Every day, in France, several hundred smokers stop their tobacco consumption with the help of vaping. According to the barometer of Santé Publique France 2017, since its emergence about ten years ago, vaping has helped some one million French people to stop smoking. 

Today, OpenSciences is analysing the main reasons for its undeniable efficiency in smoking cessation.   

  1. A vaper absorbs nicotine in the same way as a smoker. By inhaling a vapour containing the molecule, it uses the large exchange surface of the pulmonary alveoli located at the ends of the lungs. Thus, it can, with good inhalation technique, assimilate nicotine almost as rapidly as a smoker.   

Therefore, with vaping users experience much less the symptoms of nicotinic shortage that smokers experience, who attempt to quit by other means.

  1. However, it would be too simplistic to consider tobacco dependency as just a need for nicotine. The psychological, behavioural and environmental dimensions of this addiction are increasingly being studied and understood. Unlike other nicotinic substitutes, vaping offers an exhaustive response to the various aspects of tobacco addiction.    

The sensations that vaping obtains are infinitely more pleasant than using a patch or a nasal spray. For the first time, it’s no longer necessary to suffer to stop smoking, for some it even becomes a pleasure.

  1. Another valuable advantage of vaping compared to nicotinic substitutes is its capacity to adapt to the needs of the user. Vaping is not a one-off practice but pluralistic. The variety of equipment, liquid and performance found in vaping is one of the great strengths of this smoking cessation tool. Each smoker is different. They are specifically dependent. So, it is much more relevant to offer them an alternative that is specific to them rather than a general treatment. Vaping offers an individual and personalised solution.

These undeniable benefits combined with a low toxicological risk, allows vaping to offer a very useful benefit/risk balance. However, its empiric development and the absence of study by public institutions and by the medical community for this solution are the source of imperfections and irresponsible behaviour that should be removed.  

Its potential in the fight against smoking is nonetheless exceptional and is only waiting to be used for its fair value.