Script

Stimulants are a class of drugs that speed up messages traveling between the
brain and body, which would increase alertness, attention and energy. But today we
want to narrow our topic down to smoking and vaping which are also an act of using
stimulants. The question that we want to answer today is “Should people quit
smoking by switching to vaping?”. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can
do for your health - smoking harms nearly every organ in your body. You might turn to
electronic cigarettes as a way to ease the transition from traditional cigarettes to not
smoking at all. But is smoking e-cigarettes better for you than using tobacco products?
Can e-cigarettes help you to stop smoking once and for all? Let’s figure it out.
1. Definition:
+ Traditional smoking?
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is
typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly,
the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have been rolled into
a small rectangle of rolling paper to create a small, round cylinder called a cigarette.

Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. Tobacco
smoking is the most popular form, being practiced by over one billion people globally, of
whom the majority are in the developing countries.

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has
ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year around the world.

+ E-cigarettes/ Vaping?

An electronic cigarette is an electronic device that simulates tobacco smoking. It

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 E-cigarettes create an aerosol, often called vapor, made of particulate matter.
The vapor typically contains propylene glycol, glycerin, nicotine, flavors, and many
more. Its exact composition varies, and depends on several things including user
behavior
2. Agreement:
+ Vaping is not as harmful as smoking.

E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adults who smoke and who are not
pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked
tobacco products. Many experts all agree that vaping is safer than smoking cigarettes.
PHE says vaping is “at least 95% less harmful.” Because there is no combustion in
vaping, there is no smoke, and smoke is what creates the tar and carbon monoxide that
lead to most of the long-term health damage from smoking. The health benefits of being
smoke-free include improved lung and heart function, and even better senses of smell
and taste.

+ Cheaper.

The average price was $5.86 per pack of cigarettes, $9.80 per disposable e-
cigarette, and $19.11 per reusable e-cigarette. The vaping market is large and
competitive. There are lots of products in every price range - from 10 dollars to
hundreds—that can suit almost any user. Whether you want a simple disposable e-cig,
or a sophisticated vape mod and premium e-liquid, there’s a vape out there that you can
start using today.
+ It actually helps

To date, the few studies on the issue are mixed. A Cochrane Reviewexternal
icon found evidence from two randomized controlled trials that e-cigarettes with nicotine
can help adults who smoke stop smoking in the long term compared with placebo (non-
nicotine) e-cigarettes. Many thousands of people in the UK have already stopped
smoking with the help of an e-cigarette. There's growing evidence that they can be
effective.

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 A major UK clinical trial published in 2019 found that, when combined with expert
face-to-face support, people who used e-cigarettes to quit smoking were twice as likely
to succeed as people who used other nicotine replacement products, such as patches
or gum. Using an e-cigarette can help you manage your nicotine cravings, because
vaping gives you full control over your nicotine dosage. You can choose exactly how
strong and how much nicotine is in your vape - or use no nicotine at all. Most vapers
tend to start off with high nicotine levels and gradually work their way down to lower
strengths, or even eliminate nicotine completely.

3. Disagreement:
+ Vaping is less harmful but still not harmless:
HEALTH:
There’s almost no doubt that vaping exposes you to fewer toxic chemicals than
traditional smoking. However, e-cigarettes still contain high levels of nicotine, and there
has been an outbreak of lung injuries and deaths associated with vaping. In February
2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 2,807 cases
and 68 deaths attributed to that condition.
Research also reveals thousands of chemical ingredients in vape products, most
of which are not yet identified. At the end of the day, we don't know what they do to
cardiovascular disease, we don't know what they do to reproductive health, and we
don't know what they do to mental illness. That means the safety for those things has
not been established.
+ Is not the best smoking cessation.
Vaping may normalize smoking again as it becomes more popular. A recent
study found that most people who intended to use e-cigarettes to kick the nicotine habit
ended up continuing to use traditional cigarettes.
Although they’ve been promoted as an aid to help you quit smoking, e-cigarettes
have not received Food and Drug Administration FDA approval as smoking cessation
devices. And the CDC also advises people who use this method should first consider
choosing other FDA-approved options like nicotine replacement therapy.

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+ A new generation is getting hooked on nicotine.
Among youth, e-cigarettes are more popular than any traditional tobacco product.
According to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 2 million U.S. middle
and high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2021.
There are three reasons why vaping is so attractive to young people. First, many
teens believe vaping is less harmful than smoking. Second, they have lower per-use
cost than traditional ones. Finally, peer pressure - their friends encourage them to try e-
cigarettes and to keep doing so.
The most concerning issue about the rise of vaping is that people who would’ve
never smoked, especially teenagers, are taking up the habit. And, getting hooked on
nicotine often leads to using traditional tobacco products down the road.
Moreover, addiction to vaping can impact the ability to focus. Although vaping
initially increases their alertness and attention, long-term use would result in a decrease
in attention span which would especially bring trouble for teenagers in their learning
process. For example, when they start craving during an exam, they can’t think of
questions, and just start to feel anxious.
4. Conclusion:
In conclusion, breathing any smoke into your lungs unnecessarily is not ideal,
and that’s why non-smokers should not vape. But we believe, for those who smoke,
switching to vaping is considered as a way to cut down on your smoking habit and it is
likely to substantially reduce health risks.
However, the risks associated with long-term vaping are unknown. While vaping
is less harmful than smoking it is unlikely to be totally harm free. Ideally, smokers who
are vaping to quit smoking should eventually stop vaping too.