Anish Vij
The idea of giving up vaping is likely to have crossed your mind, with a ban on disposable vapes in the UK being just around the corner.
A quarter of 11-15-year-olds used a vape in 2023, which comes as a worrying statistic considering that it immediately harms your body just seconds after inhaling.
Last year, the Government confirmed disposable vapes will be banned in 2025 in a bid to improve public health and single-use wastage.
In 2023, Materials Focus estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK.
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A government spokesperson explained to LADbible at the time: "The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes from deliberately being branded and advertised to appeal to children, including by regulating flavours, packaging, and changing how and where they are displayed in shops.
"Ministers are reviewing proposals to restrict the sale and supply of disposable vapes more widely before setting out next steps."
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed last October that a ban on sale and supply of single-use vapes in England will come into effect on 1 June, 2025.
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So, with shops quickly emptying their shelves, here's a timeline that outlines all the health benefits you could get from throwing those plastic sticks away:
It takes less than half an hour to reap the rewards of giving the bad habit up, as project manager at Med Alert Help, Nikola Djordjevic MD explained that 'your heart rate returns to normal, your blood pressure drops, and your circulation starts to normalise', in this time.
Your breathing will also improve, as health and wellness expert for Maple Holistics, Caleb Backe, highlights.
The risk of heart attack decreases 'after just one day,' says Djordjevic, adding that your blood pressure and cholesterol will also return to normal.
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Though you may experience a number of withdrawal symptoms at this point, she explained that, 'thanks to the lowering of blood pressure, rising blood oxygen levels, and reducing the negative influence on cholesterol levels and the formation of blood clots', your health will benefit hugely.
The long-term benefits will start to shine through, as nicotine takes about three days to leave your system, and within a month, your lungs will begin recovering, according to Djordjevic.
"There’s noticeably less shortness of breath and coughing," she highlighted.
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The health expert further explained: "After nine months, lung health improves significantly thanks to the renewal of microscopic hair-like structures inside the lungs that help push out mucus and fight infections."
You may be fighting some withdrawal symptoms at this point, though they should be minute and far less noticeable than before.
There is still a lot of research needed on the link between vaping and cancer, as e-cigarettes are still fairly new in the health realm.
According to Cancer Research UK, e-cigarettes can be helpful in getting cigarette users to quit and decrease the chances of them getting cancer, but it is strongly advised that non-smokers clear clear of vapes of any kind.
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Additional words by Joshua Nair