VAPING AND SMOKING AS HOBBIES NOWADAYS: ALL THE WHYs?
Vaping and smoking are becoming more and more popular today. People, living in the 21st century cannot spend time drinking and being on the booze for days, they use the more convenient drug for relaxation – nicotine. They can take it and still function in society. Smoking is not only accepted but also prestigious within our community. Media culture shows us movies with a big cheese and his friends smoking cigars together, for example. The other popular media picture is people smoking after intercourse as an additional pleasure activity.
When we talk about vaping, the focus is shifted, which, by the way, makes vapes not less popular among people. Vaping is seen not only as a hobby for young people. It is also stereotypically believed not to be as harmful as smoking is. With the appearance of the first e-cigs, all the schoolboys dreamt of trying it, and when someone managed to get it, all were standing in line to try it. Now vaping is not more perceived as a healthier alternative to smoking.
Using cigarettes or pod vapes is just seen as a choice of different activities. Some people tend to smoke more, some people are more into vaping, some combine both activities, and all of them are completely satisfied with their choice. However, talking about vaping and smoking, can we say that these activities are entirely ok in the modern world?
We cannot say so. The reason for such an answer is that both vaping and smoking have plenty of adverse side effects, and both using a usual cig and a vape pod is terrible for the surrounding people and the environment.
WHAT ARE THE BASIC CONS OF SMOKING AND VAPING?
SMOKING:
- Despite the feeling of relaxing, smoking does not help in solving issues that are the pain of your neck. Smoking does not make you relaxed; it, on the contrary, irritates, especially during the withdrawal period.
- Smoke makes your skin, nails, teeth, and the things around you (for example, walls, furniture, towels, etc) yellowish. Besides, everything smells which makes you feel uncomfortable among other people
- Smoke impairs the bloodstream to carry oxygen, and many organs within the body do not receive enough oxygen to function correctly.
- It merely steals your time. You cannot start working without a cigarette being smoked with your colleagues. The same goes for any activity you have to do.
VAPING:
- Even the most expensive substances for the best pod vape for e-liquid make you intoxicated. The chemicals in e liquids differ, and we cannot say that all of them are dangerous in the same way, but all of them are harmful.
- E liquids might provoke allergies. Most of the flavored liquids are still based on some real food components. This means that consuming too much walnut liquid might make you allergic to nuts.
- Batteries do not always work correctly. The facts of the battery explosion are well-known. Such an explosion might damage your face or even kill you.
- Vaping might cause popcorn lungs, which means that vaping damages the smallest airways in your lungs, and the initial aftermaths are cough and shortness of breath.
These are not full lists of the dangers that vaping can cause in your life. However, even these are quite strong to show that the basic stereotype about smoking is that people who do sports do not smoke has some grounds.
YOUR SPORTS PERFORMANCE: HOW MANY PUFFS YOU NEED TO RUIN YOUR SPORTS CAREER?
After even such a short overview of the adverse effects that vaping and smoking has, we have to skim through more details of the interdependence of these activities and sports performance.
The reasons for those who either smoke or vape to have lower sports performance are:
- Lesser muscular strength and flexibility;
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure make it more difficult for you to do sports;
- Restless sleep patterns, even insomnia sometimes;
- Less effect from training is taken by the organism;
- Being more prone to injuries and fractures, and possible sprains, bursitis, or tendonitis;
- More time spent to be cured and healed in case of some injury of disease and high risks of complications during surgery;
- Possible inflammation not only in the lungs but also in bones and joints, which might cause rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, low back pain, etc.
- Problems with weight gain and weight loss;
- The distribution of fat in mainly abdominal or “central, apple-shaped” zone;
- Lower physical endurance;
- Nicotine withdrawal makes you less active and impairs training, which lasts for about four hours without smoking break for a professional athlete;
- Short breath and smaller lung capacity;
- Dehydration is one of the possible effects of vaping, which is caused by some special elements found in e-liquid;
- The last, but never least is nicotine addiction – the possible problem that would kick you out of the sport (basically because most of the rehabs require inpatient mode and also you will have to consume some medications which might make your exercising impossible.
Though even the best pod system vape or cigarette does not guarantee that you would not have health problems, smoking and vaping might also have some positive effects on your results in sport. The thing is that your body would need some time to adjust to the nicotine and other factors, then your body would need to adapt to more complex training and competitions.
- The hemoglobin increases are possible with smoking or using pod vape with a liquid containing nicotine, which is an evident benefit for a sportsperson;
- The lower weight you have, the easier it is to take endurance sports. Smoking stimulates weight loss, even though, on average, a person who smokes eats more calories a day.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has not banned nicotine, so officially nicotine cannot badly influence your sports performing, though everyone agrees that the adverse effects of vaping and smoking for a sportsperson are too evident to ban nicotine.