Could E-Cigarettes be the solution to help quit smoking?

Listen as Ernest Van Biljon, a local vape expert from Ballito chats to Damon about e-cigarettes in the podcast, then read more below:

In the grand scheme of things, Vaping is still pretty new, having only been around for about a decade or so - and there still seems to be a 'hazy cloud' surrounding the issue of smoking vs vaping. But is there a difference if you’re taking combusted smoke into your lungs or vapour?

Read: More changes coming for South African smoking laws?

The process of smoking includes the combustion of tobacco which includes thousands of chemicals but the main process of vaping removes the need to combust anything, removing a handful of those harmless chemicals. 

With hundreds of chemicals found in cigarette smoke compared to only a few in the vapour, studies suggest that vaping has a significantly lower level of health and safety risks. However, it has still seen its problems and e-cigarettes have even had problems with their batteries exploding. 

There’s an ongoing debate on whether vaping is 'okay' for you and if it’s a better option to smoking regular cigarettes. Let’s be honest, first prize is not to use either. I mean vapour compared to clean air makes it look bad but although it’s not exactly healthy for you, it is seen as a better alternative to smoking cigarettes.

Read: Could smoking in movies influence young people to try it out? 

While South Africa’s laws on smoking in public are crystal clear, the legal implications of vaping seem to still be 'up in the air'. IOL has recently reported that new regulations may be passed in the next few weeks which may see the banning of smoking from both traditional and electronic cigarettes in public places.

The popularity of e-cigarettes has skyrocketed in the country over the last few years since it was dubbed as a 'healthier' alternative to lighting up. 

But is vaping the best way to quit smoking? What do you think?