E-Smoking 101

Ok, it is time to write an article on this, because I am tired of the news articles I have been seeing lately.

The Electronic Cigarette! Friend or FOE!!?!?

If you do not know what an electronic cigarette is, feel free to search around, but in short it is an electronic device that takes nicotine liquid and vaporizes it for you to inhale. Like a cigarette but VERY different, you inhale vapor and not smoke. So there ya go the quick rundown. Feel free to check out a more indepth look here:

http://www.esmoking101.com/

http://www.esmoking101.com/?cat=10

Now what has got me bothered about the articles lately? It is simple:

1. before you take your chances with the electronic cigarette, talk to your doctor and get started with a program that helps smokers kick the nasty habit. http://uweekly.com/newsmag/03-04-2009/10463

2. “There is not sufficient evidence that (they) are safe products for human consumption,” Timothy O’Leary, a communications officer at the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative in Geneva, said this week. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090227/ap_on_re_as/as_china_smokeless_smokes

3. The problem is the vapor you see has not been proven safe. http://cbs3.com/topstories/safe.cig.cigarette.2.925040.html

How about instead of making “good” news people will watch with the idea of “BAD” news, what if we rephrased all the above into:

1. Talk to your doctor about the possibility of switching to an electronic cigarette vs the regular cigarette to see how nicotine will effect your health, as it is not sure yet if they are better alternatives, but they just might be.

2. There is not sufficient evidence that these are BAD products for human consumption.

3. The vapor you see has not been proven to be bad.

Quite amazing what some rewording will do.

You have a few factions here:

The smoker, the ANTI smoker, the pacifist(speaks for itself), and the culture-ist.

THE SMOKER:

As a former smoker here is my take on it:

“I just wanted to write about some of the conversations I have had with people about e-cigarettes in the last few days. As any e-smoker knows, when you go on your smoke breaks with one of these things you get asked a lot of questions.

I have had some of the most down to earth sincere conversations with people over the last few days about smoking. It has really been moving. What a smoker will never admit to a non smoker or someone who says,”HEY you need to QUIT!” or “You know you’re killing yourself, right?!?!” is why yes yes I am. We get pissed and it makes us want to smoke more because deep down inside we know exactly what we are doing. We are also dreading the doctor visits for simple checkups because of the WHAT IF and CANCER word, causing some to miss normal checkups all together. All in all it is denial, but most of all it is us loving the aspect of smoking soo much: being social, our mind giving us a break from work, brain storming, some cases weight loss, and so on. How many times have you been a part of an important meeting ona  smoke break? I know I have.  There are things like that in life that make quitting even harder, especially if you enjoy it. What we feel inside is so conflicting it is impossible to answer those who approach us in any other way than for us to joke as a dismissal or to get angry.

This is where my conversations have differed. When anyone sees that there is another option out there to keep their lifestyle they have grown to love, be it feeding the nicotine addiction or just having the social aspect, if you ask them, “You hate the fact that regular cigarettes are eventually going to kill you” They will look you in the eyes and agree. Not only that but there is such truth in the statement and understanding, it is really moving. I have been very fervent about the entire idea of e-smoking because honestly I have wondered SINCE I BEGAN SMOKING, why oh why can’t there be a healthy alternative, I really enjoy this. I mean come on, smoking is a past time that really just feels right for some of us. I mean look at an old 50’s picture, everyone is smoking. Look at the old ads! They didn’t know any better and so they enjoyed smoking and it was part of the culture. When we found out it was bad it was too late to turn back and the culture pushed on, even past all of the negative aspects. People look down on smokers because they are killing themselves, HOW COULD THEY! They say we smell, they say it sucks to kiss us, they move us into corners of buildings away from other people even though they don’t realize we have our own community wherever they put us. We often feel exiled or as if we may jeopardize more than our health but our jobs as well being smokers.

So now that I can tell my story with the e-cigarettes to all my friends who smoke with me, they look at what is in my hand, confused but hopeful. And I swear if there was theme music or I could jump into the inner psychie of one of them when they hear there is a healthier alternative to smoking without having to stop the routine I would start crying. Or how about the idea that you could technically smoke indoors so if you NEED to be somewhere but can’t concentrate without that smoke, do it right there, take a few drags, or hit the bathroom and grab a few puffs in there to last you.

Now don’t get me wrong being that e-cigs are still under question this may not be the answer yet, but just from a surface point of view it is a damn good step in the right direction.”

Every smoker wonders why they can’t make a healthy cigarette. But will they always admit it to the Anti smoker? No.. which leads to:

The Anti smoker:

The anti smoker could care less about the habits of smokers or if there could be lives saved with a safer alternative. They think, why not just quit!?! Because sometimes just quitting isn’t that easy. For example, you are overweight, which is obviously not healthy, why not JUST EXCERSISE, simple analogy, but one that is often overlooked. For a smoker there is more to a cigarette than just the nicotine. The Anti smoker often takes the “faith” approach via mass media vs thinking of a way to compromise and satiate everyone’s needs.

They prefer to say, it is a “Nasty Habit”. Well, it is funny because before the harm was known it was considered a very social habit and actually a status symbol. So if there is now a possible chance for a “healthier” alternative (I use that word lucratively) why is it any different than back then?

Which leads me to :

The Culture-ist:

These are the people that remember when smoking was a social status, a symbol of an era of people. Why do so many movies have people smoking? Because it was natural back then, a part of everyday life. So unfortunately quitting goes much farther than just crumpling the pack, slapping on a patch, and moving on with life. This has been in our culture for centuries. So why is it so hard to try to accept the idea that technology is allowing us to have that pastime, that pastime we all enjoyed in the 50’s 60’s etc, but possibly without the really bad side effects?

I understand why a cigarette itself is considered bad these days, because it has been PROVEN to be bad, but now there is coming a time where it may not be anymore, so why not put MORE effort into getting it to the point of “healthy” and letting people enjoy it? It is like a fine wine to some people. It is just something to do, you don’t need to drink wine, but you can if want, and with the right distilling(or in this case technology advances) it can be quite enjoyable!

I will give CNN some credit, they made a very unbias’d article.

It seems some celebrity exposure with e-cigarettes is causing a change in how they are portrayed in the news, which is good:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/13/ecigarettes.smoking/index.html

“The idea that that e-cigs may be a good tobacco smoke alternative in the future could hold true, the FDA and WHO acknowledged, but proof of the product’s safety must come first.”

Well done CNN.

I hope this has given you an idea of the E-Cigarette in a different light. Because honestly, if it is healthy not healthy whatever, it is a great step in the right direction for cigarettes in general!

And need some test results, well here ya go(nothing long term yet though unfortunately):

Analysis of Components from Totally Wicked E.S. Smoking Liquid

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d49h887_76cn2857fp

Electronic Cigarette:  A Safe Subsitute?.

http://www.e-cig.org/2009/02/12/newscientist-article-on-the-electronic-cigarette/

Clinical Trials and Testing of the Electronic Cigarette

http://www.e-cig.org/2009/01/16/clinical-trials-and-testing-of-the-electronic-cigarette/

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