To me this is by far worst than any potential cancer risk.
(I smoked for 15 years and stopped 3 years ago, if that precision can add any value)
EDT: Juste to add that realizing this gives you motivation when you quit. And the freedom gained is also rewarding.
Right but you don't need smoke for nicotine - that's the point.
Nicotine is still harmful, but it isn't as lethal as smoke.
And more critically - smoke is dangerous to people around you, while nicotine is just your problem alone. If we can get people off smoke but still on nicotine, that's better for everyone.
I think anti-smoking/vaping organizations should put more focus on this. I never realized how much this aspect of nicotine takes over your life.
Personally, my thought process was always something like: Lung cancer and all those other health effects are scary and all, but they're gonna happen decades from now, and I'm gonna quit by then so it doesn't matter.
Whereas focusing on the immediate effects of nicotine addiction and how it drives your day-to-day life, that's not talked about enough.
I quit for seven years. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done. Starting again was the worst decision of my life, but I was in crisis at the time. Quitting a second time, with full knowledge of the first, is even more daunting. I’m happy to have something in between while I try to reduce dependence.
Saying that vaping is not a legitimate path toward reducing the harm of cigarettes is like saying there’s no use for the patch or nicotine gum. They’re better than smoking, even if a crutch.
Tobacco is more than nicotine delivery. It contains harmaline alkaloids, which among other effects, is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. Quitting a cocktail of nicotine and MAOIs, while those stimulants are "treating" underlying conditions, is a way harder task.
For these folks, vaping is absolutely a step up, and allows them to wean off the tobacco MAOIs, especially in conjunction with treatment such as bupropion.
Were I to switch to vaping alone, it would be far easier to quit, mainly because the nature of conditioning relating to a vaping habit (hitting my juul at my desk) is very distinct from cigarettes (going on the roof and having a smoke triggered by certain events). The latter is far more "attached" to specific event triggers and lasts a specific amount of time, while the former is a more "ambient" act with much less habituality attached.