It’s easy to see the popularity of vapour in NZ as an alternative to smoking. Why are so many people turning to e-cigarettes, however? What about the more traditional tools designed to help people stop smoking – things like nicotine gum and patches?

To explain the vaping phenomenon, here are eight reasons why e-cigarettes help more smokers to quit than gum or patches.

1. More Effective

This is undoubtedly the most important reason, as study after study has shown that e-cigarettes are the most effective method of stopping smoking. The reality goes deeper than this, however, as e-cigarettes are not only more effective than gums or patches, they are twice as effective. This is what one of the most recent studies found.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was conducted by independent researches and involved almost 900 smokers, so was a significant study. Therefore, if your objective is to stop smoking, the research says e-cigarettes are the best tool you can use.

2. Tailor the Nicotine Level to Your Needs

One of the reasons for e-cigarettes being effective at helping people stop smoking is the fact you can control how much nicotine you inhale.

Nicotine is the substance that most smokers are addicted to. The amount of nicotine you get in gum or patches is fairly fixed, however. As a result, many smokers feel they are not getting enough.

This isn’t the case with e-cigarettes, however, as you can choose a vapour product that has enough nicotine to significantly ease your cravings for a harmful cigarette.

3. Can Slowly Reduce Nicotine Levels

Following on from the last point, you can then start to slowly reduce the levels of nicotine you inhale over time. Doing this simply involves purchasing different vapour products.

This controlled reduction in the nicotine level of your e-cigarette will help to reduce – and potentially eliminate – your addiction.

4. Your Health Will Improve

Your health will improve by choosing e-cigarettes too. This is because nicotine is believed to cause minimal damage compared to the other ingredients that are in a standard cigarette. In other words, you get the nicotine hit from an e-cigarette without the harmful side effects.

5. It’s a More Enjoyable Way to Stop Smoking

There are lots of reasons that make e-cigarettes a more enjoyable way to stop smoking compared to using patches or gum. This includes:

• The point above where you can choose the amount of nicotine you inhale, keeping any strong cravings for a standard cigarette under control
• The act of inhaling an e-cigarette closely mimics smoking, so there is less of a physical habit to break
• You’ll feel more in control of your addiction, particularly as you reduce your nicotine intake over time

6. Lots of Taste Choice

This point could have been added to the above list of reasons why using e-cigarettes is a more enjoyable way to stop smoking. However, as the flavours of e-cigarette liquids are central to the experience, it’s worth having a section on its own.

Whether you are new to vaping and are buying your first e-cigarette introduction kit, or you’re an experienced e-cigarette user, there is a world of flavours and types of vapour solution to try.

7. No Risk of Swallowing

This point applies specifically to nicotine gum. While you’re not supposed to swallow this gum,
accidents can and do happen. Many people feel nausea and have an upset stomach after swallowing nicotine gum.

This can’t happen with an e-cigarette, however, as all you are dealing with is vapour.

8. Doesn’t Cause Itchiness or Irritation

The above point was specific to gum – this one is specific to patches. Some people using nicotine patches experience itchiness and/or irritation of the skin. This is a particular problem for people with sensitive skin, although it’s not an issue when you use e-cigarettes.

For all the reasons above, vaping is your best option if you want a tool to help you quit smoking.