The Truth About Vaping 

"We know the effects of cigarettes because we have studied people who died from smoking. We don't know much about vaping yet because we are still waiting for them to die"

For those who smoke and are considering quitting, or are interested in hearing about it: I've quit smoking. It was the most challenging thing I've ever done. Even after overcoming the chemical addiction, the habitual addiction remains. The hardest habits to break are the cigarette with coffee, the post-meal smoke, the work break smoke, and of course, any social situation. Smokers understand that's just the beginning. Each of these moments felt like a separate addiction to conquer. Two things helped me. Firstly, before sleeping, while lying in bed, I would repeat to myself, "Smoking is gross, smoking is vile, smoking is disgusting," but you can use whatever words resonate most with you. It's about creating a negative image of smoking in your mind. Secondly, I bought some rolling papers, a box of tubes, and a bag of tobacco, and decided that would be all. I started with the tubes and tobacco, which were already less appealing than a name-brand pack, but eventually, I ran out of tubes. Then came the cigarette butts... What does a smoker do when craving a smoke with nothing left? You scavenge the ashtray, tear up a butt, roll it in paper, and smoke it. This part was genuinely vile. Once you convince yourself it's that or nothing, it doesn't take long to lose the desire completely. To this day, six years later, the smell of smoke repulses me. I hope this helps even just one person. Take care.

use this as a “i breathe air” button

For 17 years, I was trapped in a cycle of smoking cigarettes. But in 2016, I discovered a game-changer: vaping. This switch has been a lifesaver, helping me quit smoking and transforming my health. Gone are the days of chronic bronchitis, which used to strike at least once a year. Since vaping, I've enjoyed a chest infection-free life. My breathing has improved dramatically, and my sense of smell and taste have been revitalized. I began jogging in February 2016, but was always winded. However, just a week after switching to vaping, my breathing improved significantly. Now, I exercise regularly - kettlebell swings, weight training, and boxing are my new passions. I can confidently say that my overall health has improved substantially since quitting smoking. While I wouldn't encourage non-smokers to start vaping, I firmly believe that smokers deserve the opportunity to try vaping as a potential solution. It's not about advocating for vaping as a safer or less harmful option, but about sharing my personal experience and the research-backed findings of esteemed organizations like The Royal College of Physicians and Public Health England. Vaping has been a lifesaver for me, and I hope it can help others break free from the grip of smoking too.

Teacher here. We have ten year olds who's parents buy vapes for their kids. One father even wanted to beat a teacher for confiscating his daughter's (12) vape when she openly smoked and shared it on the playground

24 years of smoking. Quit with Vaping. Now down to 3mg. Sleeping better, feeling better. Lost 15 lbs, able to jog 5 miles no breathing issues. Close to going zero then finally just air!

Been vaping for 14 years now. I used to smoke a pack a day and haven't since I started Vaping. I can run and exercise now without getting out of breath. I don't have asthma attacks anymore. Vaping has saved my life, and thousands of others if not more. Long term for me has been no negative side effects other than being smoke free and healthy enough to exercise and stay in shape.

15 years as smokers , try to quit few times and failed 😂 , try vaping , and still failed , but i got sick , ciggaret doesn't taste good , and now , almost 3 months ciggaretes free 😊

My biggest concern is the chemicals used for flavouring, and the quantities used. I tried vaping out of interest, and aside from the instant nicotine addiction, it felt like I was huffing air freshener.

being a smoker for 40 yrs, this was right up my alley, started 24 mg to 12 mg now this vaping really helped me, soon nothing 0mg

We also need to acknowledge that the Australian paper came out directly before they banned ecigs in Australia so they could legally sell them in pharmacies and get tobacco tax off it

The truth about vaping is a much broader topic than can be spoken about in a 14 min video. My fear is that smokers who keep hearing about the (possible) dangers of vaping will not consider this an option. I'm no scientist but my own observations on the subject tells me that this is the most effective smoking cessation product, hands down. Almost all of my friends who have tried to quit over the years switched to vaping and most of those friends have gone on to quit vaping completely. Anytime I see a kid with a vape, I disapprove and wish it weren't so. I also think to myself that there is a parallel universe where vaping wasn't invented, that kid is smoking a cigarette and I'm dead.

I love how just as we really make progress against cigarettes, we invent a whole new batch of chemicals to inhale and people just line right up. Brilliant.

