Make no mistake, there is a war against vaping going on and the guilty parties are attempting to destroy public health. Misinformation, lies, all while using children as a shield to destroy a life saving technology in harm reduction. Unfortunately, this isn't a conspiracy theory, but the truth. Let's start with the common lies about vaping.
Below are the most common lies spread about vaping by people with an ulterior motive or simply uneducated. Let’s put these misconceptions to bed and uncover the truth about vaping myths and the charlatans trying to kill the smoking public. Every fact here has been check and I will site sources so you can make an informed decision for yourself.
Lie Number One - Vaping causes Popcorn Lung
There have been NO cases of Popcorn Lung in e-cigarette users, none. This original myth was put out in 2016 after a Harvard Study did research about some flavors used in making e-liquid containing diacetyl. Fake new stories began showing up everywhere using a picture of a man already proven to be from another source, not one concerning popcorn lung at all, in a hospital bed. Further, in 2014 e-liquid companies had already began removing diacetyl from e-liquid manufacturing. With all of that being said, there is NO proof of vaping causing Pop Corn Lung. Even in the older e-liquids that contained diacetyl, they contained a milligram of the percentage found in a real cigarette. There have been no documented cases of Popcorn lung in either smokers, or vapers. SNOPES FACT CHECK
Lie Number Two – E-liquids Contain Antifreeze
As a former respiratory technician, the minute I saw this pop up online I could only shake my head in disbelief. I understood the desperation that big tobacco was going through losing money to the consumer solution of vaping to the problem they created, smoking, but the fear tactics trying to keep people smoking? ABSOLUTELY FALSE! E-liquids DO NOT contain Antifreeze! I mentioned being a respiratory tech because they used the fact that e-liquids contained propylene glycol as the excuse that e-liquids contained antifreeze. Sorry, but we used propylene glycol in breathing treatments at our hospital and we weren’t making our patients breathe in antifreeze. Debunked 100%.
Lie Number Three – Nicotine Causes Cancer
That is a blatant lie because nicotine is not a carcinogen (a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue). Yes, nicotine can be addictive, but it is not capable of causing cancer, there have been numerous studies done on this. Where this lie comes from is the tar in cigarettes has been proven to cause cancer but that is not present in e-liquid. Medical News Today
Lie Number Four – Vaping is a Gateway for Teenage Smoking
I have to pause for just a minute here and shake my head again. As a former smoker (25+ years diagnosed with COPD which is why I started vaping) I can tell you from personal experience, the taste and smell of a cigarette makes me sick to my stomach. I do not believe that a teenager should have access to vaping products, or alcohol for that matter. This is an adult solution to smoking cessation for me, and from every vaping enthusiast I’ve spoken to, they feel the same way. What vaping won’t do is lead to them smoking, so let’s be honest here. “Think about the children” the most common argument they use when they can’t come up with real evidence to put out about vaping. As a mother of five, grandmother to two, I can tell you I’d rather my children pick up vaping than smoking any day of the week. Hopefully they will do neither, but of the two I’d prefer they vape. We already have laws in place to make sure children can’t buy vaping supplies, so this is the biggest misconception they use to regulate what has already been established.
Lie Number Five – Vaping is Just as Harmful as Smoking
A cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals an e-liquid contains four. Common sense tells you immediately that vaping is already safer than smoking by that one simple fact. No matter what spin you put on it, even if you hate vaping and want to see it destroyed, those facts don’t lie.
Lie Number Six - Second Hand Vape Is Just as Dangerous as Second Hand Smoke
The NCBI (Library of Medicine) completely debunked that myth and you can read the article which shows the scientific facts by following that link. To summarize that report here’s the last sentence “The study indicates no apparent risk to human health from e-cigarette emissions based on the compounds analyzed.”
After debunking those lies, I want to explain to you how I can personally prove that vaping is safer than smoking. In 2015, I was diagnosed with COPD after smoking for greater than 25 years. Failed attempts to quit included: Nicotine Replacement Patches (NRT), prescription drug (Chantix you can read about the problems of that drug here) Hypnosis, gums, and cold turkey All failed attempts. After my diagnosis I decided to give vaping a try. Three years later, what COPD had robbed from me, I regained. The ability to sing again, excercise without feeling like my chest was going to explode, three years free from pneumonia and bronchitis, and lung capacity tests that have shown how my lungs went from 68% capacity during my intitial diagnosis, to consistent 96% or above.
