The Difference Between Smoke & Vapor Explained

There’s a lot of confusion around the language of vaping.

One of the more glaring examples is the use of the term “e-cigarette smoke or vape smoke”. Both vaping opponents and mainstream media are constantly harping about “vape smoke” as if they don’t know the difference between vaping and smoking. The headlines are full of the term – you can see it here in this Daily Mail article. And those are just some of the recent examples. 

Of course, this is not simply the case of writers not knowing the correct terminology.

Vapor and tobacco puffs are being conflated in a sinister effort to equate vaping and smoking. Although there’s a real difference between vapor and smoke, they’re not interested in it – the purpose is to make the general public (and parents especially) think that vaping is just as bad as smoking so that people don’t object to vape-related bans very vocally.

And I can prove to you immediately that this is not the case:

Visually, vapor and smoke might look similar but, the truth is, that’s very the similarity between the two ends. When it comes to the composition and the effect they have on the body, the two are very different. That’s why, today, we’ll dive into the difference between the two, and invite you to join us so you can educate others who are falling for the narrative pushed by the opponents of vaping.

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Does Vaping Produce Smoke or Vapor?

A lot of vapers will tell you that vaping produces vapor. After all, it’s in the name, right? How could vaping produce anything other than vapor?

Well, technically, that’s not really true.

The term “vapor” has become synonymous with heating up a e-liquid in a e-cig, but that’s not actually what comes out. 

What comes out is aerosol.

An aerosol is similar to vapor but there are differences between the two that are of a chemical nature. A vast majority of vapers use (and will always use) the term vapor because these differences are only of interest to chemistry students.

What is Smoke?

According to Wikipedia, “smoke is a collection of airborne particulates, water vapor, and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass.”

In fact an aerosol itself, smoke contains particles not only of the matter that’s being burned (such as tobacco products or cannabis in smoking, or pretty much anything else that’s set on fire), but it also contains other particles which are a byproduct of burning.

These substances that are created by smoking range from carbon dioxide and tar to formaldehyde and various nitrates, and anything in between, including volatile organic compounds. In fact, close to 6,000 different substances and harmful toxins are created when smoking a cigarette, with most of them being hazardous to human health and close to 70 of them being carcinogenic (cause cancer). 

What is Vapor?

As for vapor, Wikipedia tells us that it’s “a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical temperature, which means that it can be condensed to a liquid by increasing the pressure on it without reducing the temperature”. A vapor is different from an aerosol. An aerosol is a suspension of tiny particles of liquid, solid, or both within a gas.

In other words, vapor is the gaseous state of a specific substance, such as water, and there aren’t that many other particles in it.

Vapers all around the world have taken to calling this aerosol “vapor”. Changing people’s habits is hard but we should really try to use the correct words. One of the reasons why vape opponents are having such an easy time demonizing vaping is because people pick up terms and fail to do their own research. 

“Vapor” does sound cool but it’s incorrect and it makes it sound as if the vaping industry is hiding something when it is not. Throughout the remainder of this post, we will refer to the visible vaping byproduct as “vape aerosol or e-cigarette aerosol” – an aerosol that’s much different from smoke in its composition, and more than 96% less harmful as well.

What Are the Differences Between Smoke & Vapor (Aerosol)?

Okay, so we’ve established that both tobacco smoke and what’s produced by electronic cigarettes are aerosol – tiny solid/liquid particles suspended in a gas.

They look a lot alike but that’s where the similarities end – vape aerosol and smoke are different when it comes to smell, composition, residue, and the way they affect the body. 

Let’s take a closer look at those major differences between the two.

Smell

The smell of a cig is very distinct.

Although most smokers don’t recognize it after years of smoking, a non-smoker can tell if a room has been lit up in hours after the fact. That’s because smoke tends to linger – the particles produced by it stay both in the air and on the surfaces much longer, and they’ll easily seep into fabrics.

On the other hand, vape aerosol has a more intensive smell, and the clouds are much thicker and denser but the smell itself dissipates more quickly. Not only that, it’s much more pleasant on the nose – vapers tend to use fruity or cakey flavors which are all quite nice, and which don’t bother non-smokers and non-vapers much.

Residue

When talking about residue, we’re talking about two things – the residue that smoke leaves on surfaces, and the residue that slowly builds up in the lungs and in the other parts of the users body. Tar is the main culprit here – it’s a sticky, goop-like substance that’s a byproduct of burning and that sticks to everything. After smoking in a room for several days, not only will you not be able to get the smell out, but all the surfaces will be stained with a black-yellowish tint. 

Vape aerosol doesn’t produce the same type of residue. One of the main differences between smoking and vaping is the fact that, with vaping, there are no sticky substances that you need to worry about – if you vape in a room for a month, there will be nothing on the surfaces except trace amounts of nicotine (if you’re using nicotine-infused e-liquids). Your windows might get blurred temporarily but that’s as bad as it gets with vaping.

Temperature

How many times have you heard a smoker say they’ve burned themselves with a cigarette? Or, worse yet, read a story in the newspaper about a house fire caused by an unattended cigarette?

When it comes to their potential for destruction, cigarettes are truly horrific.

The coal of a cigarette burns at around 1110 F when resting, and goes up to 1650 when taking a puff. All this heat translates into smoke as well. Cigarette smoke is hot enough to raise the peripheral temperature, and feel quite uncomfortable on the skin.

Vape aerosol comes out much cooler. That’s because a vape device operates at a much lower temperature (around 480 F). Cooler aerosol means less discomfort overall – if you blow on your hand while vaping, you will notice that the aerosol is near room temperature and slightly moist.

Composition

In vape aerosol, you won’t find more than 4 key ingredients – VG and/or PG, flavorings, and nicotine (in some). When heated, these can create a handful of other chemicals (but only when the vape is being used incorrectly and creating dry hits) but no more than that. On top of that all, only nicotine is a controversial ingredient in e-liquids – according to a CDC fact sheet, other ingredients are safe to ingest. Their inhalation safety has not yet been tested but that doesn’t make them dangerous right off the bat. We’re waiting for the science to come in but we’re fairly confident that these edible vape ingredients don’t pose any serious danger to human health.

Vapor & Smoke Are Very Much Different

The next time you hear someone talking about “secondhand vape smoke”, you can confidently tell them that they are regurgitating the talking points of people who are demonizing vaping.

The fact is that vape aerosol:

• Doesn’t smell as bad as cigarette smoke,
• It doesn’t leave a sticky residue on furniture (or in your lungs),
• Vape aerosol also contains very little substances (just 4), as opposed to thousands in smoke,
• Is created by food-grade ingredients, such as propylene glycol,
• It does not contain carbon monoxide or other by products that could cause harmful effects,
• It’s much cooler than cigarette smoke.

So next time you hear the mainstream media harp on about secondhand smoke from vaping, keep in mind that their reports are bought and paid for by lobbyists for Big Tobacco and Big Pharma. Because researchers confirm that vapor is not the same as smoke… and that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking.

If you need more information on vaping, or want to invest in affordable vaping devices and electronic cigarettes, make sure to drop us a line here at the Kind Pen. You can reach us through email – our customer support team will be happy to help you transition from smelly cigarettes to life-saving vapes!

Want to Try Out the Best Vape Juice Vaporizers On the Market?

Then you need to take a look at the Kind Pen e-juice vape pen collection.

A lot of our vape pens pull a triple duty – they work with juices, oils AND concentrates.

Click Here to Find Your E-Juice Vapes Today & Relish the Flavors!