These Memes Reveal Some Funny Truths About Vaping

Each of these images doing the rounds on social media sites is driving home an important message to all smokers and non-smokers out there. Check out what they're actually saying and the supporting evidence available in the public sphere.

Meme #1: Keep Calm It's Just Vapor

Vaporized e-liquid is made up of non-toxic substances, which include water.

The e-cigarette aerosols consisted mainly of glycerin or propylene glycol (70 percent to 85 percent), water (10 percent to 19 percent), flavoring (3 percent to 11 percent) and nicotine (1 percent to 2 percent).

While the long-term effects of inhaling these substances haven't been studied, the quantity they were being consumed is still safer and healthier compared to the list of carcinogenic nitrosamines and other toxic fumes found in cigarette smoke.

This sentiment is supported by a 2013 study on e-cig vapor by Igor Burstyn of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Current state of knowledge about chemistry of liquids and aerosols associated with electronic cigarettes indicates that there is no evidence that vaping produces inhalable exposures to contaminants of the aerosol that would warrant health concerns by the standards that are used to ensure safety of workplaces.

However, the aerosol generated during vaping as a whole (contaminants plus declared ingredients) creates personal exposures that would justify surveillance of health among exposed persons in conjunction with investigation of means to keep any adverse health effects as low as reasonably achievable. Exposures of bystanders are likely to be orders of magnitude less, and thus pose no apparent concern.

Meme #2: 30 Days of Cigarette Waste vs. 30 Days of Ecig Waste

Cigarette butts are the single most abundant trash in beaches, botanical gardens, nature trails, sidewalks and other public places. Other related trash includes plastic wrappers, aluminum foils, and cigarette cartons. No-Smoke.org reports that:

Cigarette butts are more than mere litter; environmental and health groups are just now appreciating the seriousness of the butt problem, from bio-accumulation of poisons up the food chain to damage to commercial fisheries and water supplies.

A recent study showed that cigarette waste easily meets standardized tests for city and state agencies to label a substance as toxic waste. This hazardous material persists in the environment for some time and is often ingested by aquatic creatures, wildlife, and pets, not to mention small children, who suffer serious health problems as a result.

Now, compare that to a single pre-filled tank or a dead cartomizer that's been discarded. Some people like to refurbish and build their tanks and mods. They avoid throwing anything away until they've done everything they can to fix and upgrade each part of their vaping gear.

Meme #3: Lord, Give Me Coffee to Change Things I Can, Wine to Forget the Things I Can't, and 30 ml of E-juice so I Can Figure Out the Difference

Surprisingly, nicotine in e-juice when taken in moderation actually helps vapers think clearly and creatively. Danish researchers revealed that:

The brain works better when it gets nicotine - almost like an optimized computer. Nicotine is a "work-drug" that enables its consumers to focus better and think faster.

The same article mentioned that further testing also revealed "...nicotine users had significantly better outcomes - including gross motor skills, long-term memory, semantic memory, arithmetic & complex calculations."

Meme #4: Vape On You Shall, Calm You Will Keep

Apparently, nicotine has a calming effect on the mind. No less than one of the greatest minds in human history said that:

"I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs," Einstein was once quoted as saying in 1950.

It seems that nicotine's many benefits - namely, increased mental focus, better memory, enhanced creativity, and highly improved cognitive functions - are similar to that of caffeine, which was also a favorite of Einstein.

Meme #5: Vaping is not a fad; it's a lifestyle.

Some people seem to think that vaping is just a fad and that vapers will get over their cloud chasing and cold building as soon as there's a new thing that catches their interest and imagination. This isn't what vaping is all about.

At its core, vaping is a lifestyle. It's a commitment towards quitting cigarettes and living a healthier lifestyle without putting one's body in an inordinate amount of stress when going cold turkey. In fact, vaping is a far safer alternative to smoking for those who aren't ready yet to end their infatuation with nicotine.