Public Health England have published their latest experiment as part of their Health Harms campaign, demonstrating the shocking different between the effects of smoking and the effects of using an e-cigarette.
The short film and accompanying news release aim to give smokers a visual idea of the nasty toxic substances that are entering their body with each cigarette, in the hopes of encouraging people to give up the habit.
They are also hoping to dispel the misconceptions are still held by many regarding the safety of e-cig.
The Video
In the short film published by PHE, Dr Lion Shahab and Dr Rosemary Leonard carry out an experiment using bell jars to demonstrate the impact that smoking, vaping and not smoking have on our lungs.
The experiment is based on the average monthly smoking habits in the UK, with cotton wool balls inside the bell jar ‘lung’ absorbing anything that is ‘breathed in’ during the experiment.
The bell jar that was inhaling combustible cigarettes during the experiment showed a shocking result, with the cotton wool contents stained a disturbing shade of brown and the tubing full of tar build up.
As the contents are emptied, Dr Rosemary Leonard wipes a piece of the cotton wool across a sheet of paper, leaving a stark brown stain.
The bell jar that was inhaling vapour for the experiment barely differs from the one inhaling normal air, with the exception of a small amount of condensation on the glass, the cotton wool has not changed and there is no build-up of any kind in the tubing.
What Does the Experiment Demonstrate?
The short film shows the glaringly obvious difference between the effects of smoking verses vaping.
The tar that had built up in the tubing and the cotton wool in the jar which had been ‘smoking’ is the same tar that builds up in the lungs of smokers, and contains countless harmful, toxic and poisonous chemicals.
These harmful things that are released upon the combustion of tobacco can cause over 50 different life-threatening health conditions including heart disease and cancer.
On the other hand, vaping has been proven to be at least 95% less harmful than smoking as it does not release the harmful chemicals that smoking does. The lack of all these dangerous chemicals is never more obvious than when the clean white cotton wool of the ‘vaping’ bell jar is compared to the tar sodden, brown cotton wool of the ‘smoking’ bell jar.
Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at Public Health England, says:
“It would be tragic if thousands of smokers who could quit with the help of an e-cigarette are being put off due to false fears about safety. We need to reassure smokers that switching to an e-cigarette would be much less harmful than smoking. This demonstration highlights the devastating harms caused by every cigarette and helps people see that vaping is likely to pose only a fraction of the risk.
“We want to encourage more smokers to try and quit completely with the help of an e-cigarette, or by using other nicotine replacement such as patches or gum, as this will significantly improve their chances of success.”
- Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at Public Health England
It is anticipated that at least half a million smokers will attempt to give up smoking this January, and PHE have published this information in the hopes that many will choose to do so with the help of a provenly successful stop smoking aide such as an e-cigarette, rather than going ‘cold-turkey’ which is found the be the least effective method and to often lead to a return to smoking.
If you are hoping to give up smoking this January and would like to learn more about the options available to you, search ‘smokefree’ online.
If you would advice and help with finding an e-cigarette, pop into your local Evapo store and speak with a team member, we also have lots of useful information and articles about making the switch from smoking to vaping available on our blog.
Sources:
EvapoHub YouTube - SmokeFree Smoking Vs Vaping Comparison
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-46697036/smoking-v-vaping-watch-lab-test-results
