect solution for life. As a popular science account that focuses on childcare, we have also received many questions about whether we can smoke e-cigarettes around our babies.

In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics has made the answer very clear in its instructions on how to solve second-hand smoke:

“The vapor or aerosol of e-cigarettes also contains chemical components. Don't let anyone use e-cigarettes in your home, car, or near children or pets.

this paper briefly

1. E-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes, but they are not harmless;

2. The best way to quit smoking is to quit smoking completely rather than switching to e-cigarettes;

3. There are currently many loopholes in the management of e-cigarettes, and purchase needs to be cautious;

4. E-cigarettes can also lead to addiction, and teenagers must stay away;

5. E-cigarettes also need to pay attention to the risks of second-hand smoke.

One of the most sensational news last year was Hong Kong's proposal to completely ban e-cigarettes. This incident has triggered a fierce backlash among many e-cigarette practitioners or enthusiasts in China, complaining about why only e-cigarettes are banned but not cigarettes. They believe that this is because e-cigarettes harm the interests of cigarette giants and hinder the Hong Kong government from collecting taxes. Therefore, they are banned. But such remarks make no sense. Unlike mainland China, Europe and the United States, Hong Kong has a very low proportion of smokers (only about 10%), and the Hong Kong government did not expect tobacco tax to survive. Hong Kong has always been one of the regions with the strictest anti-tobacco laws. On the contrary, tobacco giants, who have always been unhappy, have tried to expand the Hong Kong market and increase the number of smokers in recent years by relying on the gray area of e-cigarettes control. The Hong Kong government's idea of blocking this time is just to close loopholes in regulations.

Because e-cigarettes do not burn and contain no tar, compared with traditional cigarettes, they reduce the risk of harm to the human body, which is of course a good thing. Then why was it suppressed instead?

After the news that Hong Kong proposed to ban e-cigarettes came out, many e-cigarette users believed online that there was a conspiracy here to get rid of low-harm e-cigarettes in order to protect the interests and taxes of traditional cigarettes. This is actually a bit nonsense.

There are always articles on the Internet that analyze how e-cigarettes are suppressed by cigarette giants. It seems that e-cigarettes are representatives of advanced productivity that have been persecuted by conspiracy. But this is a bit funny. Which tobacco giant doesn't have many e-cigarette brands in its hands nowadays? Creating this kind of left-hand fighting right-hand drama is nothing more than hoping that everyone will subconsciously think that e-cigarettes are the future, health, and justice.“”

Just like since half a century ago, tobacco giants have been engaging in low-tar gimmicks. Comparing low-tar with ordinary cigarettes makes people mistakenly think they are healthy. This kind of game of trying to prove that you are healthy by comparing yourself is as boring as TV advertisements in which daily chemical products such as laundry and shampoo are smeared with new models every day. When it comes to critical times, every time countries/regions come out with stricter regulations on e-cigarette management, most of the people who jump out to cry for poverty are tobacco giants.

Because there has always been a view that no smoking ban is to protect tax revenue, many people subconsciously believe that tobacco tax, a harmful tax, means that the more harmful the product is, the more money they can make. Of course this is not the case. Tobacco, alcohol, and gambling have always been tax moneymakers. This is not because they are harmful, but because they are highly addictive. Because users are addicted and forced to keep consuming, a large amount of tax revenue is generated.

Most e-cigarette products contain nicotine, which can also lead to addiction. Even some products have higher nicotine intake than ordinary cigarettes. Less harm and stronger addiction. These are the tobacco products that tobacco giants and tax officials love more. If we only think about issues from a tax perspective, replacing traditional cigarettes with e-cigarettes is a good way to earn tobacco tax.

