Is Vaping Better for the Environment than Smoking?
The cigarette butts left behind by smokers have created an astronomical problem. We all encounter this litter every day on our roads, sidewalks, parking lots, even parks, playgrounds, and private property. Frustratingly, you can often see cigarette butts on the ground just a few feet from a trash receptacle (or even right beside one). Even knowing the precarious state of the environment, many smokers still don’t think twice about tossing their spent cigarette out of their car windows as they drive away – out of sight, out of mind.
Although the number of smokers in the US continues to decrease, cigarette butts still pose a significant trash issue. These butts can take ten years or more to decompose. During that time, not only are they unsightly, but their filters leach nicotine, tar, and other toxins into the ground, potentially affecting any person, animal, plant, or waterway it comes into contact with. Cigarette butts that end up in storm drains can and do find their way into the oceans where they release their toxic chemicals into the water or become lunch for the fish and birds.
The e-cigarette difference
E-cigs can help dramatically reduce this toxic burden. These devices use a small amount of power to vaporize e-juice containing nicotine (in most cases) and flavors. The resulting vapor is inhaled by the user, creating an experience almost exactly like smoking but without the waste, smell, ash, tar, and other harms associated with tobacco cigarettes.
Most e-cigs are reusable, requiring only the replacing of small amounts of vape juice to prepare the device for another round of vaping. That means that vapes are vastly more eco-friendly than going through pack after pack of single-use cigarettes, which not only create a ton of waste but also require shocking amounts of valuable resources to produce. In general, e-cigs are powered via rechargeable batteries for many, many uses, creating significantly less waste.
Cleaner streets, cleaner air
Vaping doesn’t only produce less waste than tobacco smoking – it also helps keep the air cleaner. Because e-cigs don’t produce smoke, they’re much less detrimental to the air quality in general. That’s true outside as well as inside, as this study reveals. In the study of indoor air pollutants such as VOCs, nicotine, carbonyls, PAHs, and glycols, researchers found that vaping causes only minimal exposures relative to traditional cigarettes. In fact, the study indicated “no apparent risk to human health from e-cigarette emissions.” And, again, because vaping does not produce smoke, it’s far better for the air quality outdoors as well and does not contribute to climate change the way that smoking does.
It’s obvious that quitting smoking is challenging – if it weren’t, almost no one would smoke. However, vaping provides an experience that’s highly comparable to smoking a regular cigarette, without the same harm to the environment. Even if you’re a pipe or cigar smoker, you can find an e-pipe or e-cigar to replicate the activity that you love without the guilt of knowing that you’re hurting our planet. Want to give vaping a try? Buy a vape online today and make a move toward a healthier planet.
