NEWS
Could e-cigarettes stop your
cravings for sweets and chocolate?
Many smokers report that one of
the unwanted side-effects of
giving up smoking is that they
put on weight.
It is easy to see why this might happen
because people turn to sweets or
snacks to put into their mouths
instead of a cigarette.
In addition, nicotine is an appetite
suppressant so when you quit smoking
then you feel more hungry than you
did before.
But what happens when people decide
to substitute smoking for vaping?
Well e-liguids can still contain nicotine
(although not all do) so you are still
getting your nicotine hit but without all
the nasty side-effects of inhaling
tobacco smoke.
The often-quoted statistic that vaping
is around 95 per cent less harmful than
smoking reflects the really nasty and
harmful chemicals and other compounds
found in tobacco smoke. As nothing is
burned in an e-cigarette these highly
toxic compounds are not
present at all.
So ex-smokers who have taken up
vaping may find that they don’t get so
much of a craving for sweets and snacks
as those who decided to quit smoking by,
for example, going cold-turkey.
Also vaping mimics smoking to the
extent that you are inhaling on a device
in much the same way as you would
inhale on a cigarette. However you are
inhaling vaporised liquid rather than
inhaling the products of combustion, but
the process is much the same.
Because of this, there has been much
discussion on social media sites that a
lot of ex-smokers who have turned to
vaping find that they do not put on
20 ISSUE 07 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
any weight at all because they are not
reaching for the snacks at all.
Some ex-smokers have actually reported
that they lost weight since switching from
smoking but I am not expecting to see
e-cigarettes being marketed as a weight
loss tool any time soon.
Regular vapers will know that some of
the most popular flavours of e-liquid are
candies, sweets and desserts.
Could it be that vapers with a sweet
tooth find that their caramel, chocolate
custard or donut vapes satisfy their
cravings for sweet things?
I don’t think there have been any
scientific studies done on the subject, at
least not yet, but the answer seems to be
that it is at least a possibility.
Some vapers who favour the really
sweet e-liquids have said the sweetness
of the vape product is all they need and
they snack on candy and cakes less
as a result.
However others say the taste of the vape
makes them sometimes want to eat a
nice custard donut or chocolate bar so
the answer is far from clear.
One vaper posted on Reddit earlier
this year: “Whenever I get a craving for
something sweet, I just vape instead of
eating a sleeve of Oreos,” and many
other vapers reported having
similar feelings themselves.
A controlled scientific
s tudy on this
issue would
be really
interesting indeed. In fact the more
research into vaping the better, as it can
lead to the general public being more
aware of the huge differences between
smoking
and vaping.
It is still disturbing that so many people
think that when it comes to effects on
one’s health, that smoking and vaping
are about equally as bad.
I suppose the tendency for regulators to
lump smoking and vaping together does
not help but that is a debate for
another time.
Finally if you do come across any
research on the effects vaping and
weight loss or cravings for sweet things
then let us know. Also feel free to share
your stories with us via our social media
pages - facebook.com/Vapouround/ - or
Twitter @vapouround.