Since the beginning of time, man has always had this obsession with smoking tobacco. Today we recognise how dangerous it is to our health but yet we still do it. There are also a list of condiments and chemicals that are found in most modern tobacco products.

Once upon a time, an American man by the name of Herbert Gilbert invented the first ever ‘smokeless' non-tobacco cigarette. The idea was to substitute burning paper and tobacco with flavoured steam, or vapour, which contains nicotine. It was not until 2004 that this product essentially hit the market thanks to a man by the name of Hon Lik from China who was able to effectively market the product.

The jury is still out as to whether or not vaping is safe or healthy, however most people would agree that it is a much healthier and safer substitute to traditional cigarettes. Here are a few deciders on which is better:

The Tar:

One main factor would be tar. There is none present in vapour whereas smoking anything will produce a thick and toxic by-product. If you blow cigarette smoke out on a napkin it will turn yellow instantly however with vapour it will stay white. This gives us an idea as to what it may be doing to the within our lungs.

The Costs:

Some smokers say they cannot afford vape gear to help them quit but let us do some math. A pack of cigarettes costs almost R20-40 so that means you could buy a complete setup for R1200, the price of smoking a pack a day for a month. The price of juice varies greatly but R150 would buy you a bottle that could last anywhere from 1 day to a couple of weeks, of course contingent on how often you vape and what kind of e-juice you are purchasing.

The Chemicals:

One significant thing to note is that when we are talking about e-liquid, we are only endorsing that you use trusted companies that create their liquid in sterile environments in SA and other countries with comparable regulations.

In cigarettes there are a number of deadly additives such as Hydrogen Cyanide, Carbon Monoxide and Formaldehyde, just to name a few. There has been a new article showing the formation of Formaldehyde in e-liquid at high temperatures. This study has been exposed many times and even disputed by the actual scientists that led the experiment.