Vaping

Vapes are electronic devices that let you inhale nicotine in a vapour, instead of smoke. This is done by heating a solution (e-liquid) that typically contains propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, flavourings and nicotine.

E-liquids come in different nicotine strengths, so you control how much nicotine you need to help with cravings and other withdrawal symptoms, such as feeling irritable and having low mood.

Nicotine itself has been used for many years in medicines to help people stop smoking. Many thousands of people in the UK have stopped smoking with the help of a vape. There’s good evidence that they can be effective.

Did you know?

You’re roughly twice as likely to quit smoking if you use a nicotine vape compared with other nicotine replacement products, like patches or gum.

Using a vape can help you manage your nicotine cravings. Make sure you’re using it as much as you need to and with the right strength of nicotine in your e-liquid.

Some people find vaping helps them because the hand-to-mouth action is like smoking, plus you get similar sensations, like throat hit (the “kick” in the back of your throat when you inhale).

You will not get the full benefit from vaping unless you stop smoking cigarettes completely. There are still significant health risks from smoking only a couple of cigarettes a day, increasing the risk of lung cancer and heart disease.

You can get advice from a specialist vape shop or your local stop smoking service.

Getting expert help from your local stop smoking service gives you the best chance of quitting smoking for good.

Find your local stop smoking service.

In the UK, vapes are tightly regulated for safety and quality.

Vaping is not risk‑free, but it carries only a small fraction of the health risks of smoking. For smokers, vaping is a far less risky option and, in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking.

Vapes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke.

The liquid and vapour contain some potentially harmful chemicals also found in cigarette smoke, but at a much lower level.

Switching to vaping significantly reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and diseases of the heart and circulation like heart attack and stroke. These diseases are not caused by nicotine, which is relatively harmless to health.

However, vaping is not risk-free. Non-smokers and young people under 18 should not take up vaping.

Long-term effects of vaping

Vaping hasn’t been around long enough for us to know all the long‑term risks. What we do know is that vaping is far less harmful than smoking because it exposes people to many fewer harmful chemicals – but it’s unlikely to be completely harmless.

The healthiest option is not to smoke or vape at all. If you’re using a vape to help you stop smoking, that’s a positive step. Once you’ve fully quit smoking, it’s best to plan to stop vaping too, when you feel ready. But if stopping vaping means you might go back to smoking, it’s safer to keep vaping instead.

Vaping versus smoking

Smoking is extremely harmful. Tobacco kills up to two in every three long‑term smokers. When a cigarette burns, it produces thousands of chemicals – many are poisonous and around 70 are known to cause cancer. Smoking also leads to serious illnesses like lung disease, heart disease and stroke.

Vaping doesn’t involve burning tobacco, so the aerosol from a vape contains far fewer harmful chemicals than cigarette smoke. Most of the dangerous substances found in tobacco smoke – including tar and carbon monoxide – are either not present in vape aerosol or are present at much lower levels.

Watch the UK Health Security Agency’s video demonstration on the impact of smoking versus vaping.

Nicotine is the substance in cigarettes that keeps people addicted, but it isn’t the main cause of the harm from smoking. Almost all the damage comes from the thousands of toxic chemicals released when tobacco burns. Nicotine from smoking is also more addictive because it reaches the brain very quickly and is mixed with other chemicals that reinforce addiction.

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) – like patches, gum, lozenges and sprays – has been used safely for many years to help people stop smoking. It gives you clean nicotine without the harmful chemicals in smoke, and it’s much less addictive than cigarettes. Many people find NRT a safe and helpful way to manage cravings while they quit.

Vapes are increasingly being used in pregnancy as a quit aid. They are significantly less harmful to health than cigarettes and studies suggest that the safety of vapes for use in pregnancy is similar to that of nicotine patches.

If you are pregnant, NRT products such as nicotine patches, gum and inhalators are the recommended option to help you quit. But if you find using a vape helpful or choose to use a vape to quit and stay smokefree it is much safer for you and your baby than continuing to smoke. Your midwife or stop smoking advisor can support you and answer any questions.

There have been rare instances of vapes exploding or catching fire.

As with all rechargeable electrical devices, the correct charger should be used and the device should not be left charging unattended or overnight.

The London Fire Brigade has produced safety advice for choosing and charging vapes

Secondhand smoke from cigarettes is very harmful and can cause serious illness in people who don’t smoke.

With vaping, the evidence so far shows no clear signs of harm to people nearby, and any risks from breathing in vape aerosol are likely to be much lower than the risks from secondhand smoke.

Even so, it’s sensible to be cautious. Try not to vape around babies and children if you can avoid it — not only because they are more sensitive to anything in the air, but also because young children often copy what adults do.

It’s also important to be considerate when vaping around other people, especially those with conditions like asthma, other breathing problems, heart conditions, or anyone who simply doesn’t like being around vapour.

For information about the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke, visit our Smokefree Families page.

Vapes are not currently available on prescription, so you cannot get one from your GP.

All Stop Smoking Services in the North East are vape-friendly and some are able to provide started kits.  You can buy vapes from specialist vape shops, some pharmacies, other shops, or on the internet.

After you’re finished with your vape, help the environment by recycling it.

Vapes are classed as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), meaning they should never be thrown away in general waste.

If vapes are put in the bin, the batteries can become damaged, causing fires in refuse vehicles or at waste management sites.

If discarded outdoors, over time they break down, releasing heavy metals and other pollutants into the environment.

You can take vapes for recycling to the shop where you buy your replacements or to your local authority household waste recycling centre.

Find your nearest vape recycling point.

Vaping costs much less than smoking. Once you have bought the kit, it’s been estimated that vaping costs about a third as much as smoking.

How to quit vaping when you feel ready

Once you have been vaping for a while and feel sure you will not go back to smoking, you should aim to quit vaping too.

To keep yourself on track, it’s a good idea to quit vaping gradually. You can do this in a number of ways:

• gradually reduce the strength of nicotine in your e-liquid
• extend the time between vaping
• set rules for yourself about where you do and do not vape, for example only outside of the home or only on breaks at work

Do not rush this process. Only reduce your vaping frequency or nicotine strength when you feel you will not go back to smoking and do not have to puff more to compensate. Your local Stop Smoking Service can give more advice on quitting vaping if you need it.

If at any point you feel at risk of going back to smoking, increase your nicotine strength or vaping frequency until the feelings go away.

If you prefer to stop vaping in one step, you can ask your pharmacist or stop smoking adviser about switching to a suitable nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product. This is an alternative way of cutting down your nicotine use until you are ready to stop completely.

Remember, if you have stopped smoking completely you have already achieved a huge step in protecting your health, so don’t worry if it takes you a while to stop vaping.