Introduction
Nicotine is a plant alkaloid, which means that it is a naturally occurring chemical that contains nitrogen and is highly addictive (VeryWell Health, 2020). Recreationally, cigarettes are the most common method of nicotine consumption, but there are also other nicotine products like e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, snuff, and pipe tobacco. Using these products poses many health risks and problems. Today we will focus on cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
Cigarettes Vs. E-Cigarettes Feb 24
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Tobacco smoking was first practiced by Native Americans in religious ceremonies and for medical reasons. In the late 15th century, Christopher Columbus introduced it to Europe. Despite medical, social, and religious arguments, smoking quickly spread to other places and is now extensively practiced worldwide.
In addition to tobacco, cigarettes may contain additional ingredients such as flavoring substances, and their smoke is formed of around 7,000 different chemicals. In 2019, almost 14% of adults (18+) in the United States smoked cigarettes (CDC, 2020).
In the 21st century, a Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik developed e-cigarettes to act as a substitute for traditional smoking. These battery-powered devices vaporize liquid solutions containing nicotine, flavorings, and other harmful chemicals, as opposed to cigarettes, in which tobacco is being burned.
Remember, e-cigarettes are only slightly safer than traditional cigarettes, meaning, they are not harmless. Traditional smoking is backed up by years of research which in vaping is not the case. It is new to the market, has limited data of its long-term impact, and doctors still have a lot to learn about it.
E-cigarettes are more popular among youth. In 2021, 2.06 million US middle and high school students, including 2.8% of middle school students and 11.3% of high school students, used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days (CDC, 2021). Whether cigarettes or e-cigarettes, the healthiest option is not to vape or smoke.
Some people believe that vaping is a good way to quit smoking, but it is not. Doing this is only starting a nicotine addiction with another instrument. If you really want to quit, you should instead, talk to your doctor about FDA-approved methods or programs that are best for you.