Are E-Cigarettes Safe for Smokers?

June 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Smokers are likely to try just about anything that promises to save them from nicotine withdrawal while they try to give up tobacco. Companies that sell e-cigarettes claim that they have made a product that allows smokers to get their fix without inhaling all of the carcinogens and harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. Are e-cigarettes really a safe alternative for smokers?

The Benefits of E-Cigarettes 

Electronic Cigarettes 

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There are some benefits to using e-cigarettes, especially if someone uses them to replace tobacco cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain pure liquid nicotine. That means smokers only inhale this chemical. Clearly, this is a healthier alternative to smoking tobacco because you eliminate a large number of the carcinogens and chemicals that can cause health problems.

Makers of the e-cigarette also maintain that their product is useful for people trying to quit smoking. E-cigarettes, they say, are similar to nicotine patches, except that the electronic cigarettes also help satisfy oral fixations that can make it difficult for smokers to quit.

E-Cigarettes and Nicotine Addiction

That’s where e-cigarettes become questionable. Compared to tobacco cigarettes, they are safer. Compared to not smoking at all, though, they are diseases waiting to happen. It’s dishonest to compare e-cigarettes with nicotine patches. Patches are designed to help individuals wean themselves off of nicotine. Electronic cigarettes, however, position themselves as alternatives to smoking. Users feel that they have made a healthy choice, so they are less concerned about quitting altogether.

This is one of the reasons that cities across the United States have extended their smoking bans to cover electronic cigarettes, too. What are more useful ways to give up smoking without suffering through psychological and physical withdrawal symptoms.

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A Look at Electronic Cigarettes as Stop Smoking Aids

December 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

It used to be if you wished to quit smoking you had to turn to drugs, hypnosis, gums or patches. However the latest in smoking aids appears to be a fairly new concept known as the electronic cigarette. While the Food and Drug administration will not allow electronic cigarettes to be labeled as an aid to stop smoking, many people all over the country are using them to wean themselves off of the tobacco cigarette.

The concept behind the electronic cigarette is simple. It looks and feels just like a real cigarette but it does not contain the harmful chemicals that a regular tobacco cigarette does. Instead there is a water vapor solution that contains the nicotine that most smokers are addicted to. The electronic cigarette is then used in a similar fashion to a real cigarette only instead of inhaling some of the 4,000 dangerous chemicals the person is using water vapor and getting their nicotine fix that way.

The electronic cigarette is being used as a stop smoking aid because the solution that is used with the cigarettes has a varying amount of nicotine in it. There are packages that contain high, medium, low and no nicotine. Smokers that are looking to quit gradually will make the switch to the electronic cigarette and slowly start to wean themselves down through the levels of nicotine until they are at the lowest level or on the no nicotine level.

With this understanding of how the electronic cigarette works it might cause many people to wonder why they cannot be labeled as stop smoking aids. The answer is fairly simple. Electronic cigarettes have only been in the United States for about two years. The Food and Drug Administration does not believe there has been enough studies or research done on it to allow it to be considered a smoking aid at the moment. That does not mean that it doesn’t work just that it hasn’t passed the tests.

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Smoking Prevention: A Look at the Chemicals You are Inhaling

December 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Many people who are smokers have been for a number of years. It is an addiction that they picked up in their early years and have a hard time letting go of it. These people will fight tooth and nail to keep smoking no matter what people say to them. However, if you ask these people what exactly they are putting into their bodies with these cigarettes they probably would give you a blank look. Over 80% of smokers do not know what is inside their cigarettes that they are smoking.

On the outside a cigarette looks innocent. It is just a small four inch item that can be light up and enjoyed. However, unravel that item and you are left with a very toxic stick. Cigarettes are made up of over 4,000 different chemicals, many of which if you presented to a person they would refuse to put into their bodies.

Here is a look at some of the chemicals that can be found in tobacco cigarettes.

Commercial Cleaners. If someone were to walk up to you and ask if you would drink a toilet bowl cleaner you would probably say no. But there are chemicals such as ammonia and arsenic which can be found in these cleaners.

Fluids. Cigarettes contain the equivalent chemicals that are used in butane lighters, rocket fuel and car gasoline. Cigarettes contain carbon monoxide, methanol and butane which is all used for the following components.

Battery Elements. They tell you not to swallow batteries because those can be bad for you. However, cigarettes contain a chemical known as cadmium which is only found in batteries. If you would not eat a battery why would you inhale the chemicals and metals that are found on one?

Other Chemicals. There are thousands of other chemicals that are found in cigarettes including tar, hexamine (found in barbaque lighters) and acetic acid (found in vinegar).

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