While you're busy destroying your own health, other people are busy profiting from your misery

I don’t do it because I think it’s safe, it’s because I’m addicted to nicotine - plain and simple. Anyone who thinks vaping isn’t slowly scaring their lungs is lying to themselves. I’m getting help with it, but I’ve got a long way to go.

Not a single person is smoking because they think its healthy 😅

Honestly. As someone who vaped for 6+ years and worked in the industry. I'm so happy to be almost a year off the stuff. I still get cravings at times but its super easy to control now. I hope everyone reading this knows they can stop. It doesnt really matter if people tell you its healthy or not, breathing air is amazing and is necessary to live, please dont mess with it. It also fucks with your dopamine receptors and makes you feel like you always deserve an instant gratification without working for it, not healthy. Just my 2 cents

I've never smoked and never will. My dad smoked all his life and he developed COPD Emphysema and lung cancer. He left us a few years ago now. Trust me when i say, you don't ever want to see a loved one struggle to do something as simple as take a breath in, it's truly devastating and not a pleasant sight. Health is the only valuable thing in this world. You only have one life. Try to live it as best you can and take care of your body by not abusing it.

quitting smoking and vaping is so easy !!! I done it a thousand times !!

The nicotine is in the vape to replace cigarettes. That’s what it first was invented for.

Stopped a year ago and one stressful day a month ago, started again. Have so much fear of stopping again, not because vaping isnt making things better, its not, its because last year I went through hell to quit. I think it would be easier this time, I have just freaked myself out. Best of luck to all of us trying to stop ❤

Vaping saved my life. I was smoking over a pack a day. Now I’m down to the lowest level of nicotine and plan to be off completely in the next year. So even if it’s not great for you.. I feel MUCH healthier than when I was smoking Edit: can’t reply comment about how messed up it is that someone can take an oath to do no harm then discourages harm reduction makes you wonder… comments automatically getting ✂️ Not to mention bringing politics into it and obviously pushing an agenda for someone

I found you on tiktok months/a year ago, and to ow see you on youtube with 2 milly subs makes me smile! well done Dr you done well 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

The Royal College of Physicians have released a study on vaping. Easily found online. It has 5% of the harm of cigarettes.

it breaks my heart seeing my friends and colleagues (most in their 20s) start vaping as it is trendy and then end up with a full blown addiction

I was a 40yr smoker and started getting a deep aching pain in my left leg which scared me...and the fact smoking was SO expensive, i moved on over time to vaping. The pains stopped and i generally felt much better health wise. I think vaping is a good aid for long term smokers but i can only comment on my own experience...thanks for another great pod Doc 😊

- Straight up, here is why it's better for everyone. 1. I don't have a morning cough anymore (after 18 years of smoking cigs, then 5 years on vape) This is huge, not only for the lungs but also the heart. 2. 2nd hand smoke is no more! Sure there is 2nd hand vape, but I assure you this is many times less harmful, if harmful at all. 3. No more forgotten cigarettes that can cause a fire. 4. If vaping was not invented then all the kids who vape today would simply be smoking cigarettes. 5. For me personally, after vaping, smoking is repulsive. - I wouldn't say that vaping is 95% safer, but any % safer is a step in the right direction.

I've been vaping for about 15 years. Started when the tech was still raw and buggy, because I heard about it and was desperate to quit smoking. I almost immediately wanted nothing more to do with cigarettes. I was smoking 2 packs a day, my health had been noticeably effected... lungs and throat... coughing fits and problems with my voice. The money I was spending had also become a problem. After about a year of vaping instead of smoking, I didn't have any of those problems anymore. I'm not confused or brainwashed, and I know that anything I put into my body that the body doesn't need is not a great idea... But I can't honestly look at the majority of vape criticism and take it seriously. I agree that children shouldn't use them, but I'm a grown man and I don't even drink anymore so please let me have my vapes and leave me alone.

I quit a year ago. Started when I was young and genuinely believed it was completely harmless. I hope it's not as bad as smoking because there's a whole generation vaping the equivalent of a pack a day.

