Is vaping safe?

Over the years numerous studies into the effects of vaping have been conducted. Most of these were geared towards proving or disproving the long- and short-term effects of using e-cigarettes.

Up to date, all research has shown that there aren’t any ill-effects related to vaping. Even public perception is changing according to a US survey. It found that almost 37% of respondents in 2015 said that they perceive e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking, which was a great improvement in comparison to 11.5% in 2011.

Although the public is starting to see e-cigarettes in a new light, there are often headlines in the media that spreads misinformation.

Scientists from all over the world agree that it is relatively safe, in the short term at least, which is summarised in a study by the Cochrane Library.

For the first time we are also starting to see results of studies looking at the long-term effects. Findings of a recent 3.5-year-long study saw that it is unlikely that vaping causes significant harm to the body, ie. no damage to lungs, heart or any other organs. Participants ranged from light to heavy e-cigarette users and yielded the same results for the entire group.

It is important that when examining e-cigarette safety that it’s put into context. In other words, scientists would generally look at whether vaping is less harmful to people than smoking conventional cigarettes.

The research results are clear time after time: vaping is much less harmful than cigarettes, it’s a safer alternative to smoking and vaping is a successful cessation tool.