Vaping Myths
In our fight to keep the vaping industry alive we have endured slander to no end and without merit. The biased studies funded by Big Tobacco, the blasphemous claims by the mainstream media, and the looks we get from people who just don’t get it continue to pile up.
E-Liquids Are Dangerous And You Don’t Know What You’re Putting In Your Body
E-Cigarettes Will Give You Popcorn Lung
Second Hand Vape Is Dangerous Just Like Second Hand Smoke
E-cigs Are Explosive
E-Liquids Contain Anti-Freeze
Nicotine Causes Cancer
Vaping Causes The Same Harm To Your Body As Smoking Cigarettes
Non-Smokers Will Pick Up Vaping
Vaping Causes You To Inhale Formaldehyde
E-cigs Are a Gateway to Tobacco Use for Teens
E-cigs Are More Addictive Than Regular Cigarettes
E-Cigs Aren’t An Effective Tool For Smoking Cessation
Well with the help of honest studies and real-life testimonials from each and every one of us, we can start to prove all of the naysayers wrong. Here is a list of vaping myths that have been debunked and backed up by concrete facts.
E-Liquids Are Dangerous And You Don’t Know What You’re Putting In Your Body
This tends to be one of the most common myths used by non-vapers and people who are uneducated on the subject of vaping. There are only 3 or 4 ingredients* used in e-liquid depending on what you vape; propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, natural/artificial food grade flavoring, and nicotine (optional).
All of the items used in the process to manufacture e-liquids are approved for human consumption by the FDA. Each of these products, with the exception of nicotine, are in many everyday products we use or consume like cosmetics, food, and drinks.
E-Liquids Contain Anti-Freeze
This is one of our favorite myths to hear. One of the ingredients in e-liquid, propylene glycol, is used in anti-freeze. I’m not exactly sure how that translates to e-liquids containing anti-freeze, but the claim was made and ruffled the feathers of the vaping industry. To us, that’s like saying you’re drinking water when you’re really drinking a soda or a beer.
The funny part about PG being used in anti-freeze is that it is intended to make the anti-freeze less harmful if it is swallowed. You want to know what else contains PG that is meant for adult consumption? Fireball whiskey. On top of that, PG is used in many hospitals to help keep areas sanitary.
Vaping Causes You To Inhale Formaldehyde
Ahhh, the infamous formaldehyde myth. This one caused quite the stir when the “study” making this claim was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The intention of the study was to calculate the risk of cancer in humans, which would be a great thing to know.
Unfortunately the researchers botched the study by having machines simulate the act of vaping at temperatures that were so high they caused dry-hit conditions. Each and every single one of us can tell when we are getting a dry hit and immediately quit vaping. After dying and feeling the heat of 1,000 suns in our throat we then come back to life, address the problem, and fill our tank or re-drip on our coil. The machines did not simulate the real act of vaping in their study. They took those e-cigs to pound town and never looked back.
You can view the whole study here: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1413069
You can view the facts behind debunking the myth here:
http://www.clivebates.com/?p=2706
http://www.ecigarette-research.com/web/index.php/2013-04-07-09-50-07/2015/191-form-nejm
E-Cigarettes Will Give You Popcorn Lung
Oh man, another myth that took the vaping industry by storm and still gets brought up every so often… Vaping gives you popcorn lung. This claim is just comical when you get down to the facts.
The big fuss was about e-liquids containing diacetyl, which caused popcorn lung in popcorn factory workers from breathing in high levels of diacetyl from the butter flavoring. The primary e-liquid flavors of concern were custard flavors. While we think all e-liquids should be diacetyl free for the safety of all vapers, the levels of diacetyl that were found in e-liquids were so insignificant compared to the levels of diacetyl that are found in regular cigarette smoke
Dr. Michael Siegel concluded that smokers are exposed to diacetyl levels that are 750 times higher than the diacetyl levels of vaping. An average vaper is exposed to 9 micrograms of diacetyl per day while the average smoker is exposed to 6,718 micrograms.
Siegel also went farther in-depth when he looked at the Harvard study that caused the diacetyl concerns in the first place. He found that the e-liquid with the highest levels of diacetyl exposed vapers to just 239 micrograms whereas a heavy smoker is exposed to 20,340 micrograms. We aren’t rocket scientists, but the numbers speak for themselves.
http://www.ecigarette-research.org/research/index.php/whats-new/whatsnew-2015/236-da2
http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/14/media-bias-exposed-popcorn-lung-chemical-750-times-greater-in-tobacco-vs-e-cigarettes/
Nicotine Causes Cancer
We feel like this myth was used more as a scare tactic than anything, but you can see why people would draw that conclusion if they don’t know their facts. Plain and simple, nicotine is not a carcinogen. There have been multiple studies done by independent groups and government agencies that have not found a link between nicotine and cancer. This means that it has to be the thousands of chemicals in cigarettes that cause the cancer. In fact, while it is addicting, nicotine is about as harmful for your body as caffeine.
http://www.nysmokefree.com/Subpage.aspx?P=40&P1=4030
http://www.tobaccoharmreduction.org/faq/nicotine.htm
E-cigs Are a Gateway to Tobacco Use for Teens
A lot of the people opposed to vaping bring up children and teens using these devices and then later switching to regular cigarettes in the future, which is a valid concern. However, tobacco harm reduction education in public schooling is much more effective now. Most teens know the consequences and think it’s gross. That doesn’t debunk the myth though.