Although tobacco companies certainly don't care about the life and death of smokers morally, relatively speaking, living smokers are always better. After all, if they die, they will have no way to buy cigarettes. If after the advent of e-cigarettes, tobacco giants find that they may no longer need to print warnings and skulls on their packaging, and can go back to the good days of advertising everywhere, they will probably be so happy.# p#pagination title #e#

So slogans such as 95% less harmful than cigarettes have become the favorite words used by tobacco companies and e-cigarette sellers. When such a large number of positive promotional advertisements replace warnings that smoking is harmful to health and are hyped up in the media, a technical good thing may turn into a bad thing.

Take the United States as an example. Because of such positive publicity, not only are some people who have quit smoking starting to relapse due to the emergence of e-cigarettes. There are also a large number of teenagers who regard e-cigarettes as a healthy and cool thing, become addicted to nicotine and join the smoking camp. And a large proportion of them eventually began to smoke cigarettes as their addiction increased. Statistics from the United States in 2018 show that 1/20 of junior high school students and 1/5 of high school students are using e-cigarettes. People in the United States 'tobacco control movement lament that decades of anti-tobacco efforts among teenagers have been reversed in a few years. The product of e-cigarettes has been reversed.

So stop fantasizing that e-cigarettes sound the death knell of traditional tobacco giants. This is just a consumption upgrade for tobacco giants.

For people who are not smokers, especially teenagers, it is best to stay away from e-cigarettes and not be tempted by slogans such as health and fashion. So if you are already a smoker, should you switch to e-cigarettes?

Two things to say: If you are serious about quitting smoking, quit smoking seriously. There is no complete research that shows that e-cigarettes can effectively help quit smoking completely. Currently, the CDC and other U.S. health agencies believe that there are only two types that are helpful for smoking cessation: 1. Psychological counseling and communication;2. Assistance with alternative drugs such as nicotine patches.

Only when the above methods cannot effectively quit smoking, or if you do not want to quit smoking, it is recommended to switch cigarettes to e-cigarettes. Currently, only a few countries such as the United Kingdom suggest this.

E-cigarettes do less harm than cigarettes, but it does not mean that there is no harm. However, there is still a lack of effective and long-term follow-up research to comprehensively assess the harm of e-cigarettes to the human body. In addition, the e-cigarette industry lacks industry and national standards around the world, and the ingredients of different products vary greatly, making it difficult to assess the specific negative impact. In addition, due to insufficient supervision, e-cigarettes explode due to quality problems and other vicious injuries occur from time to time.

In January 2018, after conducting an overall evaluation of research related to e-cigarettes, the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) released the "Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes", which believed that among the research on e-cigarettes health problems, the current evidence is relatively conclusive, and conclusions can be summarized include the following:

There is solid evidence that replacing combustible tobacco cigarettes with e-cigarettes will reduce the risk of users being exposed to the large amounts of toxic and carcinogens present in combustible tobacco cigarettes.

There is strong evidence that e-cigarette use increases the concentration of particulate matter and nicotine in the air in indoor environments compared to background levels.

There is strong evidence that in addition to nicotine, most e-cigarette products contain many potentially toxic substances and are placed on it.

There is strong evidence that e-cigarette devices may explode and cause burns and injuries. This risk increases significantly when batteries are of poor quality, stored improperly, or modified by users.

There is strong evidence that intentional or unintentional consumption or injection of e-cigarette liquids can be fatal.

There is strong evidence that intentional or unintentional exposure to e-cigarette liquids (drinking, eye contact or skin contact) can cause adverse health effects, including but not limited to seizures, hypoxic brain damage, vomiting and lactic acidosis.

There is strong evidence that nicotine in exposure to e-cigarettes changes significantly and depends on product characteristics (including device and e-liquid characteristics) and how the device is operated.

