Vaping safer than smoking cigarettes - Knoxville News Sentinel

This is to the smokers and nonsmokers out there. First I want to apologize if anyone who uses electronic cigarettes has given you a bad impression or left you with negative thoughts about vaping. Most of us are ex-smokers who understand how hard it is to quit smoking. We are passionate about something that we know saved our lives. I am 54 years old and was a two-packs-a-day smoker for more than 30 years, but thanks to vaping I have been smoke free for almost six years.

Vaping has been around for more than 10 years with an estimated 10 million vapers in the U.S. alone, and in that time, there have been no deaths or major illnesses related to vaping. However, half a million people will die this year in the U.S. from tobacco-related illnesses.

Some so-called health agencies are waging a propaganda war against vaping. You are being lied to by the very people entrusted with your public health. They want to scare current smokers from trying something that is shown to be 95 percent safer and are lying to non-smokers so that they will warn friends and family members to never try vaping, even though methods approved by the Federal Drug Administration work only 6 percent of the time.

The FDA regulations going into effect Aug. 8 will begin the slow elimination of these lifesaving products over the next few years. The vaping industry welcomes sensible regulations, but what is being implemented is stricter than regulations of the cigarettes that have been proven to kill you. Does that make sense to anyone?

The next time you see a vaper, please ask us about these devices or stop by a local vape shop and they will be happy to share the truth with you.

Glenn A. Cate, Knoxville