I hear the concern, but ive lived in a heavy agriculture area my whole life and dealt with pesticides,dust, and god knows what else. Im not as worried about the vapes as i am the alarming rates of lung cancer in there farmers here.

i can only speak specifically for myself based on my own experience. i'm 33 and i was a heavy smoker since 15. i consumed up to 5 packs a day for the last couple of years before i finally switched to vape (pods). the switching process wasn't so easy for me either. personally-after 4 years of completely switching to vape-i feel a lot better (physically and mentally), and my nicotine expenses are down from $200-300/month (cigarettes) to $50/month (vape)-(note; where i live, cigarettes are extremely cheap). in my case, switching to vape has helped me physically, mentally, and financially. i'm at the stage where i'm not interested in touching any cigarette ever again. BUT, this may not apply to everyone. for those of you who are a HEAVY smoker, you may try vape as a mean of transition before quitting nicotine completely. but for non-smokers, i STRONGLY discourage you from trying vape at all. don't start nicotine addiction if you haven't already (either cigs or vapes). you'll go down a deep deep rabbit hole before you know it. and lastly; any nicotine products should NOT be targeted towards children & teens. that one is pretty obvious isn't it?

Yes, there is actual data that shows vaping to be safer. It mainly relies on "in vitro" studies which compare carcinogens in cigarette smoke versus vapor from electronic cigarettes. What's true is that vapor doesn't contain carcinogenic products of burning found in tobacco smoke (which makes perfect sense, since nothing is actually burning in your e-mod or e-cigarette, VG turns to vapor at much lower temperatures). While e-vapor does inundate the lungs, in my own experience and in experience of a number of my friends and people I know, - it comes nowhere close to just how suffocating tobacco smoke is. It took me over 2 years after fully switching to vaping to get my endurance back, but my sense of smell returned fully only within a month. I can now run for much longer periods of time than I could when I smoked tobacco, and I no longer have chest pains or morning cough. About a year ago, out of the blue, at my friend's B-day party I smoked 2 cigarettes. And already the very next morning I woke up with characteristic smoker's cough, coughing up some nasty brown residue, and I felt sick. Just from 2 cigarettes. So I definitely don't regret my decision to switch to vaping. Unfortunately my country (Canada) desperately wants me and other ex-smokers to either go back to smoking cigarettes, or to inundate my lungs with intolerable amount of vapor from a high wattage device. My government made Nicotine percentage over 20mg/ml - illegal. Effectively this means that no heavy smoker would ever be able to successfully switch to a low wattage vaping device. Personally - I needed in excess of 40mg/ml to successfully switch to a low wattage device. If current laws existed back when I switched - I would likely still be smoking cigarettes. Another way for a heavy smoker to switch successfully is to vape much lower Nicotine percentage like 6mg/ml but out of a 80-90 Watt device that produces ridiculous amount of vapor. Such devices are more expensive to refill and maintain than cigarettes, so few heavy smokers could even afford one. I used to make my own DIY vaping fluid with Vegetable Glycerin, all natural flavoring (like Vanilla) and Nicotine. But now they want to ban flavors too unless they are tobacco or mint, preserving the Classical Conditioning's association of Nicotine fix with cigarettes. This will definitely make it even less likely that a heavy smoker will switch to vaping as many vapers who successfully switch to smoking report that electing fruit flavored e-liquid helped them break the tobacco flavor - Nicotine fix association. So anyone who thinks that governments want you to stop smoking needs to have their head examined. Not at all! The governments are perfectly happy with taxes they get from tobacco companies and from smokers, the very last thing they want you to do is quit through switching to e-cigarettes. They damn well know that vaping is not as terrible for your health as smoking, but vaping doesn't fill their coffers as much, so they will do anything to make sure vaping gets worse rap than tobacco, and they'll even go as far as hire tons of RU-vid creators and all sorts of fake doctors to spread this same message. It's hardly surprising.

Alot of the vape deaths and evali cases that I've read about and looked into were actually due to pre filled THC dab/oil cartridge vapes and cheap manufacturers using a product called vitamin e acetate which was the cause of all the problems as it coated the lungs in an oily substance that wouldn't allow oxygen to pass through, but alot of the people who were affected lied about what type of vapes they were using cause they didn't want to say they were using illegal THC products, so instead nicotine vapes took the brunt of the blame. As a side note you mention that it's being aimed at kids. Well by the metrics you mentioned if 96% of vape sales in the US are actually done by tobacco companies then again it would be the tobacco companies who are to blame. Clearly they don't want to loose so theyve just changed their game. They just gave in to the if you can't beat em join em game. When I worked at a vape shop we were very strict with how we displayed our products and when we had young adults in the shop who never smoked but wanted to vape we were very clear with them we didn't support vaping for the sake of it and it was a tool for smoking cessation.

