You haven't really overcome your main addiction in that case though. I don't think that people colloquially interpret that as "quitting smoking" when that term gets used in this context, even if the meaning is literal.
When you quit smoking, you quit smoking. Vaping is not smoking. What's inaccurate is to insist that someone still smokes when they do not, because you insist on calling something that is not smoking "smoking".
I think people have mixed definitions, but I really think smokers just want to avoid the lung cancer and emphysema. It's not my place to judge them as failures because they don't meet my criteria of not being addicted to nicotine.
Nicotine is great, I would be incapable of functioning in society without it, and if the US Government makes it impossible for me to get a nicotine fix without giving myself cancer I will be tempted to turn to direct action.
If we accept that addiction is an evil in and of itself, social media addiction should warrant significantly more societal attention that nicotine addiction: it's much more prevalent, both in general population and among children in particular.
My understanding is that the proverbial jury is still out on whether vaping truly is less harmful to the lungs that smoking[0][1]. That would mean that vaping (instead of smoking) isn't necessarily a positive health outcome.
[0]: "Studies suggest nicotine vaping may be less harmful than traditional cigarettes when people who regularly smoke switch to them as a complete replacement."
[1]: "Vaping Is Less Harmful Than Smoking, but It’s Still Not Safe"
[1] has some problems. It seems to be conflating the vitamin E acetate issue with vaping in general. ("However, there has also been an outbreak of lung injuries and deaths associated with vaping. As of Jan. 21, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 60 deaths in patients with e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI).") The section on "Research Suggests Vaping Is Bad for Your Heart and Lungs" focuses on nicotine. Which raises your blood pressure. And not much else, according to other sources.
It’s definitely a positive outcome when it comes to cancer prevention. The evidence is quite clear that vaping is way better than smoking for lung cancer. [0][1]
I think the evidence is out as to what, if any, are the harms of vaping. But it’s not arguable that it’s better for you than smoking.
