Still smoking cigarettes? It may be time to consider vaping as an alternative. Vaping is more than a fad; British newspaper The Daily Mirror reported in 2015 that half a million people switched from traditional cigarettes to vaping in the previous year alone. What's driving people to make the change? There are several reasons why the appeal of vaping is convincing cigarette smokers to give it a try.

Money

Image via Flickr by meddygarnet

It's all about the bottom line. The cost of cigarettes has been rising steadily for decades. According to The Motley Fool, the average price for a pack of cigarettes, including taxes, was as high as $12.85 in 2014. That adds up to hundreds of dollars per month, and thousands every year.

Vaping, on the other hand, has a very low recurring cost. You'll want to spend enough up-front to get a high-quality personal vaporizer, but after that, you only need to purchase e-liquid. Many people find that vaping costs less than half of what they were spending on traditional cigarettes. As Time reports, "The pack-a-day smoker can save around $1,200 per year by vaping."

Convenience

Cigarette smoking has become a hassle. The proliferation of smoking bans means that, in many states, it is extremely difficult to find a place where it is legal to smoke in public. The smell of cigarette smoke creates problems for people who live or work with non-smokers. And because cigarette smoking involves an open flame, there are safety concerns.

Vaping carries far fewer problems. Many of the laws banning smoking do not apply to e-cigarettes, because they do not contain tobacco. There's no flame to worry about. Also, the vapor released from an e-cigarette has very little odor, so your clothes and breath will stay fresh, and the people around you won't be bothered by the stench of cigarette smoke.

Popularity

Making the switch from cigarettes to vaping is catching on. Vaporcade reports that a growing number of A-list celebrities are vaping fans, from Leonardo DiCaprio and Britney Spears to Norman Reedus and Katy Perry. The uptick in the popularity of vaping is happening at the same time that cigarettes are becoming less popular than ever. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that cigarette use has been on the decline for years, and is currently at the lowest level since the survey began in 1965.

Control

One of the biggest benefits of switching to vaping is that you can control your nicotine intake. The average cigarette smoker absorbs about .1 milligram of nicotine from each cigarette. By contrast, e-liquid is available in a wide range of nicotine levels, from above the levels found in cigarettes to low doses that step all the way down to zero.

This allows vapers to choose how much nicotine they want, and to decrease their nicotine use if they want to. As a result, vaping is an excellent option for those who want to reduce or even stop using nicotine.
If you've been wondering about the benefits of making the move from cigarettes to vaping, there's no better time to give it a try. Start slowly and consider all the factors. You may just find you're ready to join the ranks of the converted.