I never smoked, I don't like Alcohol, I never vaped nor took any other of these kind of drugs. Yet people say I look stoned but that is because I don't sleep enough.

I did quit smoking by replacing it with vaping. I can say I definitely feel better physically, I don't cough much at all anymore. When I smoked I used to cough phlegm up constantly. I definitely don't like that it is becoming so popular with younger people and don't think it should be done by people not trying to quit. I'm fully aware there is not a lot of data as to how dangerous it actually is, but it sure feels a lot less unhealthy anecdotally. I would still like to quit vaping at some time in the future, however. One of the big issues is how clean and convenient vapes are. I use a product with very little flavor and essentially no smell. Problem is, the vape can easily become a pacifier that you are using pretty much all the time.

“What possible reason can there be for including nicotine in vapes, other than to make them addictive” I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that they were created as a means for people to transition away from tobacco, in a way that remains familiar for them (something you conveniently forgot to mention). Wild thought, I know

I started smoking cigarettes at 16. I smoked for 8 years and had success stopping for two years with help of medication. After the two years I was going through a tough time and started smoking again. After two months I switched to vaping and have not smoked a cigarette since. Nicotine addiction is super tough to kick, and vaping does not make it easier. It tastes super good. Its like vaping candy. I was never under the impression that it is not harmful. I think it makes it harder to quit because of how much easier it is to consume. I do want to quit and wish that I never got hooked on tobacco products. To anyone who watched this and are vaping or starting to vape, all I can say is don't do it. It will be a lifelong journey of you trying to quit and failing. Thank you Dr. Karan for a very insightful video.

I quit smoking cigarettes about 7 or 8 years ago. Started vaping. Reduced nicotine down to 1 mg over time. Started using it less and less. Last November or thereabouts I sat at home and suddenly realized „Hey, I haven’t used my vape for a couple weeks now. Huh. Seems I don’t need this anymore after all. Cool!“ And I haven’t looked back. I don’t miss it at all. Is vaping „healthy“? No, course not. Is it less harmful than tobacco? Everything points to that being the case. But we don’t know yet. Anecdotally I was able to observe improvements in breathing and stamina. Not feeling winded anymore after climbing a flight of stairs was deffo a plus. But I think it depends very heavily on what you put in your vape juice and what type of device you use. I always mixed my own juice. But all this bubblegum type and sickeningly sweet flavor is of course more appealing to youngsters and they would probably rather go with a vape than tobacco. Which is equally silly. And nobody controls what goes into the damn things, both chemically and electrically. I am rather at home with my Ohm’s Law and reasonably apt at handling electronics. Bult my own coils and everything. Those disposables were never something I used. I like to think I used high quality components that were probably beyond what most kids would be able to afford (one of my battery boxes was around 150 bucks, plus name brand batteries, plus nickel free wire, tools, good and clean cotton wool etc - was really a bit of a geek about this). And it’s also about the amount of nicotine. If you quit cigarettes from smoking a pack a day then good for you - but if you then start cloud chasing and guzzling 2 packs of ciggies worth of nicotine in your vape juice a day, you haven’t gained much.

This is very helpful! Thank you! :D

Thanks for your expert opinion on vaping. Vaping sounds more dangerous than smoking. This video convinced me to switch back to cigarettes. I tried quiting several times in the past….but I keep missing it excessively.

I agree with most of this, however, nicotine is included in vapes because it is the main point of vaping.. asking why nicotine would be included in vapes is like asking why a company would include beef in a hamburger.

I'm an ex smoker who gave up nearly 30 years ago. I look back now and consider taking up the habit as one of the biggest mistakes I made in my life. In fact I cringe when I think about it too deeply. Effectively ingesting toxins directly into your lungs whether by smoking or vaping is not a good idea.

vaping is amazing! its funny to me that we're going after vapes when cigarettes get a pass. you cant do shit about it and you never will. the best thing to happen is that people started vaping because from my experience i feel so much better when i quit cigarettes and started vaping. its not even comparable. i even know many people that we're on the verge of death that saved their OWN lives by switching to vape. just look at all the "vaping illnesses" that the media STILL tries to throw off on vaping! why arent people dying anymore when the amount of people vaping has only increased? oh thats right its because it was tainted thc carts. honestly i feel like vaping doesnt get enough credit because if you would actually ask the people who were sdmoking cigarettes they would all tell you that vaping is much healthier. nobody wants to ask for testimonials because it wouldn't fit the narrative. id rather trust people who have changed their life then i would trust the pharmaceutical industry and the scientist that both get something out of spinning the narrative. i feel so much better now its insane. for the people who never vape or smoked before it can be more harmful considering they never been addicted to nicotine nor have they experienced the harm that actual cigarettes' cause so its more harmful then not vaping anything at all. but for me it changed my life and i feel so much better. yeah i vape pretty much all day but i also smoked all day.

