Smoking or Vaping? Different Effects On Blood Sugar Levels
“Smoking is dangerous, vaping is a safer alternative.” Yeah, you’ve heard that a lot, but what you haven’t heard many times is that both have almost the same effect on blood sugar levels if you’re addicted to either. In this article, we will analyze how vaping and smoking affect blood sugar levels.
Smoking or Vaping? Different Effects on Blood Sugar Levels
Smoking, especially cigarettes, has well-documented effects on blood sugar levels due to the various harmful chemicals used in the composition. Also, cigarettes have high nicotine content, which can affect insulin effectiveness, and make your organs weaker to fight against illnesses.
For people with diabetes, the high nicotine level in cigarettes can lead to higher fasting glucose levels, making it difficult for them to recover from the health condition. Also, smokers with diabetes are more prone to complications like heart disease, kidney failure, and neuropathy. The combined effects of nicotine and other harmful chemicals in cigarettes worsen overall blood glucose regulation.
Now, over to vaping – vaping is widely consider a better option to smoking, but it does have its downsides too. Although its impact on blood sugar is not clearly asserted, the nicotine-infused in vape juices surely does have health risks, especially when consumed excessively. The same nicotine in cigarettes is used in vape juices, just that, in vape juices have, the nicotine level is capped at 50mg (5%), and this is quite not too much.
Also, vape juices are mostly flavored and infused with additives; these flavors and additives could theoretically affect blood sugar. However, their direct impact is minimal compared to nicotine’s effects. It is important to mention that high nicotine levels can lead to blood sugar spikes, it doesn’t matter if the nicotine accumulated as a result of constant vaping or smoking.
Key Differences Between Smoking and Vaping as Regard Blood Sugar Increase
|
Practice |
Smoking |
Vaping |
|
Nicotine Content |
High and consistent |
Variable; some vapes have zero nicotine |
|
Insulin Resistance |
Proven by health labs |
Potential but less researched |
|
Impact on Fasting Glucose |
Significant rise |
Possible rise, depending on the nicotine level |
|
Long-Term Risks |
Higher due to additional toxins |
Lower, but research is ongoing |
How Smoking and Vaping Affect People with Diabetes
Both smoking and vaping may have adverse effects on people with diabetes due to the nicotine content and other toxins, and that includes:
- Increased risk of complications, including cardiovascular disease and impaired wound healing.
- Nicotine’s interference with insulin action can make blood sugar harder to control, regardless of whether it comes from cigarettes or vapes (e-cigs).
- Constant, regular exposure to nicotine may increase the likelihood of developing insulin resistance and, subsequently, lead to pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes.
Should You Quit Smoking or Vaping?
Quit smoking? YES! It’s been proven to be dangerous over and over again. Quit vaping? No –there’s no verified claim that it leads to severe health problems, but then, moderation is required – you should vape moderately and watch out for your exposure to high-nic salts or liquids.
Conclusion
Both smoking and vaping can affect blood sugar and cause diabetes, primarily due to nicotine, but smoking has more effects on that, than vaping. Smoking has a more pronounced and harmful impact due to additional toxins used in making cigarettes, while vaping is a slightly healthier alternative.
There are different types of vape devices, including disposables with zero-nicotine content which can be considered totally safe in all aspects. If you care so much about your health, you should quit smoking and resort to vaping instead –it’s better of, and you can bulk-buy disposable vapes at incredible discounts on Eigthvape’s Black Friday deals.