As an adult, it is your choice to choose the cessation tool that is right for you. The FDA has gross overreach and must be stopped in taking the right to vape away from adults before it's too late. From personal expience, I can tell you that I didn't start smoking with flavored cigarettes, it was a normal one, and when they remove flavors (which is just the beginning) these teenagers that they say are being lured into vaping by flavors, will simply turn to tobacco based vape or worse, combustible cigarettes. Obviously, no one wants teenagers to smoke or vape, but logic tells us that the more the smoking intiative puts out information against it, the more teenagers are being exposed to vaping ideas that they may have never considered without all the publicity.
Teenagers experiment, I personally have seen that for over 30 years. As much as I never want to see a child smoke or vape, if I had to pick the lesser evil, it would always be vaping. Many adults, like myself, use flavors because we wanted to be away from the tobacco flavor all together. It was a reminder of what led me to the health problems smoking gave me. So, you see, by removing flavors they very well may be encouraging adult vapers to return to smoking combustible cigarettes.
My suggestion is to enforce the laws on our books against all underage activities ie; smoking, drinking, etc. Harch penalties to companies that sell to minors any of these products, and contributing to the deliquency of a minor to any person that purchases adult products for minors. You may not care about what the FDA is attempting to do, if you aren't a smoker, or former smoker, but if you think it stops with vaping, you are very disallusioned. This is an overstep by the government to tell adults what rights they have. What's next? Sugar, Caffeine, Fast Food? All of these things contribute to bad health choices in children and probably more so than even smoking in some cases. Be aware. The next choice for you as an adult may not be an option anymore. I think we all remember history and where prohibition led us.
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| Michelle Hughes - Author and Vape Advocate |
After debunking those lies, I want to explain to you how I can personally prove that vaping is safer than smoking. In 2015, I was diagnosed with COPD after smoking for greater than 25 years. Failed attempts to quit included: Nicotine Replacement Patches (NRT), prescription drug (Chantix you can read about the problems of that drug here) Hypnosis, gums, and cold turkey All failed attempts. After my diagnosis I decided to give vaping a try. Three years later, what COPD had robbed from me, I regained. The ability to sing again, excercise without feeling like my chest was going to explode, three years free from pneumonia and bronchitis, and lung capacity tests that have shown how my lungs went from 68% capacity during my intitial diagnosis, to consistent 96% or above.
As an adult, it is your choice to choose the cessation tool that is right for you. The FDA has gross overreach and must be stopped in taking the right to vape away from adults before it's too late. From personal expience, I can tell you that I didn't start smoking with flavored cigarettes, it was a normal one, and when they remove flavors (which is just the beginning) these teenagers that they say are being lured into vaping by flavors, will simply turn to tobacco based vape or worse, combustible cigarettes. Obviously, no one wants teenagers to smoke or vape, but logic tells us that the more the smoking intiative puts out information against it, the more teenagers are being exposed to vaping ideas that they may have never considered without all the publicity.
Teenagers experiment, I personally have seen that for over 30 years. As much as I never want to see a child smoke or vape, if I had to pick the lesser evil, it would always be vaping. Many adults, like myself, use flavors because we wanted to be away from the tobacco flavor all together. It was a reminder of what led me to the health problems smoking gave me. So, you see, by removing flavors they very well may be encouraging adult vapers to return to smoking combustible cigarettes.
My suggestion is to enforce the laws on our books against all underage activities ie; smoking, drinking, etc. Harch penalties to companies that sell to minors any of these products, and contributing to the deliquency of a minor to any person that purchases adult products for minors. You may not care about what the FDA is attempting to do, if you aren't a smoker, or former smoker, but if you think it stops with vaping, you are very disallusioned. This is an overstep by the government to tell adults what rights they have. What's next? Sugar, Caffeine, Fast Food? All of these things contribute to bad health choices in children and probably more so than even smoking in some cases. Be aware. The next choice for you as an adult may not be an option anymore. I think we all remember history and where prohibition led us.
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