20 seconds in and he states vaping isn't regulated? Maybe not in the UK, but in the US you have to be 21. Some states restrict the level of nicotine sold so... sounds pretty regulated to me. In your description you state "the argument isn't Smoking Vs Vaping...it's whether Vaping really is the best option we have as a smoking cessation tool"... ok, would you rather be shot with a 22 or a 44 magnum? Sure, both options you take a bulet, but I'll take the 22 over the 44 magnum ANY time. Better option: don't get shot at all, right? Same with smoking & vaping. I once asked a dentist if chewing mint leaves would be better than chewing tobacco. He said, 'You're better off just not putting stuff in your mouth.' Sound advice, but what if I'm gonna do it anyways? Definitely mint leaves over tobacco just like better vaping over smoking. But you're statement at the very beginning is very true: this is all a big experiment since the one thing we do not know is long term effects vaping has on the lungs. I'm going to watch the rest of the video now, but I REALLY hope that THC vapes purchased on the street don't get lumped into the mix cuz that is something COMPLETELY different.

vaping helped me with many addictions, i only vape, i feel better and i don't cough anymore

i have a friend that was a chain rollie, smoker, he moved to a vape and slowly lowered the nicotine content, when he got down to zero nicotine, it took a year to quit the habit, even though he had reduced to a few times a day- hes been free about 8yrs now

200 chemicals the news said? but my bottle shows 4 ?

I used to smoke 20 a day from the ages of 17 to 23, tried quitting a few times either by going teetotal or using nicotine gum and patches, but never had success. Now that I've switched to vaping, aside from a few drunken lapses, I have been cigarette free for 4 years. I'm under no illusion that e-cigs are harmless, but in comparison to smoking it's night and day. That being said, governments should never have allowed disposable vapes to become so freely available. Going by what I've heard from school aged family members, they are far too easy for children to get a hold of and get addicted to, not to mention the environmental damage caused by lithium batteries being used and then discarded so freely. The extra steps involved in maintaining a resuable vape (whether that is having to replace coils regularly, making your own coils, or even just recharging batteries) helps deter casual vapers from adopting them, especially children who'd have more trouble sourcing e-liquid, coils etc. Not to mention it isnt as cool or whatever you want to call it. Vaping should only ever be used as a cigarette replacement, not a product to encourage people to start consuming nicotine.

I've been vaping for about 8 years now since I stopped smoking. In my anecdotal opinion it's just as addictive as cigarettes, but not as physically harmful as cigarettes. They are not harmless though, in any way. It is extremely psychologically addictive and very hard to kick altogether. Thanks for covering this topic Dr. Khan, hopefully we will be able to scientifically quantify the harmful effects of vaping soon enough.

Quit vaping last year after 18 months, then picked it up for a short period again (1 disposable vape) in March and stopped again after that because of the subtle cough I picked up. The hardest part in my experience was not the nicotine addiction (it took 3 sucky days to get over that - pun not intended), but the oral fixation. Replaced it with a 20L tank of water in my room and a cup, I take a sip of water every time I get the oral fixation urge, or a stick of gum if I want flavour. It's still hard because a lot of my good friends vape, but I don't see them in person that often. Great video!

Of course, vapes do not help you to give up smoking. You simply have to stop smoking completely - that really helps.

If a study came out no bias agender just pure trueth and facts the Australian government still wouldnt unban vapes cause they dont know how to tax them 😂

I think the sweeteners inside vapes are actually the heavily dangerous part. I have sensitivities to sugars and sweeteners alike and vapes used to set off my insulin like crazy and make me crave sugars instantly.

I was ciggerete addict for 15 years. vaping helped me quit ciggeretes to the point that now I don't even like the smell of cig if someone smoke next of me. we don't have studies over long time for vaping but it is for sure much much safer than tobacco. 2 components of e-liquid that I mix for my self is VG and PG both found in food and vegetables we eat daily. chemical flavouring also exist in other foods we eat. I don't say its 100% safe but no doubt it is way safer than tobacco. you can also vape without adding chemical flavours. in the other hand tobacco smoke is just direct poison for your body. I already developed COPD from that 15 years of tobacco smoking!

