Worrying Simulation Shows Reality of Smoking and Vaping to 'Compare Which Is Worse'

A simulation has put smoking and vaping head-to-head to reveal which one does more damage to your body — and the results are a stark reminder that inhaling anything beyond fresh air comes with serious consequences.

Whether it's a cloud of cherry-ice flavoured vape smoke or the familiar ritual of lighting up a cigarette, one thing is clear: our collective dependence on nicotine isn't going away any time soon.

Data published by the World Health Organisation shows that roughly one in five adults worldwide remain addicted to nicotine. Meanwhile, in the UK, a recent ONS survey found that e-cigarette use now outpaces traditional tobacco products — a historic shift in smoking habits driven largely by accessibility and the widespread perception that vaping is the "healthier" option.

Smoking is linked to an increased risk of cancer, lung disease and stroke (Getty Stock Images)

A recent simulation shared by Untold Healing has laid bare the differences between the two via a series of striking visuals — and it doesn't hold back.

When it comes to cigarettes, the simulation pulls no punches: every single puff delivers around 7,000 chemicals into your body, including well-known carcinogens like benzene, formaldehyde, and arsenic. Cigarettes also deposit tar — the American Cancer Society notes that a single cigarette can contain anywhere from 8 to 43 milligrams of it — while tobacco-specific nitrosamines have been shown to cause DNA mutations.

Then there's carbon monoxide, a toxic gas in tobacco smoke that reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen to vital organs.

Vaping, by comparison, eliminates the combustion process, which means it avoids the vast majority of those toxins. The simulation notes that e-cigarettes contain an estimated 95% fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes.

That figure is supported by research cited by the NHS, which states that vaping presents only a small fraction of the risks associated with smoking in the short and medium term. Studies have also found that people who switch from smoking to vaping are exposed to significantly lower levels of toxins linked to cancer, lung disease, heart attacks, and stroke.

While considered a safer option for existing smokers, vaping still carries its own health risks (Getty Stock Images)

However — and this is the part most people don't want to hear — being safer than cigarettes does not mean vaping is safe.

E-cigarettes still deliver nicotine, a highly addictive substance that raises heart rate and narrows the arteries. Some vaping products also contain formaldehyde, a known irritant and cancer risk, although it is banned in regulated vapes sold in the UK. Unregulated products carry additional dangers, including exposure to heavy metals like lead and nickel from heating coils, and in some cases diacetyl — the chemical linked to "popcorn lung" — which is banned in the UK and EU.

A world-first study out of Manchester Metropolitan University has added further urgency to the conversation. Cardiac rehabilitation expert Dr. Maxime Boidin, who initially believed vaping was more beneficial than smoking, found that the vascular damage observed in vapers was comparable to that of smokers. His reasoning? People simply don't know when to stop vaping. Unlike a cigarette that burns down and ends, a vape is always there — in your pocket, in your hand, ready for the next puff.

The bottom line from the research is clear: if you currently smoke, switching to vaping reduces your risk. But if you want to protect your health properly, the goal should be to quit nicotine altogether. Products like Breev are designed to help people do exactly that — without replacing one addiction with another.

And that's where the real challenge begins.

For millions of people, the hardest part of quitting isn't the nicotine — it's the habit. The hand-to-mouth motion. The deep inhale when you're stressed. The ritual of stepping outside for a break. That physical routine is so deeply embedded that even when the nicotine cravings fade, the behavioural pull remains.

It's the reason patches and gum have such low success rates. They address the chemical dependency but completely ignore the physical habit that keeps people reaching for a vape dozens of times a day. It's also the reason why nicotine-free alternatives that focus on habit replacement are gaining traction.

This is exactly the problem that Breev was designed to solve.

Breev is a natural, nicotine-free inhaler that replicates the physical ritual of vaping — the hand-to-mouth motion, the deep breath, the oral fixation — without any of the harmful substances. Instead of vapour, chemicals, or nicotine, users inhale through a sleek wooden or metal device fitted with flavoured, plant-based cotton cores.

There's no smoke. No vapour. No batteries. No charging. And absolutely no nicotine. You can see how it works here.

It's designed to break what the research above makes painfully clear: the habit is what keeps people hooked, even long after the chemical addiction could have been beaten.

Where patches and gum tackle the nicotine but leave the behavioural addiction untouched, and where vaping simply replaces one dependency with another, Breev targets the root of the problem — the ritual itself — without creating any new dependency cycle.

The goal isn't to find a "safer" way to inhale chemicals — it's to breathe freely again (Stock image)

As the simulation above makes clear, both smoking and vaping carry real health risks. The conversation shouldn't be about which one is "less bad" — it should be about how to stop altogether.

For smokers looking to cut down, vaping remains a recognised step down in harm. But for the millions already trapped in a vaping habit they never planned on having — the ones who started with "just a few puffs at the pub" and are now reaching for it every 20 minutes — the path forward isn't another nicotine product.

It's replacing the habit with something that doesn't hurt you. Thousands of people have already made the switch with Breev.

Featured Image Credit: (YouTube/Untold Healing)