Tobacco is the world’s leading cause of preventable death, accounting for around six million deaths each year. That’s thanks to the cocktail of over 5,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, of which at least 70 may cause cancer. E-cigarettes, do not contain tobacco. Instead, they carry a nicotine-containing liquid which is heated into a vapour and inhaled. The nicotine satisfies the cravings associated with addiction to cigarettes. It’s not completely harmless but it doesn’t cause serious diseases like cancer – which tobacco does. Since they arrived on the UK market e-cigarettes have become very popular. The research so far shows e-cigarettes are far safer than smoking. Public Health and the have both published reports that reviewed all the evidence, and concluded vaping only carries a fraction of the risk that smoking does. Earlier this year, a Cancer Research UK-funded study was the first to show evidence that long-term e-cigarette users had far lower levels of key harmful toxins in their bodies than tobacco smokers. While the nicotine found in e-cigarettes doesn’t cause smoking-related diseases, such as cancers and heart disease, it is addictive. The best thing for an individual’s health is to quit entirely, but the most important thing is that they stop smoking tobacco. There’s a common misconception that you can overdose on nicotine by vaping. But you should actually use your e-cigarette as often as you need to help manage the urges to smoke or, if you want, to wean yourself off nicotine. Like Nicotine Replacement Therapy, if you do have more nicotine than you’re used to, then you might feel a little nauseous or lightheaded, both of which pass quickly. If this happens, just reduce the level of nicotine in the e-liquid that you buy, or use the e-cigarette less.
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