Nice, thanks for the effort and upload 👍

thankyou for making this video you put effort int this fr

Psychedelics saved me from years of uncontrollable depression, anxiety, alcoholism, smoking, and illicit pills addiction. Imagine carving heavy chains for over a decade and then all of a sudden that burden is gone. Believe it or not, in a couple of years they'll be all over for treatment of mental health related issues.

I vape and have done for about a year and a half. I would rather not vape. Saying that I would rather vape than smoke. As a result of me swapping to vaping over smoking. I have had no chest infections. I no longer get out of breath walking up stairs and my hair has grown back. Obviously I would be even better if I didn’t vape at all but right now, it’s the lesser of 2 evils.

There are a number of very common foods we consume every day that contain nicotine. Tomato for instance. Nicotine is not the problem. I suggest the demonisation of vaping is the distraction and the real focus is on the battle for control of the industry. It always comes down to greed for power and money

Imagine if there were social media back when they were regulating smoking and big tobacco. People would've been like "where's the evidence that cigarettes are unhealthy or killing people" while willfully ignoring the evidence that cigarettes were unhealthy and killing people.

Conclusion, if you never smoke, don't even try vaping But if you are a smoker, you should use vape It's my 4th day of using vape, after 6 years of smoking cigarettes, I felt my smoking habit getting worse. Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. So I try vape, my appetite is increases. My throat doesnt feel burning after a few hours I still smoke like a couple of cigarettes a day, I plan on stopping both on the future. I know transitioning from smoking to vaping seems like a useless and small step to stop smoking, but I wish I can conquer this addiction. People won't know how hard it is, if they never feel it themselves

I quit smoking and vaping cold turkey 2 years ago and I have never been more grateful and thankful to past me.

Wasn't expecting this Dr Karan. But thanks for doing it.

I really have been looking for this exact video from a rather unbiased doctor, I'm so grateful you were able to make this! I'll be doubling down that if DH wants to quit smoking that he's better off with the cessation aides, not the rebranded cigarettes of the future.

In the US vapes are seen as a substitute for smoking not a cessation device. Kids use them because they are more discreet. Many people use them to help them quit but they are mostly an entry to cigarettes. In the US if you can't smoke in a place, you can't vape either. Let us not forget that Juul introduced a device that looked like a flash drive and sold flavored liquid in packages that so closely resembled candy wrappers, I don't know why those companies did not sue for copyright and trademark infringement

Thank you soo much for this informative video. Switched to vaping to quit smoking for 2 years now, I feel It affects my memories & cognitive functioning now. Going to try my absolute best to kick the addiction so I can be there for my family especially my autistic son. Again thank you for clearing things up.

My father's 83, a smoker. He was a chainsmoker from his mid-thirties all the way to his early seventies. Smokes lighter, lessnowadays. Healthy lungs. Wtf?

Interesting. I used to be a heavy smoker, but the Difference with me i knew the risks when i started vaping. Ive been vaping since the day vapes came out. Before vaping i couldnt sleep properly, was trying for a baby to find out i had low sperm count, my stamina and breathing wasnt great. Since vaping ive had 4 kids due to sperm count going up, my stamina is better, i can sleep and breath better. And i feel more energetic. Now like everything and yes there are down falls. But in my case it was better for me to go to vapes. My life changed for good. Im still vaping but nicotine strength is getting lower and lower, until im off nicotine vapes then i will quit vaping. This takes time for me as i crave the nicotine and can easily tell if a vape has nicotine or not.

I switched from smoking to vaping about 6 years ago when vapes were just starting to become readily available. I felt significantly healthier overall after switching to vaping. I had continued to vape up until just this last year. Over time I had started to notice that something had changed with the vapes. I began to have regular lung congestion that would result in coughing. I also started to have concerning head aches whenever I was vaping. The last straw was when I started to see that most, if not all, of the popular brands had added Prop 65 warnings for neurotoxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and carcinogens like acetaldehyde. I had begun to feel what I can only describe as nerve damage in my head. I started getting brain fog and had muscle spasms and other electrical disturbances around my brain and head. I felt like I was actively giving myself brain damage. I switched back to smoking organic cigarettes and I actually feel better smoking now than I did while vaping. I have no confidence in the purity or quality of any vaping product anymore. They are all made in labs in China where corrupt practices are much more commonplace. I currently believe that the supply chain of cheap and unregulated Chinese manufactured vapes are at least as harmful as smoking, but likely more harmful.

