Eh, I smoked for years and switched to vaping. It’s by no means healthy but it is better if you do it moderately. Don’t burn your lungs to make “hella clouds bro” and buy a quality vape made from metal and cotton instead of burning plastic.

As for the coughing but there’s an irony there. Nicotine numbs the cilia in the lungs but it’s short acting in that capacity. The tar from a cig would trap that nicotine and prevent irritation… Until the next morning when your body processed it out. That’s why smokers hack in the morning was a thing.