One study done by the CDC confirmed that increased use in e-cigs in high schoolers did not translate to an increase in smoking rates. This study actually proved a lot for vaping advocacy and you can see our 9 key takeaways from that study here.https://aspenvalleyvapes.com/9-key-takeaways-from-the-cdcs-electronic-cigarette-report/
Another study done by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center looked at 1300 college students with an average age of 19. Of the 1300 students in the study, 43 of them said an e-cig was their first nicotine product. Of those 43 students, only one of them said that they went on to smoke regular cigarettes. You can see more about that study here:http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/tobacco-and-kids-health-news-662/e-cigarettes-may-not-be-gateway-to-smoking-study-681597.html
Vaping Causes The Same Harm To Your Body As Smoking Cigarettes
As vapers, we probably don’t need to bust out the facts to debunk this myth because we are living proof that vaping doesn’t cause the same harm to our bodies as smoking cigarettes. Aside from the fact that our e-liquid has 4 ingredients compared to the thousands of chemicals found in cigarettes, we know our bodies best. We know we can breathe better, have more endurance, and we have an increased sense of smell and taste. All things that were hindered by smoking.
Well now you have some scientific evidence to back up the way you feel! A study led by Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos from the Department of Cardiology at Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens, Greece found that smoking cigarettes caused a greater elevation in blood pressure and heart rate compared to e-cigarettes. The study also found that while cigarettes acutely impaired diastolic function there was no difference in diastolic function observed in e-cig users.
You can view the full study here: http://spo.escardio.org/eslides/view.aspx?eevtid=54&fp=1375
E-cigs Are More Addictive Than Regular Cigarettes
This myth may have some truth behind it because we are addicted to getting new mods and tanks, but science proves that e-cigarettes are not as physically addictive as cigarettes.
Two independent studies, one conducted by Dr. Murray Laugesen and one by Dr. Thomas Eissenberg at Virginia Commonwealth University, found that e-cigs do not deliver nicotine as efficiently as regular cigarettes. In fact, e-cigs deliver nicotine in lower levels than tobacco smoke.
On top of that, some argue that it’s not the nicotine that makes cigarettes so addictive. While there is no denying the fact that nicotine is addictive, many claim the thousands of other chemicals and by-products of cigarettes make them much more addictive than they’re made out to be.
You can read more about Dr. Laugesen’s study here: http://vaperanks.com/e-cigarettes-200-times-less-toxic-than-analogs-new-study-shows/
You can read more about Dr. Eissenberg’s study here: http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/smoking-cessation-news-628/benefits-of-e-cigarettes-may-outweigh-harms-study-finds-690268.html
E-cigs Are Explosive
This myth is somewhat tricky to debunk because of all of the news stories we have seen published, but in reality e-cigs are no more explosive than your smartphone. It all comes down to battery safety and education.
We’ve all seen the stories of people’s eGo batteries igniting while charging, we’ve seen the videos of batteries venting in pockets, we’ve seen the aftermath of batteries venting in cars, but we never hear the full story.
When used properly and safely, e-cigarettes do not pose threat to explode in your pocket or your hand. For those of you with mods and external batteries, ohms law and battery safety need to be a top priority for you to know. You need to know what resistance is safe to run on your mod based on your type of battery. You need to know how to safely transport your batteries. You can learn all about battery safety here.
As for the eGo style batteries catching fire while charging, well that’s a manufacturer’s defect or an operator error. It’s very similar to the stories of phones catching fire. If you smother it while charging, it will get hot and can potentially start a fire.
Just practice safety at all times and you will be good to go!
Non-Smokers Will Pick Up Vaping
E-cigarettes were introduced as a tool to help smokers quit smoking. They aren’t marketed towards non-smokers, they aren’t marketed towards young teens, they are marketed to people looking to quit smoking.
A study done by the CDC completely debunked this myth. According to the study conducted in 2014, among the group of adults who had never smoked cigarettes only 3.2% had ever tried vaping. The age group that had the highest rate of people trying an e-cig without ever smoking a real cigarette was the 18-24 age group at 9.7%.
You can view the full study here: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db217.htm#e-cigarettes
E-Cigs Aren’t An Effective Tool For Smoking Cessation
We are all living proof that this myth is complete and utter garbage. We can personally say that if it wasn’t for vaping that we would still be smoking cigarettes to no end. The hundreds of thousands of vapers across the world are proof of this, but if that’s not good enough for some of the naysayers, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) released a study that concluded that e-cigarettes should be added to the list of primary tobacco harm reduction modalities. Aka e-cigarettes are a great tool for helping people quit smoking.
You can view the full study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4078589/
Second Hand Vape Is Dangerous Just Like Second Hand Smoke
With second-hand smoke being so dangerous, it’s easy to see why people were so worried about second-hand vapor, especially with the big formaldehyde myth that floated around. Another concern was the amount of nicotine that might be left in second hand vape. Astonishingly, Lolliard Tobacco Company came out with a study in support of e-cigs rather than bashing them.
The study done by Lolliard compared the levels of carcinogens found in 2nd hand vape to 2nd hand smoke. The study concluded that 2nd hand vapor contains the same levels of carcinogens as ambient air. The study also found that the levels of nicotine in 2nd hand vape are negligible.
The NCBI also conducted their own study comparing the effects of 2nd hand vapor and 2nd hand smoke on indoor air quality. The report concluded that there is no apparent risk to human health from e-cig vapor based on the compounds analyzed.
You can read the full Lolliard study here:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273230014002505
You can read the full NCBI study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23033998
Let us know if we missed any myths in the comments below!
*Please note that the flavoring used in e-liquid may indeed contain multiple ingredients, but that does vary for each e-liquid.