Thanks for your hard work and analysis delivered about the matter. I hope you can open a second channel with all your videos overvoiced in spanish.

This has encouraged me to give up vaping. I haven't been doing it for very long (5months) but I'm starting to suffer from acid reflux and the cost whilst not too bad is getting insane. Ty for a slight insight, I've never been one to touch smokes or anything related to this and want to finally kick this bad habit any advice / help would be amazing.

Can you list the sources you mentioned in the description. Would be helpful.

I quit smoking 7 years ago and gained 60 pounds and found my attitude has gotten worse. Snapping on the smallest things. I started vaping 3 months ago and my attitude has changed and I've lost weight. I know it ain't healthy but this is all I got 😬

Thank you for this video Dr Karan

Saying "I believe" is different then saying "nicotine is non-addictive" because a persons beliefs are not facts. Beliefs are protected and someone cannot be charged for criminal intent to deceive for beliefs but they can be charged when they put information as facts. The harm caused by misleading with factual statements can then be linked back to the person putting it out as fact, BUT if you say I believe, then you can claim you were mislead as well. There by not being held liable for your statement.

Every time I watch something like this, I am more thankful I never added any addictions to the ones I was born with (air, water, food, companionship). Looks bitterly hard to quit.

I had a family member try and convince me to vape instead of vaping saying it was healthier. I argued that there wasn't enough independent evidence to say that. He had didn't understand what i meant no matter how many times i explained about the need for research over decades. Aside from the fact that cigarette companies lied for so long about the their health benefits & owning the vape companies. He stopped touting vapes when he saw how some vape companies seemed to target young people. I thought my point was proved by popcorn lung deaths.

vaping for 13 years now. the only way i could get off cigarettes that were certainly causing more harm. it's not really the nicotine itself that is so addictive, it's all the other chemical additives and the products derived from combustion in combination that make it so addictive. by itself nicotine has about the same effects and addictiveness as caffeine. every time a study was done to try and prove vaping was bad it would backfire spectacularly. my favorite was the study that tried to prove quitting cold-turkey was better than transitioning to vaping before quitting, any vaper would say "yes, it's better to quit cold turkey if you can." however the study showed that vaping will clear the lungs out 3 times faster than going cold turkey and i can attest myself it is far less painful and hardly any hacking up globs of crap out of your lungs. the idea that people who take up vaping first are 30% more likely to start smoking is about the most "no-shit sherlock" statement i've ever heard. big tobacco had to get on with the vaping trend because their profits, for the first time ever, started going down. they are also the biggest proponents of costly regulations because they force out the competition from smaller groups as they are the only ones who can afford the millions of dollars paid to governments to clear the regulations. it's a very cooperative arrangement. i don't trust anything from big-tobacco. i've been making my own juice for over 10 years, it's very easy. and it's absolute horseshit to say they are targeted towards kids, they are targeted towards the generations who are big on nostalgia. they are mostly targeted towards people trying to get off combustible cigarettes. that's why they have nicotine you baffoon.

You're the only online Doctor worthy of my Trust. I was addicted to cigarettes before coming to Vaping. I am trying to quit but nicotine withdrawals specially in my stressful life really make it hard. I will however, try to quite ASAP.

I fell for this crap a couple years ago when I used to smoke and thought hey these vapes sound amazing from what I heard. After vaping for a couple of months I felt awful. Constantly out of breath and just feeling terrible. Then I switched to snus and now I'm in the process of quitting nicotine altogether. Tobacco companies shouldn't be able to come to their own conclusions about nicotine products or anything of the sorts. Research should be always done out of curiosity of learning and providing the public with the most accurate information and NOT to make money by publishing half-assed research for companies to use as marketing material. Thank you Dr. Karan for this amazing video❤

I started vaping back around 2014, initially used flavoured vape juice. After a while, I switched to making my own coil for the vape tank, putting my own cotton and at the latest stage all I used was Vegetable Glycerin. I gradually reduced the amount of Nicotine in the vape juice I used to the point that before I quit, all I would be vaping was the 100% Vegetable Glycerin. Sadly, due to the stressful time I was going through and the fact that I wasn't getting any nicotine from the vape, I switched back to smoking. During the time I was vaping, I was adamantly against tobacco companies getting involved with vaping and my way of protesting was buying my own Glycerin from the pharmacy, building my own coil for the tank and discouraging my friends from using trash like iQos or other cigarette alternatives brought by tobacco companies. Looks like they won. Vaping could've been a proper solution if the right people were to have been involved. Instead we have this now.

