[:en]The vaping industry has come under a bit of fire in recent months and years. The industry has been growing rapidly, but there is question about the true effects of vaping products on your health.
Offering vaping products can be a potentially controversial issue at your c-store chain. And you may have a bit of a moral dilemma with vaping products also.
So here’s what to know about vaping products as you consider whether they’re a wise offering for your c-store chain:
1. Vaping Does Cause Less Harm than Traditional Smoking
On the positive side, vaping doesn’t use nearly as many chemicals as traditional smoking, which can include up to 7,000 chemicals in the standard cigarette. E-cigarettes also have much lower concentrations of these chemicals.
Currently, we don’t know all the chemicals present in e-cigarettes. And we don’t fully understand their long-term effects either.
However, you can be quite confident vaping products cause much less harm than traditional cigarettes. One study even found they may cause as much as 95% less harm.
2. But Vaping Is Still Addictive and Awful for Your Health
Nicotine is the primary agent in both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes. It’s highly addictive. If you keep smoking e-cigarettes and suddenly stop, you will experience withdrawal and craving to begin vaping again.
Nicotine also increases your heart rate and the possibility of a heart attack.
Nicotine is present in similar amounts in both cigarettes and e-cigarettes. However, you can buy extra-strength cartridges which include even more nicotine for your e-cigarette.
So, e-cigarettes are still just as addictive as traditional cigarettes, and can even be more addictive.
3. E-Cigarettes Don’t Work That Well for Quitting Smoking
E-cigarette use has skyrocketed among high-school age teens. They rightfully believe vaping e-cigarettes is less harmful than traditional smoking, while overlooking the fact that e-cigarettes are still far less healthy than not vaping at all.
Plus, e-cigarette makers also create flavors teens will like to get them hooked, such as watermelon.
The FDA has actually not approved e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation device. Truly, the best way to quit involves some combination of stopping smoking altogether, possibly using a nicotine replacement medication, and talking to a counselor.
So, those are the facts. You have quite the conundrum on your hands when making the decision to offer these products or not. But it’s a decision only you can make.[:]
