FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW)-There’s a new vaping store in the Pee Dee and while smokers say they’re putting down traditional cigarettes and switching to the modern smoke, doctors say, it may not be as good of an alternative as you think.
“I’m addicted to nicotine, it’s an addiction like anything else,” said Grover Windham, a e-cig user.
Grover Windham has been smoking for years.
“I can’t remember not smoking, all my life I guess.”
But within the past five years he’s switched to e-cigs and it’s something he says has made a world of difference in his life.
“I just feel better overall. My blood pressure is better, my breathing is better, just all the way around.”
Many e-cig users say they went from smoking two boxes of cigarettes a day to only using one box of cartridges a week but one local doctor says this quick fix now could be a problem later.
“They have the same chemicals, they have the same exposure, I believe in a certain amount of time we may even see bigger, better problems come from them.”
Doctor Tony Graham practices internal medicine. E-cig users say they don’t agree with him.
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” said Windham.
The biggest praise most users give e-cigs is how much better they say they feel since they’ve made the switch.
But, Graham says the short-term improvements do not mean further damage has stopped.
“He’s getting a reduced exposure to those things that are causing increased inflammation and exasperation of the damage that he’s already caused to his lungs over the past thirty years. That being said, he is still being exposed to the same chemicals,” said Graham
So while users say they think it’s a better alternative, doctors say maybe not.
“It’s just hard to know these two close cousins have the same things in them and say hey look, one is better than the other when the truth really is they can substitute and smoke just as much or vape just as much.”
The FDA has not approved the project, but agency officials say they want to regulate it in order to better protect the public.