I quit smoking with first e-cigarettes, but it created more addiction because it was tasty (vanillle, straberry tastes). Then I managed to go with gums with nicotine for a while with less and less amount of it. Then I started to just go with simple gums. It is more that 4 years I've smoked cigarette.The e-cig step was complitely unnessesary, because nicotine gums helped on craving. I just had to come over to the habit, but I have found a new hobby made me busy and helped a lot.

I used to smoke, have done on and off for most of my life. I can easily quit smoking cuz I can’t actually stand the smell, flavour, or how it makes me feel. The last time I went to quit smoking tho, I started smoking vapes. It worked immediately. However, I’ve now been addicted to vapes for around 4 years. I desperately want to quit but it’s so difficult! I like the taste of them, they are my coping mechanism for my highly stressful life, they’re convenient, and they last ages. But I can see and feel the damage they’ve already done in these years. One time I was able to quit - when I gave it up the moment before I got on a plane to hike the Spanish mountains for a whole month, day after day after day. This was great cuz I forgot about it after a while since I was hiking constantly and enjoying myself; I don’t vape while I hike. But within a week of returning home, back to my very stressful and toxic life, I started again. I don’t know what it is about them but I just can’t give them up like I have many times with cigs. The patches, inhalers, and gum just don’t work. I hate this tho. I just want to breathe in the freshness of air and feel healthy again!!

Watching this as I vape

The reason vapes have nicotine is not because they want to make it addictive. Vapes were created as an alternative to smoking. One main reason smoking is hard to quit is nicotine, so vapes need to provide the user with nicotine so they can quit smoking. After they quit smoking they can lower the nicotine intake step by step since you can buy eliquids with different nicotine volumes or even with zero.

Every single risk you listed was linked to either bad vape juice or a faulty/poorly built product. Aside from the first list, the mouse trials were absolutely worth consideration

Whenever someone says anything said by a doctor must be trusted blindly because "they know best", I like to point out that doctors used to promote the health benefits of cigarettes.

I guess you were reffering to why put nicotine in the vapes aimed towards a younger audience, but it's quite obvious that nicotine, for me, is put in the juice to help with the addiction I have to it, if I was to vape with no nicotine, I wouldn't be vaping and would be smoking still.

Thank you for the video, it has been very educational

After years of smoking, I made the switch to vaping. Within days my condition, endurance and skin color improved and I stopped coughing. I even started running again. The absence of tar, carbon monoxide and other substances that occur during combustion (there is none when vaping) makes a huge difference! Anyway, half a year ago I quit smoking and vaping altogether.

Please do a video about heated tobacco products as well! Super informative and I loved every second of it!

I smoked for 12 years from 15 to 29 and i smoked 20 per day. Vaping stopped me smoking and i vaped with nicotine for 1 year and 1 year reducing the muscle habit of vaping and smoking. I haven't smoked in 5 years I'm a huge advocate for vaping as a way to stop smoking cigarettes

One of the scariest trends I've seen is people arguing that smoking grass is not unhealthy... Like... It's literally SMOKING.

As a 23 year old American it’s bizarre seeing people who once made fun of the absurdity of smoking cigarettes now addicted to vaping. Almost everyone my age I know has vaped and a good chunk do it regularly.

I wasn't lied to. I was told this was an effective way to quit smoking cigarettes. I have been nicotine free for over 2 years now. No vapes, no zin, no nicotine. Only freedom.

Cigarettes companies: Nothing to see here🙄

Are there any studies that somehow separate nicotine from smoking and direct tobacco products? Would love to see the merits and harms independently. Would make a great follow up. Haven't gotten a chance to watch the video yet but I will within the hour.

I just had an asthma for the first time due to vaping, I got to stop soon

0:09 VSAUCE

As well, a real concern is the school children smoking these things wherever and whenever without anyone telling them anything. For example I saw kids smoking in front of security guards in a shopping center with no action taken against it. I was shocked and in disbelief