A new, long-term study basically confirms what vapers have known all along: Smoking sucks, vape life rules.

A new, long-term study basically confirms what vapers have known all along: Smoking sucks, vape life rules.

Over the past several years, reformed smokers and dedicated vape enthusiasts have drawn a certain kind of ire in the judgments of society. Massive cumulonimbus breaths of minty air aside, the underground culture of it gets knocked on the regular, often denigrated to nothing more than Juggalos with fedoras. There's no real rhyme or reason for the hate, it just happens to be the popular thing to make fun of right now.

But it's all relatively unfounded, especially since compounding studies continue to vindicate the belief that e-cigarettes are way safer than an average cigarette. Cloud-heads continue to draw the last laugh.

The latest collection of research proving the benefits over smoking is a bombshell to the tobacco industry. The study, funded by Cancer Research UK, claims that levels of NNAL (a disastrous chemical linked to cancer) was 95.7 percent lower in ex-smokers who now vape compared to smokers still on the butts. 

“To date, most studies on e-cigs have either looked at the product itself, [by analyzing the vapor/aerosol] or e-liquid, or investigated its effects on animal and cell models,” Dr. Lion Shahab, an investigating scientist from University College London, tells Digital Trends. “Very few studies have looked at actual body-level exposure in users of e-cigarettes to evaluate their safety, and this study is the first to explore this in long-term real-life users of e-cigs.”

In finding the results, researchers studied pee and spit of 181 participants. Your job doesn't seem so bad right now, does it?

This isn't a slam-dunk for the vaping community, however. It's still a relatively new cultural phenomenon and data suggesting it's entirely safe isn't real. Cancer, after all, is only one of the dozens or so effects of shoving smoke or vapor into your lungs for entertainment. 

But the UK's Department of Health is on top of this trend and looks to be a world leader in figuring this whole thing out, even making the bold statement in early 2015 that e-cigarettes are "around 95 percent less harmful than tobacco" in a previous landmark review.

Just keep in mind, both smoking and vaping are likely worse for you than, say, abstaining entirely and going for a run once in a while. Though if you really want to, vaping seems to be the clear alternative in safety when it comes to putting things inside of you that don't belong there. And it's proven.

Now that's settled, here's a video of vape tricks to occupy the next 6 minutes of your life:

[Cover Photo: Ted Van Pelt via flickr]