Are E-Cigarettes Safer Than Smoking?

With the New Year well underway hopefully you are sticking to your resolutions. Each year, many people working programs of addiction recovery make an effort to quit smoking cigarettes. Having the goal of stopping, and managing to accomplish the task, could reduce a person’s risk of premature death significantly. Everyone knows that setting a goal is much simpler than achieving it, the addictive pull of tobacco products is exceedingly strong. Nevertheless, those who make a conscious effort to nip the habit in the bud can succeed, provided they have help.

While it’s possible to curb a smoking habit cold turkey, it's rare; very few people can beat the addiction without assistance. Even those who take advantage of smoking cessation products, like patches and gums, are in many cases unsuccessful. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the use of quitting aids in conjunction with behavioral therapy; the best outcomes come about by utilizing both tools for cessation.

Gums, patches, inhalers, and medications have all proved beneficial for some people; it depends on the individual regarding what works best. Research on the efficacy of such products is far from promising, which serves to confuse people on which route to take when trying to quit. In recent years, more people are talking about e-cigarettes than Nicorette for kicking tobacco products. Experts have conflicting opinions about the devices, but most agree that e-cigs are healthier than traditional tobacco products.

 

Are E-Cigarettes Safer Than Smoking?

Here’s what we know right now: tobacco products kill people and are one of the leading causes of preventable illness and premature death. E-cigarettes, on the other hand, are not 100 percent safe but are a healthier alternative to tobacco and may aid one in their effort of kicking nicotine. The Annual Review of Public Health published an article recently about e-cigarettes, harm minimization, and smoking cessation, according to an NYU press release. The authors say vaping can help smokers who want to quit and mitigate the risk of premature death.

"Studies show that if most current American smokers switched to vaping e-cigarettes over the next 10 years, there could be as many as 6.6 million fewer premature deaths and 86.7 million fewer life years would be lost," said David Abrams, PhD, the article's lead author. "The safest course is to stop smoking or, better, never to start. But a harm minimization approach recognizes that demanding absolute perfection is often counterproductive and that, when a harmful behavior cannot be eliminated, we can still dramatically reduce adverse health consequences."

Vaping may not help you quit right away but will do less damage than smoking. What’s more, unlike traditional cigarettes, e-cigs let users taper their nicotine dose. Over time, vaping can lead to quitting nicotine altogether. In the past, we have mentioned that smokers in addiction recovery are at a greater risk of relapse, quitting could help you or a loved one better achieve lasting recovery.

 

Addiction Treatment

 

Celebrate Hope at Hope By The Sea is committed to helping people lead a life without drugs and alcohol. We have helped many of our clients quit smoking while learning how to abstain from mind-altering substances. Please contact us if you are ready to begin the remarkable journey of recovery.

Depression and E-Cigarette Initiation

Last week we covered an alarming new trend regarding e-cigarette use among young people, known as “dripping.” We felt it important to keep the conversation about e-cigs going, considering the device's growing popularity among young people.

Smoking cigarettes has long been associated with a form of stress release, much like having a beer at the end of long day. Who hasn’t known someone who, when stressed out, said aloud, “I need a cigarette.” People don't just smoke when they are stressed. They smoke to alleviate anxiety and depression, as well. Some even smoke to quell their appetite, at times. Such behaviors are often what addiction is built upon, associating a specific action with relief.

In the field of addiction medicine, it is quite common for patients who report their addiction being the result of self-medicating untreated mental illness, such as depression or bipolar disorder. Such instances are referred to as co-occurring disorders. When mental illness is left untreated, people will often look to potentially dangerous remedies, like drugs and alcohol. But let’s get back to nicotine for the time being.

In recent years, there has been a heated conversation about electronic cigarettes, specifically with regard to the benefits over traditional tobacco products and the potential health risks. It is fair to say that at the end of the day researchers (in most cases) do not yet have definitive answers regarding the pros and cons of e-cigarette use. While most will agree that e-cigs are likely a safer alternative to other methods of nicotine delivery, yet there is widespread concern in the health community about the impact of the vapor devices on young people.

Concerns have also been put forth of late regarding mental health and e-cigarette use. A study conducted by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) showed a link between depression and initiation of e-cigarette use among college students, according to a UT press release. The findings were published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

While the researchers could not find evidence that e-cigarette use leads to elevated symptoms of depression, the study showed that college students who had had elevated levels of depressive symptoms were at a much greater risk of starting to use e-cigs, the article reports. The relationship was surprising to the researchers because the same could not be said for the relationship between depressive symptoms and traditional cigarette initiation.

"We don't know why depression leads to e-cigarette use. It may be self-medication. Just like with cigarettes, when students feel stressed out, using e-cigarettes may make them feel better. Or it could be that since e-cigarettes have been marketed as a smoking cessation device, depressed students may be using e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking traditional cigarettes," said lead author Frank Bandiera, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health in Dallas. 

The study was the first of its kind to establish a longitudinal relationship between the depression and e-cigarettes, according to the article. Further research will be needed to determine what the relationship means.

Teenage E-Cigarette Dripping

The e-cigarette conversation continues as more and more teenagers are using the devices. A 2015 survey found that 24 percent of high school students reported using e-cigarettes during the past 30 days, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally been given authority to regulate e-cigs, creating age restrictions, the devices are still being used by minors and young adults.

Most experts agree that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than other forms of nicotine delivery. However, nicotine is still addictive and can potentially start young people on the road to harmful behaviors that can lead to addiction. Furthermore, e-cig nicotine juices come in a number of flavors that can keep people coming back for more, where as traditional cigarettes have one flavor—you either like it or you don’t.

There have also been concerns raised about nicotine levels in e-cigarette “juices,” and how the devices are used. A new trend called “dripping,” allows e-cigarette users to get more bang for their buck, HealthDay reports. In fact, a survey shows that 1 in 4 teens have reported having tried dripping. So, what is dripping?

Normally, e-cigs users inhale to gradually draw the e-juice into a heating coil through what are known as “wicks,” creating a vapor, according to lead researcher Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. "Dripping" is when e-cig users place drops of the nicotine juice directly onto the exposed heating coil and then quickly inhaling the thick vapor cloud produced. Krishnan-Sarin’s survey indicates that 26 percent of student e-cigarette users at eight Connecticut high schools has "dripped."

The immediate or long term health consequences of dripping are not known yet, according to the article. Although, the chief of general pediatrics of Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, Dr. Karen Wilson, says that the more potent nicotine could impact the developing brains of teenagers.

"Adolescents should not be using nicotine at all," Wilson said. "It changes the brain chemistry, and adolescents are uniquely susceptible to the addictive properties of nicotine." 

The findings of the report were published in Pediatrics.