There is strong evidence that, in addition to nicotine, the amounts and characteristics of potentially toxic substances emitted by e-cigarettes vary widely and depend on product characteristics (including device and e-liquid characteristics) and how the device operates. Except for the red letter item above, we will talk about second-hand smoke in the next paragraph, let's summarize the other items in spoken language: #p#paginated title #e#

1. For smokers, e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes;

2. E-cigarettes are also harmful, containing and releasing nicotine or other potentially harmful substances;

3. The safety and harmfulness of different e-cigarettes are different and need to be carefully chosen;

4. Buying substandard products or improper use and storage may cause e-cigarettes to explode and injure people;

5. Contact with e-cigarette liquids can cause health risks, and drinking them directly may cause death, so never let children have the opportunity to come into contact with this thing.

There is an interesting phenomenon.

Our country is the birthplace and main producer of e-cigarettes, but the popularization and popularity of e-cigarettes is far behind countries such as Europe, America and Japan. This is not that e-cigarette companies don't care about the China market, nor is it that China users like traditional retro. The only reason for this incoordination is that China has only begun to seriously implement laws and regulations such as smoking bans in public places in the past two years.

As more and more cities join the ranks of smoking bans in public places, e-cigarettes that are not listed in the smoking ban regulations suddenly become popular. ldquo; E-cigarettes are not cigarettes. E-cigarettes are very healthy and have become a reason for many people to smoke in public places, even around children.

But as the American Academy of Sciences concluded above: the use of e-cigarettes increases the concentration of nicotine and particulate pollutants in the air, and may also release potentially harmful substances.

In other words: e-cigarettes are also a kind of air pollution, and second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes can also pose health risks to people around smokers. This is why children's health-related organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the AAP have a worse attitude towards e-cigarettes than the CDC. Because substances such as nicotine in second-hand smoke of e-cigarettes pose a clear risk of harm to pregnant women, infants and teenagers.

One of the AAP's warnings about e-cigarettes is that if there is a baby at home, remember not to leave the e-cigarette in a place where the child can come into contact. Accidental ingestion by the child may pose a fatal risk.

Regarding second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes, the AAP's recommendation says this: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the relevant provisions of the Tobacco Control Act on second-hand smoke should include e-cigarettes. The aerosol emitted by e-cigarettes is not harmless; it contains a variety of toxic chemicals, including some carcinogens and large amounts of nicotine. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that parents should not use e-cigarettes around their children. ldquo;

The same goes for public places.

We must admit that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. To put it figuratively, it means changing from making big deaths to making small deaths. This is of course progress. But the uniqueness of cigarettes is that it is different from dying like eating fried food or drinking fat house happy water. It not only harms personal health, but also pollutes the air of

One of the fundamental reasons why tobacco control is difficult in public places in China is that many smokers believe that smoking is their personal freedom. It is true that everyone has the freedom to harm their own health in exchange for happiness, but this does not include the right to harm the health of others or interfere with others in exchange for their own happiness.

Fortunately, after years of tobacco control publicity, most people have understood that the balance between personal freedom and respect for others is not so difficult to find. It would be nice to smoke in a place that does not interfere with others. In fact, whether we control tobacco, classify garbage, or abide by traffic rules, many things are not as difficult as we originally thought. The important thing is to persist and persist.

Therefore, now that tobacco control in public places in China has finally begun to become formal, e-cigarettes should not and cannot become a special case, let alone a reason to go backwards.

Smoking e-cigarettes is okay, it's better than smoking cigarettes, but also don't influence others.

Finally, use the basic attitude of the CDC on e-cigarettes to summarize the suggestions for the use of e-cigarettes:

For adult smokers who are not pregnant, e-cigarettes may benefit if they are used as a complete replacement for ordinary cigarettes and other tobacco products.

For children, teenagers, pregnant women, and adults who are currently not suitable for using tobacco products, e-cigarettes are not safe.

E-cigarettes may help some people quit smoking, but they may also have counter-effects on others. Scientists still need to understand whether e-cigarettes are effective in quitting smoking.

If you have never smoked or used other tobacco products or e-cigarettes, please do not start using e-cigarettes.# p#pagination title #e#

Other research is currently needed to understand the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes on human beings.

Recommended reading: Are e-cigarettes harmful? What are the dangers of e-cigarettes?