The shocking test results showing the several damages cigarette can do have been released on the internet for all consumers to see.
A shocking new film revealed how the tar and toxic chemicals inhaled by an average smoker in just a month compares with using an e-cigarette or not smoking at all.
The footage was released by Public Health England from an experiment to show the effect of smoking and how it can be avoided using vaping products or other types of aid.
The film was part of the PHE’s Health campaign and it is released on the internet and social media to show the damage that every single cigarette can do and encourage smokers to try to quit this January.
Research shows that about half (44%) of smokers either do not know that smoking poses lower risks to health or wrongly believe vaping is as harmful as smoking.
PHE is encouraging half a million smokers to use its personal quit plan to increase their chance of giving up on smoking or kick the habit out this January.
The film showed an experiment conducted by Dr. Rosemary Leonard and Dr. Lion Shahab to visually demonstrate the high level of tar and cancer-inducing chemicals inhaled by an average smoker over a period of one month compared with using e-cigarettes.
Vape VRS Smoking
The lungs were represented by three bell jars and the experiment mimics the effect of inhaling tobacco smoke, normal air, and e-cigarette vape.
A continual and equal draw of air was provided by a diaphragm pump attached to each bell jar- one set up to vape e-cigarettes, another to smoke tobacco cigarettes and the third used as the control with just air drawn through it.
By the end of this short-term experiment, the inside of the bell jar and the cotton wool in the tobacco bell jar is brown but the tube attached to the air pumps is made thicker with tar.
In comparison, there was no visible change in the cotton wool placed in the e-cigarette bell jar but some water vapor was on it with a slight discoloration inside the e-liquid content.
The control bell jar remains intact while the inner part of the bell jar had few droplets.
Professor John Newton, the PHE director said the experiment shows a contrast between the impacts of vaping and smoking.
Research estimates that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking, but not completely risk-free.
Prof Newton said: “false fears about safety can actually put off thousands of smokers who could have quitted smoking with the help of e-cigarettes”
“We need to emphasize and reassure smokers of the much less harmful effect of e-cigarettes than smoking”
“This demonstration helps people to see that vaping is likely to cause only a fraction of the risk associated with every cigarette.”
“We want to show smokers how to increase their chance of quitting smoking with the help of e-cigarettes or other nicotine replacements such as gum or patches.”
“Our free online Personal Quit plan will help you find the right support you need to stop smoking”
“Thousands of smokers are still falsely believing that e-cigarette is as harmful as smoking which prevents them from switching to e-cigarettes to help them quit”- said Dr. Shahab, an associate professor in health psychology at University College London.
“I hope people could see how much less effect they can get from using e-cigarettes than smoking tobacco products.”
“E-cigarettes and other nicotine replacement such as gum or patches can help you quit smoking successfully.”
Smoking can cause more than 50 health conditions including heart disease, cancer, and double risks of dying from a stroke.
Six in 10 smokers in England want to quit smoking but rely solely on will power- or by going turkey which is the least effective measure.
The combination of effective stop-smoking support methods has been proven to be the most effective measure to help quit smoking and recent research suggests that those who quit using e-cigs are less likely to go back to smoking.
The PHE’s Personal Quit Plan helps smokers find the right support and help them quit by taking into account the support measure used previously and how much they smoke.
We hope this experiment will encourage smokers to see vaping as a less harmful option to quit smoking. You are never too old to quit smoking.”
PHE said smokers should search “Smoke-free” on the internet to find the best way to help them quit smoking this year.