VApril 2021: The benefits of vape

Vaping is one of many nicotine replacement products out there to help support smokers seeking an alternative to traditional tobacco products.

And we’ve brought some of them together here in this handy guide, to help support new customers. We’re supporting this year’s annual VApril campaign, by Sharing the Facts and Supporting the Switch.

As the recent report from Public Health England showed, the highest quit rate (74%) was seen when people used a licensed medicine and a vaping product, one after another, and that 27.2 per cent of people had used a vape product as part of a quit attempt during the past 12 months. These figures make vaping the most popular tool in the journey to quitting smoking.

Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death in the UK, and there are countless health benefits to be seen after quitting, whatever method is used.

While e-cigarettes do contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance, e-cigs do not burn tobacco. As such, they do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements of tobacco smoke. Nicotine in itself carries minimal risk of harm to health compared to smoking, according to evidence. It is the 5,000-plus other chemicals in cigarette smoke which cause most of the harm such as tar and carbon monoxide.

IMPACT OF SMOKING

Quick results

When you stop smoking cigarettes the changes within the body start to happen straight away – after just eight hours, the harmful carbon monoxide level in your blood reduces by half and your oxygen levels start to recover. After 48 hours all carbon monoxide has left your system, and your sense of taste and smell start to improve, while the lungs are clearing out mucus. And another 24 hours on, just three days into the stop smoking journey, your breathing will already feel easier and energy levels will be increasing.

A study by the University of Dundee in 2019 showed that within a month of switching from traditional tobacco products to e-cigarettes, participants’ blood pressure, blood vessel health and stiffness of arteries started to improve.

Keep it up

After around 12 weeks, your circulation will have improved, and between three and nine months on from the last cigarette, lung function will have improved by around 10 per cent – which will be noticeable thanks to eased coughs and wheezing.

Heart attack and heart disease are among the common health implications faced by smokers, but after a year smoke free – the risk of heart attack will have halved compared to a smoker’s risk.

Lifelong change

The fear of developing cancer is one of the main reasons many smokers make the decision to quit. Once cigarettes have been stubbed out for 10 years, the risk of death from lung cancer has also halved.

SAVING CASH

With ever increasing taxation on cigarettes and other traditional tobacco products, another key motivation to make the switch to vaping is the potential money saving.

A packet of 20 cigarettes costs between £9 and £13.50 in the UK, so based on figures from 2019 showing that the average UK smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day – that adds up to around £2,000 a year.

By contrast, while there are upfront costs associated with vaping – to invest in hardware and accessories, our Dinner Lady savings calculator estimates an annual saving of almost £1,500 by making the switch, based on a 10-a-day habit. What would you do with that extra cash?

FRESHEN UP AND FEEL FREE

It’s clear that the health benefits of stopping smoking far outweigh any other reason for quitting.

But for some people, there are added reasons to rethink their lifestyle choices – such as the impact smoking has on how we look. One international study found that 21% of female smokers were motivated by their appearance to quit. Doctors even describe the clinical impact of smoking on skin as “smoker’s face”, from the grey palour, to premature wrinkling caused by the actions of smoking and the reduction of collagen in the skin, and dried out skin.

We’re also all too aware of the smell associated with smoking. Whether it’s the stale smell lingering on the breath or in hair and on clothes. In fact, it’s one of the first things many recent ex-smokers find themselves noticing in the smokers they meet, how strong and disgusting the smell now seems.

It has been proven that vapour produced by e-cigarettes breaks down in seconds, compared to the 30 to 45 minutes it takes for cigarette smoke exhalation to dissipate. With vape exhalation disappearing so quickly, there’s no time for it to sink into clothing, furnishings and even walls over time in the way cigarette smoke does.

Lastly, vaping doesn’t come under the indoor smoking ban. That doesn’t mean that it’s a free-for-all and you can vape where you like. Common courtesy should guide vaping habits, we’d suggest following the principle that "If you wouldn’t smoke there, don’t vape there", and to always ask for clarity when you’re indoors.

TIME TO SWITCH

The new Dinner Lady disposable Vape Pen is just one option when you choose to make the switch, as a simple vape starter kit. Once accustomed to vaping as an alternative to cigarettes, you can move on to try the full range of Dinner Lady’s premium e-liquids. They come in a wide range of nicotine strengths and formulation to suit all stages in the vaping journey.

By changing formulations, strengths and hardware choices over time, vapers are able to reduce their nicotine intake, with Dinner Lady’s collection of vape juices, which includes Shortfills, 50:50, nicotine salts and 30:70 formulations and nicotine strengths from 20mg down to nicotine-free.