A Clearer “PATH” to Vaping

Vaping, despite its enormous popularity around the world, is a relatively new market.  The first e-cigarette hit stores around 2008, and since then, technology has evolved in a way that allows former smokers to experience more satisfaction than ever before.  Although the vaping industry is at an all-time high, the general public as well as United States health organizations are still showing some reluctance when it comes to acknowledging that this technology can really help people quit cigarettes and stay off of them for good.

Needless to say, the vaping industry desperately needs researchers to demonstrate that this technology works.  The more positive studies about vaping, the more people will recognize that they can use this technology to quit smoking.  That’s why the vaping community is so excited about the new PATH (Public Assessment of Tobacco and Health) study.  This recent study shows that vapers are very likely to successfully ditch their tobacco habit when they begin using e-cigarettes as a replacement for traditional cigarettes.

As you’ll see, this study makes a very strong case for quitting smoking in favor of vaping.  While smoking cessation tools have been on the market for decades, vaping seems to be becoming the method of choice, and for good reason.

The PATH Study: The Relationship Between Vaping and Smoking Cessation

The PATH study set out to demonstrate that vaping is an extremely effective smoking cessation tool.  The team of researchers enlisted a group of participants who were ready to attempt to quit smoking using vaping technology.  78 percent of the participants had never used an e-cigarette or vaping product in their life, while the rest had, on occasion, used a vaping device without actually giving up their cigarette habit.

The study observed the participants for two years, starting with the time that they had their last cigarette in order to begin vaping.  It’s important to point out that during this two-year period, the participants were not using any other smoking cessation products or methods.

The study concluded, based on the data gathered, that vaping is 77 percent likely to act as an effective smoking cessation tool.  In other words, if you were to quit smoking today and start vaping, you’d be 77 percent likely to never feel the need to smoke a cigarette again in your life.  The study went on to state that there seems to be a much higher likelihood that a person will completely quit smoking if they vape every day as opposed to vaping occasionally.  In other words, it’s most effective when the user treats their e-cigarette like they would analog cigarettes, taking puffs when they feel a nicotine craving coming on.

So, what is it about vaping that makes it extremely effective for people trying to quit cigarettes?  After all, products like nicotine gums and nicotine patches have been on the market for years, and yet they don’t boast such impressive numbers.  Many believe that vaping’s ability to help a person quit has to do with the fact that it best mimics the act of smoking while providing users with a controlled amount of nicotine to satisfy their cravings.  Many of today’s vaping products look and feel like cigarettes, and they allow the user to enjoy the physical sensation of inhaling and exhaling vapor.  Smoking experts believe that the physical act of smoking can be just as addictive as the nicotine itself.

How the World is Embracing Vaping as a Smoking Cessation Method

The PATH study isn’t the first to state that vaping can be used as an effective smoking cessation tool.  Both France and England have funded studies in order to prove that this technology can be used to help people quit smoking.  These studies have been used to promote vape-friendly legislation that makes it easy for smokers to have access to vaping products so that they can finally stop smoking.  In fact, studies like these have led England to support doctors encouraging their patients who smoke to switch to e-cigarettes.

Still, the United States is not as excited about the vaping industry as are many countries in Europe.  The FDA is still struggling to figure out how to regulate the vaping industry, and the American Lung Association won’t acknowledge vaping as a smoking cessation tool, continuing to promote more traditional methods like nicotine patches.    

Why the PATH Study is So Important to the Vaping Industry’s Future

You can understand why the PATH study is so monumental.  In the United States, vaping is not seen in such a positive light compared to how things are in other countries.  Because of this, there remains a stigma surrounding the vaping industry, and this can get in the way of Americans who want to use this technology to quit smoking.

Today, about 12 percent of Americans are daily smokers.  Meanwhile, about 5 percent are daily vapers.  As more and more studies like this come out, the general public will feel more comfortable switching to vaping so that they can put an end to their cigarette habit.  This is why studies like these really help the vaping industry.  The vaping industry has helped countless people around the world quit smoking, and pro-vaping studies help more and more smokers trust that the industry can benefit them when it’s time to throw out that final pack of smokes.

Vaping’s Next True “PATH”

Anyone who has been vaping for years knows that this technology is fully capable of helping them leave cigarettes behind once and for all.  But, what’s important is that the general public and major health organizations recognize this as well so that they can keep the industry alive while making e-cigarette products highly accessible to people who wish to quit smoking.  The PATH study is extremely valuable as it provides the public with hard evidence that vaping can, indeed, work as a smoking cessation tool.  We hope that in the years to come, more and more studies validate the notion that vaping really can help a person quit for good.