Quitting smoking is probably one of the best things you can do for your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ in your body, including your heart. Nearly one-third of deaths from heart disease are the result of smoking and passive smoking.

Nicotine is the primary agent in regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and it is highly addictive. It causes you to crave a smoke and suffer withdrawal symptoms if you ignore the craving. Nicotine is a toxic substance. It raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack.

You may want to turn to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes, vape pens, and other non-disposable and disposable vaping devices) as a way to ease the transition from traditional cigarettes to not smoking at all.

E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings, and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic. While we don’t know exactly what chemicals are in e-cigarettes, common wisdom says there is almost no doubt that vaping exposes you to fewer toxic chemicals than smoking traditional cigarettes.

It’s a myth that secondhand emissions from e-cigarettes are harmless. Many people think that secondhand vapor is just water, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The vapor emitted when someone exhales contains a variety of dangerous substances, which may include:

• Nicotine
• Ultrafine particles
• Diacetyl
• Benzene (a chemical found in car exhaust!)

Although secondhand vapor may not affect the lungs the same way as vaping, it is better to avoid it, if possible.