E-cigarette companies market their products as a healthier alternative, but new health concerns about the safety of vaping vs smoking has very recently come out. The vapour from e-cigarettes contains several dangerous substances.
These include nicotine, which despite arguments to the contrary has known health concerns, especially up to the age of 25, acrolein (found in herbicides and known to cause lung damage), and heavy metals like nickel and lead.
Vaping-related lung problems are a significantly under-recgonised and under-reported cause of lung injury, or EVALI. Cliche, but trust me, I'm a Doctor. I know how time-pressured Doctors are, I know that the majority would be very unlikely to ask about a history of vaping in their routine history taking, and that again the majority wouldn't know how to report them.
I have gathered a network of Lung Specialists, most of whom have seen suspected EVALI, yet not reported them.
You probably want to know which choice is safer. Medical research reveals facts about both forms of inhalation and how they affect your health, far more about smoking than vaping. This knowledge becomes vital when you think about switching from regular cigarettes or want to learn more about vaping safety.
Understanding Smoke vs Vapour Formation
The basic difference between smoke and vapour comes from how they form. Learning about these differences helps us understand their health effects.
How Vapour is Generated
E-cigarettes produce vapour through a controlled heating process that runs at substantially lower temperatures than regular smoking. The vaping device's battery-powered heating element warms an e-liquid. This liquid contains propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, nicotine, and flavouring agents.
The e-liquid turns into vapour instead of burning. It becomes an aerosol at temperatures that stay well below the burning point. The device heats the liquid until it changes into tiny airborne droplets. Water, propylene glycol, and glycerol make up most of these droplets.
The aerosol contains ultrafine particles. This process happens without creating carbon monoxide, which sets it apart from traditional smoking.
Smoke Production Process
Smoke forms through complex chemical reactions during burning. A lit cigarette burns at different temperatures - it reaches 900°C during puffs and cools to about 400°C between draws.
Smoke appears as a concentrated aerosol with liquid particles floating in nitrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Several factors affect its makeup:
- The tobacco's burning conditions
- Oxygen availability
- Temperature variations
- Chemical reactions during combustion
The burning process creates over 7,000 different chemicals. Many toxic compounds in smoke don't exist in unburned tobacco. These toxins form through chemical reactions as the tobacco burns.
Heavy Metal Detection Results
Recent tests found concerning metal levels in vaping devices of all types:
- Modifiable devices had higher metal concentrations overall
- Pod systems showed high levels of cobalt and nickel
- Tobacco-flavoured products had more metals than mint or fruit varieties
Each e-cigarette (150 puffs - a quarter of the usual disposable) contained these metals:
- Cadmium
- Nickel
- Lead
Vapour might have fewer harmful substances, but researchers at a large research University in the USA called Johns Hopkins University researchers found toxic metals in every tested sample. Several samples had nickel, chromium, lead, manganese, and arsenic above regulatory limits.
A little known fact: about 90% of vaping products in the world are made in China, so these results are highly like applicable globally.
Ironic, as China has banned online sales of e-cigarettes in its own country and only allows tobacco flavour vapes....
Vapour may be less toxic than smoke overall, but it comes with its own risks that need attention.
Comparison Table
| Characteristic | Vapour | Smoke |
|---|---|---|
| Formation Process | Electronic heating of e-liquid without combustion | Combustion of tobacco through burning |
| Operating Temperature | Substantially lower than combustion | 400-900°C during smoking |
| Particle Size | 100-200 nanometres | Not mentioned |
| Number of Chemicals | Not specified | Over 7,000 different chemicals |
| Formaldehyde Levels | 0.2-6 micrograms per 15 puffs | 2-50 micrograms per stick |
| Heavy Metals Present | Cadmium Nickel Lead | Not specified |
| Immediate Heart Rate Effect | +4 beats per minute (not significant) | Not specified |
| Blood Pressure Change | 122/72 to 127/77 mm Hg (not significant) | Not specified |
| Oxygen Saturation Effect | Not specified | -0.6% immediately after smoking |
| Recovery Timeline | Blood vessel function improves within 4 weeks | Cardiovascular risk returns to normal in up to 15 years |
| Wound Healing Effect | One cartridge daily matches pack-a-day smoking effects | Major delays in healing |
| Health Risk Level | 9-450 times lower toxin levels than smoke | Highest risk; leading preventable cause of death |
Conclusion
Science shows differences between smoke and vapour, though neither proves safe. Lab tests reveal vapour contains far fewer toxins than cigarette smoke - about 9 to 450 times less. Yet e-cigarette emissions still carry dangerous levels of heavy metals and harmful compounds.
The human body reacts uniquely to each substance. Smoke causes severe reactions throughout organ systems right away. Vapour leads to milder immediate effects. Both substances substantially slow down wound healing and tissue repair. A single e-cigarette cartridge matches the healing delays from a whole pack of cigarettes.
Current science suggests vapour poses fewer risks than smoke.
This comes with a warning: avoiding both substances remains the healthiest choice. Toxic metals, immediate body changes, and unknown future effects make vapour a health risk that needs careful evaluation, even if it proves less dangerous than smoke.
If you do decide to use vaping as a tool to quit smoking, the sensible advice if you have the greatest degree of respect for your health and the risk of the unknowns, is to use it short-term (around 12 months) - then aim ti quit. However, the choice is yours and should be respected.
I personally enjoy breathing fresh air again.
Authored by Dr Marc Picot, Founder Vape Escape
An ex-vaper and Doctor aware of the difficulties in beating nicotine addiction in the form of vaping, I created this mission as a passion project. A last resort attempt in a desperate situation, I tried nicotine in the form of vaping to treat a very distressing side effect, called akathisia, of a medication I was taking to treat depression.
Alongside being a Doctor, I am an accredited Health Coach specialising in Vaping Cessation.
I believe my coaching qualification, medical background and vaping research, combined with my previous experience as an ex-vaper struggling to find help when I was going through it, puts me in a great position to help you if you are motivated to achieve your goal of being vape-free!
