Introduction
The rate of smoking in the UK in the past ten years has decreased drastically especially among adults between the age of 18-34. Nevertheless, there are still approximately 11.9% of adults, approximately six million individuals, who smoke as of 2023. Much as construction of stricter laws, increased tobacco prices and health education among the populace have taken their toll, millions still struggle to give up.
And, you are not alone, whether you have tried to quit smoking, and then, almost flunked at it. Most smokers have a hard time not only getting physically attached to nicotine but also feeling emotionally attached to cigarettes. That is when vaping usually substitutes as a less health-challenging alternative.
This guide will deconstruct the relevant differences between smoking and vaping, discuss the differences in terms of health effects, debunk some myths, and provide set of practical tips that will allow you to end up quitting forever.
Smoking vs Vaping: What You Need to Know
There is much confusion over vaping, particularly whether it is safer than smoking or not. Let's clear the air.
The Health Impacts of Smoking vs Vaping
Applied literature suggests that vaping is much less destructive as compared to tobacco smoking. Though the NHS in the past had estimated 95% safer vaping compared to a cigarette, this number is applied in a more reserved way. Nevertheless, research findings still affirm that in vaping the user is not exposed to the vast amounts of toxic chemicals due to the fact that the process does not entail the burning of tobacco.
Here's why that matters:
- No combustion: There is no fire as Vaping is heat-based. This implies the absence of tar or carbon monoxide two of the most dangerous products of cigarette smoke.
- Cleaner lungs and blood: Tar blocks out the lungs, carbon monoxide holds back your blood oxygen supply. Eradication of the two greatly enhances heart and lung conditions.
- Fewer toxins: There are more than 5,000 chemicals in a cigarette smoked but at least 70 definitely carcinogenic chemicals. They cause different cancers, destroy DNA and are harmful toxins.
Cancer that relates to smoking are lung, throat, mouth, bladder, kidneys, stomach, liver, cervix etc. Smoking is one of the most dangerous habits on the planet, however, there is positive news because your body will instantly begin to recover the secret is to quit.
Why Vaping Is a Safer Alternative
Vaping removes a lot of the toxic effect caused by the burning of tobacco. According to a study conducted at the King College London, the amount of cancer causing chemicals was very low among the vapers than the smokers. Even senior researcher, Debbie Robson has suggested that assisting smokers to switch to vaping needs to be a community health priority in order to achieve a smoke-free UK by 2030.
Also, the NHS discovered that individuals who vape and receive professional assistance are almost twice as successful as individuals utilizing nicotine patches or Gums. Vaping is not a panacea to health, but it is one of the best substitutes that can be adopted by a smoker that is seeking to quit.
Why Vaping Helps Smokers Quit
Vaping is effective since it addresses the physical and psychological fronts of the smoking addiction. Instead of patches or lozenges, it produces the same feeling of smoking yet it produces nicotine effectively, particularly nicotine salts (nic salts), which are absorbed into the bloodstream rapidly and give an antidepressing threshold to the throat.
Moreover, vaping replicates the act of ritual that many smokers miss, including holding a device, inhaling vapour and even the social component of taking a break and having a smoke. Such minor differences ease the process of getting into vaping and make it a more long-lasting one.
Vapers have a wide variety of flavours of e-liquid that are thousands of flavours, nicotine strengths, and devices to customize their process and reduce their nicotine intake as time goes on until they do not need it anymore.
Common Misconceptions About Vaping
Vaping is as bad as smoking.
False. Approximately, half of all the smokers fall prey to this myth. Factually, vaping exposes an individual to fewer harmful substances and thousands of smoking addicts have managed to quit the habit every year.
Vaping causes popcorn lung.
This myth was created as a result of the use of chemical diacetyl, which was previously used in illegally brewed e-liquids. Nonetheless, since 2016 diacetyl has been prohibited in the UK and EU, and no popcorn lung attacks have ever been reported when using vaping products that were regulated.
Passive vaping is just as bad as passive smoking.
There is still no data available that second-hand vapour has any harm similar to that of cigarette smoke. Nevertheless, it is polite and more healthy to vape outside and not in the presence of other people.
Nicotine causes cancer.
Nicotine is not cancer-causing but is addictive. It does not even provoke cancer directly or the heart disease, but thousands of toxic chemicals which are formed during the burning of tobacco are the real danger.
We don't know what's in vapes.
All the legal vapes in the UK are under the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulation. The manufacturers have to provide all ingredients which are to be transparent and safe. Store the information about purchasing at a reputable online shop such as Phantom Vapes to avoid fake or unlawful goods.
What Happens When You Quit Smoking and Start Vaping
Here's what your body experiences once you stop smoking:
- 20 minutes: Nervous system began a normal heart rate and blood pressure.
- 2 hours: Starts being addicted to nicotine, vaping helps in overcoming cravings.
- 12 hours: The level of carbon monoxide decreases drastically.
- 24 hours: Your heart gets to patch itself and lungs to remove accumulated tar.
- 48 hours: Taste and smell is starting to improve.
- 3 days: The peak of the cravings, the most helpful time of vaping.
- 2 weeks: The energy levels increase, breathing becomes easier.
- 1 month: The lung function and circulation improves considerably.
- 3-9 months: The coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath are eliminated.
- 1 year: The risk of heart disease has been reduced by half.
- 10 years: Risk of lung cancer is reduced by 50% — and your savings could exceed £60,000!
5 Practical Tips for a Smoke-Free Life
1. Set a Quit Date
Come to a sensible date and get yourself into the head of it. Do not expose yourself to stress or socialize events which will tempt you to smoke. Some people who quit their smoking during such campaigns as Stoptober or No Smoking Day. Write down your own reasons personal e.g. health, savings, fitness, family, and put the list somewhere told you to remind yourself.
2. Get Support
Quitting is easier with help. Disclose your target to friends and family, or get access to professional support through the NHS Smokefree app. Perhaps, this sense of accountability and support can help you through the most difficult times when you experience cravings.
3. Use a Vape
Vapes qualify as some of the best smoking quitting equipment. Simple prefilled pod kits are easy to use and then proceed to refillable kits when you are used to it.
4. Experiment With Flavours and Devices
Vaping is easier when you find your ideal set up. As transpired when disposable vapes were prohibited in the UK in June 2025, the prefilled pod kit is the most suitable product to recommend to beginners.
5. Track Progress and Celebrate Milestones
Track your progress using applications such as Smoke Free or NHS Quit Smoking. It can be extremely encouraging to see the amount of money you are saving or an improvement in the state of your health. Keep tiny targets in life, reward yourself, and keep in mind it is one year without cigarettes, a victory.
Conclusion: Quit Smoking for Good
The desire to stop smoking can be extremely difficult, but it is not. By having the right attitude, encouragement, and equipment, such as vaping, you can get completely out of the tobacco trap forever. Vaping is not a replacement of one habit with another, it is a better, smarter way to go to achieve healthier living and free of addiction.
Are you now ready to begin your smoke-free life? Find the variety of our cheap vape kits and nicotine salt e-liquids and vape at Phantom Vapes to make the quit process simpler, easier and more pleasurable.
