Woman wearing red lipstick exhales vape smoke

Vaping vs Cigarettes: Nicotine Levels and Other Differences

Cigarettes didn’t start to become a mainstream product until about 1900, and peaked in the United States in the 1960’s, when about 40% of US adults used cigarettes regularly. While cigarettes are still fairly popular today, their use has been affected greatly by the lack of public spaces that allow smoking. Vapes, however, have started to grow in popularity despite the lack of public spaces that allow smoking or aerosol nicotine device use. Since hitting the market in 2007, vapes have become the nicotine product most used by young people in the United States. While vaping and cigarettes seem to have a lot in common, the nicotine levels between the two differ drastically.

Woman wearing red lipstick exhales vape smoke

The Basics of Vaping

Vapes are a form of e-cigarette that don’t use tobacco; however, they do still contain nicotine in large amounts. Instead of using a lighter to light the tobacco, vape pens heat the liquid (also called vape juice) that contains the nicotine so it becomes a vapor that can be easily inhaled by the user.

Vape juices are typically sold in a variety of different flavors, usually fruity or minty, to make them more appealing than cigarettes, which are often vilified for the smell of the smoke. Vape juice nicotine levels also differ from tobacco cigarettes in that it contains a much higher nicotine level. Vape juice cartridges are typically available in a variety of different nicotine levels. These can range from 0mg/ml to 20mg/ml, which is incredibly strong. For reference, 12mg/ml is the average nicotine level of a cigarette.

While vaping is advertised as a tobacco-free option and typically marketed to younger people, it’s not actually much healthier for you. So far, experts say that vaping transfers less carcinogens into the body, but vaping is still dangerous because the nicotine levels are so high, which makes vaping highly addictive. Trying to stop vaping can be harder than trying to stop smoking cigarettes, because the nicotine withdrawal can be a lot more powerful due to the amount of nicotine that your body is used to.

Man inhaling from a lit cigarette

The Basics of Cigarettes

Cigarettes are made up of four basic components: a paper wrapping, a filter, tobacco, and a compound of chemical additives. Many people still choose to “roll-their-own” cigarettes, in which they add their own tobacco to a wrapping paper. This typically isn’t healthier for you, but it does allow you to choose your own tobacco and papers, which can affect the nicotine levels in each cigarette.

The average nicotine level in a cigarette is 10-12 mg per cigarette, and the average smoker will only absorb about 1-2 mg of nicotine per cigarette. While this nicotine intake is a lot less than the intake for a vape, cigarette users are also inhaling a lot more than just tobacco and nicotine. Cigarettes contain harmful, cancer-causing carcinogens that are dangerous not only for the user but also for anyone in the user’s vicinity.

Lung health can go downhill significantly and rapidly due to smoking cigarettes. Cigarette users are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer than non-smokers. Even cigarette smokers who only smoke occasionally are putting themselves at significantly higher risk for cancer.

Lifestyle Effects of Cigarettes and Vapes

Besides the addictive nicotine levels in a cigarette and vape, indulging in these habits can have long-term effects on your life and relationships. Being a smoker can be very harmful to your heart and lungs, and can hinder performance playing sports, exercising, and even being intimate with your partner. If you have any health conditions prior to starting smoking or vaping, adding smoking or vaping to your daily routine is likely to exacerbate those health conditions, sometimes even accelerating their progress.

Being a smoker or vaper can even affect your chances of getting a job or housing. Some jobs might require a cotinine test to determine the nicotine levels in your body. Apartments and houses managed by rental companies are less likely to approve you for lease terms if you use cigarettes or vapes. 

Relationships can also be affected by smoking or vaping if your partner or family don’t also participate in nicotine use. You’ll often be relegated to smoking or vaping outside during family outings, trips, and even in your own house if your lease stipulates that you must smoke or vape outside.

Detoxing from Cigarettes and Vapes

Quitting cigarettes or vaping can be really hard on your physical and mental health. Even if you aren’t quitting for good and you just need to detox for a few days so you can test into a new job or a more comprehensive insurance policy, there are products that can make it easier. Whether you’re trying to recover from the nicotine levels of cigarettes or of vape juice,products like NicoClean Detox can make your nicotine detoxification process easier, safer, and more bearable.

This three-day detox program is created in an FDA-approved facility by board-certified pharmacists to make your nicotine detox stress-free. Made with a blend of five all-natural herbs and vitamins, NicoClean is proven to make your detox last half the time of other nicotine detoxification products, and a quarter of the time it would take to detox without any withdrawal intervention at all.

This detox is vegan (even the gelatin capsules are made with vegetarian gelatin), as well as being organic and Good Manufacturing Practice certified. Each kit contains a three-day supply of the detox supplements as well as detailed instructions and three cotinine test strips so you can make sure your detox is working.

When you’re looking to eliminate nicotine levels from your body, NicoClean Detox is here to help.

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