The holidays are fast approaching, and many of us are desperately wondering just what on earth to buy our loved ones. Getting gifts for family and friends can be an almighty chore, especially when most people already have everything they ever needed. So, what about the gift of health, for those who smoke?
If you have a family member or pal who smokes, they almost certainly know how bad it is for them, including how it physically makes them feel (apart from the nicotine kick). They most likely would dearly love to quit, but just cannot seem to do it. Breaking up with tobacco is one of the hardest things to do — but, thankfully, now there’s real help, and it comes in the form of the increasingly popular e-cigarette.
Then there’s the whole social side of smoking — or anti-social, to put it correctly. It’s long been banned in public places, because secondhand smoke is also deadly, claiming the lives of 1.2 million people around the world each year, adding to the grim total tobacco death toll of 8 million people annually. But you can still smoke in your home and elsewhere —as long as those around you don’t mind you blowing thousands of toxic chemicals into the air and leaving curtains, carpets and clothes reeking of stale tobacco.
Sleighing Smoking
There’s a growing body of scientific research and medical evidence that says vaping — using e-cigarettes — is almost completely harmless compared to smoking tobacco cigarettes, and that it’s one of the most effective smoking-cessation methods around. Last month, for instance, the health service in England ran its annual Stoptober campaign designed to try and get people off cigarettes, and it urged smokers to switch to vapes.
“Thousands of people in England have already stopped smoking with the help of an e-cigarette,” the campaign says. “Plus, those who combine an e-cigarette with help from their local Stop Smoking Service have a high chance of success. In 2018-19, two-thirds of smokers who did so managed to stop smoking.”
Also, in England, the country’s public health advisory body says smokers should change to e-cigarettes to stop smoking and get healthier. In its most recent advisory, issued last year, it says “vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits” and that “e-cigarettes could be contributing to at least 20,000 successful new quits per year and possibly many more”.
Snow Time like Now to Quit Smoking
Many smokers making the transition to vaping do so with vape kits because they have everything they need to get vaping quickly and easily. An important point to consider, however, is the nicotine in your vapes: too little and you might not be satisfied and go back to smoking, whereas too much might not make you feel all that well. Also, not all e-liquid contains nicotine; some only have fruity and various other flavours that people enjoy vaping.
For people who smoke a lot, nicotine salts are often the answer. It’s the base of a type of e-liquid used in vapes and it contains a higher concentration of nicotine, so it’s more likely to satisfy people trying to quit cigarettes. Just be careful not to overdo it and vape nonstop, because your e-cigarette is full of e-liquid. Moderation, as with all things, is the key.
So this holiday season, as you’re compiling your present list and heading out to the shops, why not give the gift of health to a smoker you love?
