Unless you’ve found yourself living under a rock, you’ve seen a handful of claims made on the internet. Whether they are official articles, or written by individuals just like yourself. Many people want to claim that e-cigarettes are just as harmful and just as addictive as actually smoking. There is some scientific base to this claim, but for the most part, it is just a claim. It’s like saying the sky is purple. While yes, the sky appears purple on some days under circumstances, it is not, as a general rule, a purple sky. It is blue. E-cigarettes are as addictive as the user allows them to become.
Scientifically speaking, e-cigarettes fail to deliver nicotine in the same manner as cigarettes. They are easily to metabolize and therefore, process through the system much more quickly. But no one is really interested in hearing the chemical reaction of nicotine in our brains and how technically, e-cigarettes can be addictive. Put simply: Anything can be addictive. It is up to the individual using the e-cigarette or vaping, to determine their own likelihood of becoming addicted. Addictions are, largely, controllable. Especially when they are caught early on.
Many of these claims are being aimed at the younger generations. There are many preteen and teenagers who are using e-cigarettes, but have never smoked the real thing. They become attracted to the idea of vaping through the variety of vape juice flavors. The wide variety of delicious flavors is better than chewing bubble gum, which can causing lasting damage to their teeth, due to the high sugar content. Also, because smoking “looks cool”, it tends to be picked up by the younger minds. It’s a smart decision to choose vaping over smoking, especially if the reason is aesthetic value. But, many people in older generations are worried that vaping is just the gateway to smoking.
A nicotine addiction can develop through e-cigarettes, even if the individual smoking has never actually smoked a cigarette. There is no way to sugar coat that, it’s just a fact. E-cigarettes do contain an amount of nicotine, after all. Since nicotine has addictive properties, it’s only natural that an addiction could develop. The nicotine in the e-liquids is enough to build a dependance. Unless, of course, users are choosing the e-liquids with no nicotine content. This would be a wise choice for those who have never smoked before. For those who have, e-cigarettes have been used to fight off nicotine addictions.
By slowly cutting back the nicotine content in their e-cigarettes, many previous smokers have come to enjoy a smoke-free environment. They may choose to continue using an e-cigarette, as a means of busying their hands. But, they no longer rely on nicotine content at all. It stops being an addiction and becomes a force of habit.
So, in short, yes, e-cigarettes can be addiction. No, they can not be more addictive than smoking a cigarette. If you are worried you might be developing an addiction or a dependency, contact your local addiction center. Take care of the problem before it starts.
