With vaping clearly on its way to becoming a serious rival of cigarette smoking, you may be wondering why this is the case. If you are still clinging to the simpler option of buying a pack of cigarettes from the shop, you may need some help in understanding why this simpler method is being overtaken by a slightly more complicated one. There are a variety of reasons why people switch from smoking to vaping and I’ll take you on a step by step journey through some of these reasons. We’ll have to take a look at price, health, enjoyment and a few other variables that ultimately cause people to decide to make the switch.
Cost of Smoking
So first of, let’s take a look at the price. There is a common misconception that vaping (due to the technology involved) is a more expensive habit to upkeep than simply buying a pack of 20 cigarettes whenever the mood strikes. One factor you have to take into consideration is the idea that governments around the world are being pushed to use the tobacco industry as an example, so with taxes on tobacco constantly on the rise, the price of a pack of 20 will continue to get higher and higher while the taxation of vape products is significantly lower. Depending on where you are from and your choice of brand, you could be paying anything for your fix: $20, $30 or even $50 (Based on Australian Prices) just for a pack of Marlboro.
This puts the average cost of smoking anywhere between $7,300and $12,166 per year. When it comes to looking at the costs of vaping, there are a lot more variables to be considered. Many people who do switch to vaping are doing so to quit or at the very least cut-down and gain some of the health back.
There is such a wide range of vape devices to choose from and the cost varies quite drastically between them. If you choose something like the Aspire Speeder Starter Kit, you would be spending an estimated $600 a year, give or take, depending on the number of cartridges/coils and E-Liquid you go through. So quite clearly there is an immediate saving. Perhaps you would decide to go for an eGo-Style device such as the SMOK stick V8. Once again: a very clear price difference.
Perhaps you’re more of a Box Mod type and would choose something like the IJOY Capo 100W kit Once again, depending on your choice of cartridges, you would be expecting to spend somewhere between $500 and $900 per year. So it’s really a no-brainer just based on the price comparison. Of course, that isn’t the only reason why many people switch, so let’s take a look at the health benefits.
Quitting
We all know that smoking is bad for you. There aren’t really any “ifs” or “buts” about it. For that reason, many people use vaping as a way to help them reduce their nicotine intake or in many cases to quit altogether. For those of you trying to quit, you may have tried some of the more traditional methods before such as nicotine gum, the infamous patches or perhaps you went for a more ‘outside the box’ (no pun intended) technique such as hypnotherapy. Some people even go for the more brutal approach of going cold turkey.
These techniques are far from effective with a failure rate way up in the 90s (estimated to be about 95%). While there are failure stories from the world of vaping, there are also a lot of success stories. You really don’t have to search very far on the internet to find a ton of forums or blogs from ex-smokers who have now quit completely due to switching from smoking to vaping. Depending on your method of vaping, you can often adjust the level of nicotine allowing you to slowly lower your intake without having to constantly feel like you’re missing out. We all know that in many cases when someone tries to quit, they don’t really want to.
Health Issues
If your heart isn’t in it then chances are you will fall back into the habit. That’s another advantage of vaping: whether you are choosing to quit or not, it is a much healthier option. Don’t believe me? So far, the most important study into the health effects of vaping was carried out by Public Health England. This study concluded (quite decisively) that choosing to vape instead of smoking a traditional cigarette was 95% healthier for you! 95%!! Not only that, but their study found no evidence to link vaping to deaths whereas this is clearly not the case with the more traditional form. If saving money and being healthier still aren’t changing your mind then perhaps we need to look at the final factor: enjoyment.
Enjoyment Factor
Why do people smoke? Some may argue addiction; anti-smoking adverts and school assemblies will argue that people do it to look cool. Ultimately what it boils down to is the enjoyment of it. People smoke because they want to! If we enjoy doing something then why not do it, right? Many associates the flavour of a traditional cigarette with pleasure or enjoyment but I think we can all agree that it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. If only there were a way to taste pleasant flavours while smoking…oh wait, that’s exactly the case with vaping! The choice of flavours is practically endless! Go to any vaping website or store and the range is likely to be 200+ flavours. Whether you want something sweet like watermelon, blackberry, cola or something more traditional like menthol, gold tobacco or even Virginia tobacco; there is something there for everyone.
So the reasons why tobacco smoking is on a rapid decline while vaping is on the inline are obvious. Whether you want to save money, protect your health or simply want a more enjoyable experience, you really don’t have to put much thought into whether to switch or not. Simply browse the web for 5 minutes on any vaping forum and you’ll find an endless supply of people supporting all these points I just made. Enjoy!