Over the past year or two in the United States, vaping, or the act of puffing on an electronic cigarette, has become more popular as more people looking for alternatives to tobacco. As of last year, there were an estimated four million people vaping in the U.S. Unfortunately, a growing amount of legislation has passed as lawmakers confuse the way e cigarettes work by lumping them in with tobacco. This skews public perception on vaping, so some people may avoid using disposable or rechargeable electronic cigarettes out of fear that it’s just like smoking.
It’s difficult to get the myths and facts of e cigs straight when so much information out there is incorrect. Here are three common e cig myths and the real facts on vaping:
Myth: Electronic cigarettes are smoked.
Fact: E cigs produce vapor, not smoke.
Some people refer to using electronic cigarettes and vape pens as smoking, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. E cigs have a substance in them known as e liquid, which produces a smoke-like vapor. E liquid uses either propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin (sometimes a mixture of both), which are then heated up inside the e cig to make the vapor. There is no smoke involved.
Myth: E cigarettes taste like tobacco only.
Fact: Thousands more vaping flavors exist.
Today there are more than 7,700 e liquid flavors on the market today, with approximately 250 more being introduced each month. In addition to using propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin, e cigs also contain natural or artificial flavors — and not just tobacco. This makes the vaping experience more varied for users, many of whom like to switch between two, three, or more flavors. Vaping flavors for sale include everything from fruit and candy to coffee and chocolate. Sales of these vaping flavors tend to outnumber sales of tobacco e liquid flavors by about three to one.
Myth: All e cigarettes have nicotine.
Fact: E cigs make it easy to go nicotine-free.
Finding the best e cigs doesn’t mean getting stuck with high nicotine content in e liquid. E liquids can have anywhere from no nicotine whatsoever to extra strength concentrations of about 24 to 36 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter of liquid. Zero and low concentrations (about six to eight mg/ml) tend to outsell medium (10 to 14 mg/ml), high (16 to 20 mg/ml), and extra strength e liquid concentrations by a two to one margin. These e liquids are also available in the thousands of flavors available, so users don’t miss out no matter how much nicotine they want or need.
Have more questions about the facts on e cigs? Leave a comment below.