Over the past few years, vaping has blown up in popularity. Using vapes or e-cigarettes is seen as something that can help smokers cut down on their nicotine habit, or even quit altogether, and a vape industry and sub-culture has arisen.
With vape stores popping up on every corner and people using vapes seemingly everywhere (just look at Leonardo DiCaprio!), it’s time to learn as much as you can about the practice. Here are 10 things you may not have known about vapes.
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1. Yes, it actually can help you quit smoking
Studies show that switching to e-cigarettes helps smokers quit more than traditional nicotine replacements, like gum or the patch. But even if you don’t quit, vaping is still a healthier alternative to smoking: it’s the chemicals and tars in cigarettes, not the nicotine, that causes the most harm.
2. There are nicotine-free ways to vape
You don’t have to consume nicotine while vaping — many vape juices are available without nicotine, meaning you’d just inhale the flavoured vapours. Speaking of…
3. There are a million flavours
One of the most exciting things for vape enthusiasts is trying all the different flavors. When looking for vapor juice online, you can come across everything from peanut butter and banana to cupcakes, root beer floats or cotton candy. New flavors are constantly being created, so you can always try something new!
4. It won’t disturb people around you
Unlike smoking cigarettes, vaping doesn’t create a thick, harmful cloud of secondhand smoke. Secondhand vape smoke isn’t harmful and it doesn’t have an unpleasant scent the way tobacco smoke does. While you still shouldn’t blow your smoke into someone’s face, vaping around people will generally go over a lot better than smoking.
5. Vaping is actually super old
While the phenomenon really blew up over the past four or five years, it actually began in the 1960s! A man named Herbert Gilbert applied for a patent for the “smokeless non-tobacco cigarette” in 1963. His invention was meant to replace tobacco with a ‘flavored vapor,’ similar to the vapes of today.
6. And it was perfected in China
Despite Gilbert’s breakthrough in the 1960s, vaping didn’t really catch on until after Hon Lik’s contribution in 2001. Lik used propylene glycol, a non-toxic food additive, to create the vapor, which is still a common ingredient in vape juice today.
7. Vape juice doesn’t contain antifreeze
One weird rumor that’s spread about vaping is that vape juice contains antifreeze, which is deadly. Hon Lik’s propylene glycol is the cause of that rumor — the odorless alcohol can be used in antifreeze, but it isn’t antifreeze itself.
Other ingredients in vape juice are vegetable glycerin, which is an alcohol from vegetable oils, flavorings and sometimes nicotine. It’s a fairly simple recipe, and once you know these main ingredients it’s easy to read what’s in your vape.
8. Vaping saves you money
In a 2014 study, Dallas News found that smokers spend an average of $2,250 per year on cigarettes, whereas vapers only spend about $1,800 per year. Bargain!
With a lot of misinformation out there, it’s important to get all the facts before you decide to start vaping. If you’re looking to quit smoking or simply want to know what the hype is about, always do your research.
