Is nicotine harmful?

Easy answer is, no, Nicotine is not harmful when inhaled.¹ When used as part of a Nicotine Replacement Treatment (NRT), or in less harmful delivery devices such as e-cigarettes, a smoker avoids roughly 4,000 other toxic substances that are inhaled via tobacco smoke.⁴ Four in ten smokers, and ex-smokers, incorrectly believe that nicotine is the cause of most of the smoking-related cancer⁶ when in fact, it is the deadly cocktail of other toxins that are found in cigarette smoke.

Electronic Cigarettes are recognised by the NHS as a powerful smoking cessation tool. One of the most difficult aspects of quitting smoking is fighting off cravings, particularly when they are being triggered by your daily rituals. The physical act of smoking becomes part of the addiction itself, which is why it’s so tough for people to successfully quit. Vaping allows you to maintain your smoking rituals and is 95% less harmful than smoking.² It also allows you to regulate your Nicotine intake. But, given that Nicotine is not harmful when inhaled,¹ the pressure to go cold turkey is removed. Public Health England found that smokers were twice as likely to quit smoking when using an e-cigarette and behavioural support, compared with the group who chose will power alone.²

Quitting smoking is hard – VERY hard – that’s why it’s so important to know the facts about smoking, vaping and what each does to your body. There is a lot of misleading information out there about vaping and smoking, but one thing is certain. Nicotine is not the enemy; it’s addictive, but not harmful when inhaled. The benefits of switching to vaping in order to quit smoking are well documented and supported by the NHS. Quitting smoking is the best decision you can make for yourself and switching to quit will make your journey a lot easier.

References:

1. Long-term effects of inhaled Nicotine. Waldum HL (et al), study for Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Tronheim, Norway. (1996)
2. McNeill, A. et al. Evidence review of e- cigarettes and heated tobacco products 2018. A report commissioned by Public Health England (2018).