For those wondering whether vaping and smoking are the same thing, they are not. The difference between the two is less than subtle. Vaping is the act of using a vaporizer, or vape, to produce a vapour or aerosol for the sake of inhalation. With an electronic cigarette, a type of vape, the e-liquid inside of it is heated to the point at which vaporization occurs, which takes place at a much lower temperature than combustion.
Combustion is what occurs when a cigarette is lit. The process of combustion causes smoke to be released, whereas vapes produce vapour. Unfortunately for smokers, the smoke produced by burning a cigarette contains a wide range of harmful chemicals, some of which are known to science to cause cancer.
One less than subtle difference between vaping and smoking is the impact that they have on human health. According to the findings of Public Health England’s latest e-cigarette evidence review, which was released in 2018, vaping is likely 95% less harmful than smoking.
E-Liquid vs Tobacco
Another difference between vaping and smoking as it pertains to e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes is the substance itself. With cigarettes, smokers are burning tobacco. With e-cigs, vapers are vaporizing e-liquid. One big difference between e-liquid and tobacco is that e-liquid does not contain tobacco. E-liquid does, however, in some cases include nicotine, but this is not always the case as some e-liquids do not contain any nicotine. These are known as nicotine-free or 0-nic e-juices, as they contain 0mg of nicotine.
Summary
Vaping and smoking are not the same. While they may have some similarities, they are, in reality, quite different from one another. So much so that MPs in the UK parliament’s science and technology committee have gone as far as to endorse their use as an alternative to smoking conventional cigarettes.
