Many researchers believe that E-cigarettes are a fantastic alternative for smokers who cannot or do not want to quit nicotine. E-cigarettes, however, are not perfect. When you switch from regular cigarettes to e-cigarettes you may experience some side effects. Fortunately, these side effects are well known and most are mild and temporary. It does help to know which side effects are caused by E-cigarettes and what you can do about them in some cases.
Researchers say that most side effects are related to throat irritations and coughing. This is not serious and also temporary. Many e-cigarette studies found no serious side effects and the result is usually that the health benefits are substantial. Many vapers themselves report both physical improvements and mild discomfort.
Common side effects
Cough
Cough is especially common when you use E-cigarettes for the first time, especially if you have a very powerful model. Cough has also been observed as a minor side effect in some studies.
Dehydration / Sore throat / Dry throat / Dry nose
These side effects are probably caused by the propylene glycol in E-juice. They can also be caused by nicotine, however it is unlikely that nicotine is the reason for these discomforts since 99% of all vapers have smoked before and would be used to nicotine use.
Limited oxygen uptake
One study claimed that E-cigarettes can temporarily cause a restricted oxygen uptake. Many researchers have disputed this; however, it is important not to mistake it for lung damage. (Many things can cause limited oxygen uptake; high humidity is one example).
Stomach pain
Some vapers have had stomach problems after switching to E-cigarettes, though there are no studies highlighting this. It also seems to be a temporary problem in most cases.
Asthma
There are people who report that their asthma worsened by using E-cigarettes. There are also vapers who claim that their asthma has improved by switching to E-cigarettes. Research on asthma actually seems to indicate that most smokers' asthma improves after switching to E-cigarettes. Read more here.
Do the side effects come from quitting smoking or from the E-cigarette?
Have you had problems with other side effects? It is actually possible that they do not come from the E-cigarette but from quitting
smoking regular cigarettes.
For example, there are vapers who have complained about mouth ulcers, a typical side effect of quitting smoking.
Propylene Glycol
Propylene glycol, a substance that absorbs water, seems to be the cause of most side effects (dehydration, sore throat, dry mouth). Fortunately there is quite a lot you can do to avoid these side effects.
Solutions:
There are a couple of things you can do:
- Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration and dry mouth.
- Find out how much PG and VG are in your E-juices. If you use an E-juice with a lot of VG you could reduce the side effects.
- Buy an E-juice with only VG.
It is not a perfect solution to use a 100% VG juice. E-liquids with a lot of VG can clog the clearomizer, stress the coil and give a smaller “throat hit”. All of that, however, is still better than starting to smoke again. Clearomizers and tanks with large air holes such as the Aspires Atlantis tank can handle a high-VG E-juice better than a regular tank. On Elekcig.se you will find a range of E-juices with 70% VG. These are suitable for vapers who have problems with PG.
Nicotine side effects
Even though nicotine has some side effects, around 99% of all vapers are former smokers. That means they are used to nicotine so that it would not cause new side effects.
Nicotine addiction
Nicotine is well known as an addictive substance. It is however the case that E-cigarettes deliver less nicotine than regular cigarettes and that other substances that cause dependency on cigarettes are not present in E-cigarettes. It is therefore possible that E-cigarettes are less addictive than regular cigarettes.
Blood pressure
Nicotine can lead to a temporary increase in blood pressure. It is however unclear whether this persists in the long term or not. Some studies have actually shown that smoking leads to a long-term decrease in blood pressure and that quitting causes an increase. Other studies showed the exact opposite.
Cancer
Many believe that nicotine causes cancer, but that is not true. Cancer is caused by inhaling smoke. There are different opinions on whether nicotine speeds up the development of cancer or not.
Other nicotine side effects
Other common side effects of nicotine include, for example:
- Irritation around the mouth
- Belching
- Headache
- Increased hunger (even though nicotine usually reduces appetite)
- Increased saliva production
- Jaw pains
- Sore throat
Nicotine overdose
Nicotine overdoses are rare among smokers and vapers. The reason for this is that nicotine users regulate themselves. They take only as much nicotine as they need and not more. If you, however, overdo it with your E-cigarette you could experience the following symptoms:
- Dizziness
- Increased heart rate
- Nausea or vomiting
- Weakness
If you experience one or more of the symptoms you should stop vaping immediately and lie down. The symptoms usually pass quite quickly.
Unproven side effects of vaping E-cigarettes
E-cigarettes have been linked to lipoid pneumonia. There was an isolated case in the United Kingdom where a vaper died from lipoid pneumonia, but there are two reasons to be skeptical:
- An isolated case of lipoid pneumonia in a population of over two million vapers does not prove that the E-cigarette caused the disease.
- Researchers have pointed out that the E-juice the patient used was based on glycerin. It is therefore impossible that it caused a lipoid pneumonia.
Positive side effects
There are of course not only negative side effects. Otherwise millions of smokers would not have switched to E-cigarettes. Here are some of the positive effects that people have experienced:
- Generally better physical health
- Improved breathing
- Improved ability to train (endurance)
- Improved sense of smell
- Improved sense of taste
- Improved sexual performance
- Less coughing
- Improvement in asthma and other conditions
Some of these positive effects have also been reported in surveys. One can therefore eventually say that it is possible that you may experience some side effects. Most of the negative effects, however, are temporary and mild. Researchers studying E-cigarettes also believe that all positive effects will eventually weigh more than the negative ones when switching from regular cigarettes to E-cigarettes.
