To borrow a nautical expression used widely in the US branches of military throughout history, “Now hear this!” Vaping is not the same as smoking and there are literally so many misconceptions flying about out there that even vapers need to check the facts every now and again. When naval officers send the ‘Now hear this’ command over the loudspeakers of a ship, they are indicating that what is about to be broadcast is of extreme importance. This little ‘command’ was borrowed here to show the importance of understanding the differences between vaping and smoking and it is vitally important to get it straight.

Why Is the Difference So Important?

If you are questioning why it is so important to understand the difference between smoking and vaping, it is vital to look at what we know about cigarettes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, smoking can cause harm to almost every organ within the body and can cause a great number of diseases, lowering a smoker’s life expectancy by years. Few people question the validity of these statements with the few who do disagree being life-long smokers rationalizing their habit. If it can be proven that vaping is less dangerous than smoking, the difference is huge which is why you should want to know just what those differences are.

Vaping – What Is It?

While we tend to think of vaping as inhaling and exhaling vapors through a vaping device such as those you can see here, vaping actually also refers to using electronic cigarettes as well. When inhaling through the device or e-cig, the battery operated vaporizer heats to a point where chemicals are turned to vapor but there is no combustion going on. Vaping provides the same ‘feel’ as smoking a tobacco product but the ‘smoke’ you see upon exhaling isn’t smoke at all. It’s harmless vapor.

Misconceptions about Exhaling Vapor

One of the most common misunderstandings when trying to weigh smoking against vaping is in light of the vapor that is exhaled when using an e-cig or vaping device. The vapor produced does contain a few chemicals which could be considered dangerous if in levels as high as those produced during combustion when smoking tobacco products. In fact, those chemicals critics often refer to are at least 1500 times lower in vaping than when smoking so there is a very real misconception which needs to be corrected. To put it another way, the misconception lies in the fact that smoking produces debris while vaping produces vapor. It’s that simple really.

If you are looking for a way to significantly cut back on the number of cigarettes you smoke each day, or perhaps kick the habit altogether, it is imperative that you understand the difference between vaping and smoking. Take the time to do a little research before categorizing vaping and smoking as similar because they are in no way, shape or form similar except in the physical act that is. Vaping has become a popular method of nicotine delivery because it has proven to be far, far safer than smoking. Again, hear this. Vaping and smoking are not the same by any stretch of the imagination.