Electronic Cigarette Story So Far

Posted on 1st Jun 2009 @ 1:26 AM

Can electronic cigarettes help you quit smoking and what are they anyway?

Asked recently to write about electronic cigarettes, I have to confess that I had never heard of such a thing. Some internet research later and I discovered that electronic cigarettes are very much a quickly growing concern. A Google search revealed there is no smoke without fire as almost six million results just for the phrase "electronic cigarette" were returned.

In existence for about three years, the electronic cigarette is a unique device intended to allow smokers to continue smoking but with either none or vastly reduced health concerns. According to many electronic cigarette distributers they are also very helpful for quitting smoking altogether.

Now in a fourth generation, electronic cigarettes have become much more user friendly than earlier versions which perhaps were a little too large to encourage a mass market appeal. The "mini" is the most realistic e cigarette to date with its length of 100mm being the same as a conventional cigarette.

An electronic cigarette contains a taste of tobacco but none of the harmful substances found in normal cigarettes allowing smokers cravings to be satisfied without inhaling the many dangerous toxins. Is it all smoke and mirrors? Or can this item really be the saviour it wants to be?

A battery, an atomiser and a renewable nicotine chamber allows the smoker to hold and smoke the electronic cigarette just as they would any other cigarette, even creating a "smoke" like vapour and glow at the end as they draw. The nicotine chamber proves very useful as cartridges are available in different strengths, permitting the user to reduce the amount of nicotine they intake until if they wish, can quit completely.

At a time when money is tighter than ever, distributors of electronic cigarettes have estimated that a huge eighty per cent saving can be made compared to smoking normal cigarettes, as a typical nicotine cartridge lasts as long as fifteen to twenty normal cigarettes.

Appearing to be a much healthier alternative at least on the surface, dig a little deeper and more benefits seem reveal themselves. Smoking legally in public is one that particularly stands out. As there are no known harmful substances being emitted from the electronic cigarette it does not fall into the same legal trappings of normal cigarettes. Smokers could remain in their warm office, restaurant or pub and smoke their electronic cigarette.

None smokers also will benefit, as their worries about passive smoking are rendered null and void by the electronic cigarette. A much more sociable environment then!

Upon reflection the electronic cigarette is a healthier, cheaper and environmentally friendly alternative to smoking and as the awareness and the market grows they have great potential to successfully replace the harmful cigarettes we have all come to know and many of us have come to dread and fear.

Posted on 1st Jun 2009 @ 1:29 AM

Like many products before it, the electronic cigarette seems to have become stronger since the health organisations urged caution, claiming not enough testing had been done to prove them safe.

Whilst the organisations distanced themselves from the electronic cigarette, the sales have continued to grow and with the UK smoking ban now entering its second winter, the thought of standing outside the pub or office in the freezing temperatures seems to be enticing smokers to try something different.

Some pubs and bars are now even beginning to sell the electronic cigarette, realising they are becoming more popular, sensing a potential profit and that the punters are becoming more willing to try them, not simply as an alternative to a cigarette but as a genuine reason not to stand outside and freeze for a smoke.

During this time of credit crunch, many smokers who don't actually want to quit smoking altogether but are looking for something more affordable are also turning to the electronic cigarette.

With a little shopping around, the prices for smoking the electronic cigarette are vastly less than their standard counterparts. One such electronic cigarette company provides a table to show the significance of the savings and it goes a little bit like this:

Approximate only

• Electronic Cigarette: 10 a day for one year = £ 122

• Real Cigarettes: 10 a day for one year = £1004

That equals a savings of more than £800 per year

• Electronic Cigarette: 40 a day for one year = £ 487

• Real Cigarettes: 40 a day for one year = £3529

That is an incredible saving of more than £3000 per year.

With those figures in mind it is not difficult to see why the electronic cigarette is becoming a very attractive proposition.

There are apparently no carcinogens or toxins in an electronic cigarette, immediately making them a far healthier alternative. Nicotine and flavourings seem to be the only substances present in the device.

In summary, with none of the dangers of real cigarettes present, a massive cost reduction over real cigarettes and social benefits too, (no dangers of passive smoking and no restrictions under the smoking bans) the electronic cigarette still provides a nicotine flavour, revealing a very genuine alternative and potential aid for those who wish to quit smoking.

As the winter's harsh realities sink in, at least there seems to be some hope on the horizon, not just for smokers but for their families and friends too. Perhaps if the electronic cigarette proves itself in the next few years we may be approaching a new era and a much less smoky, healthier one at that.

Posted on 1st Jun 2009 @ 1:33 AM

Well summer is just around the corner and surprise, surprise, the success and controversy surrounding the electronic cigarette (as written about in Part 2 of this series of articles) rumbles on and on.

As an observer it is fascinating to see so much staunch opposition to a product that has the potential to rid the world of smoking related cancers! No its not yet been tested or approved by the world health organisations, no there is not yet a piece of paper that declares the electronic cigarette "safe" but surely something with this much promise should be being embraced by one and all and the powers that be should be frantically busy with the testing so the world at large can either welcome a hero or dismiss another false dawn.

Meanwhile, Joe Public continues to flock towards the electronic cigarette like penguins to an iceberg. As awareness of the product grows, more and more people are willing and eager to give it a try. What does this show? Personally I think it proves just how desperate most smokers are to quit smoking.

I don't really think the fact that an electronic cigarette looks remarkably like a real cigarette has anything other than an initial "wow" factor. Ill health and a despondency with some of the other "quit smoking" products available, combined with a real urgency to stop smoking is lighting the way for these e cigs.

Let's have another look at some of the claims made by the electronic cigarette companies:

Can be up to 80% cheaper than smoking real cigarettes

No lighting, no burning, no tar and no real smoke (only vapour)

No cancerous substances (during the burning of tobacco there are approx. 40 cancerous substances)

No need for ashtrays, no cigarette butts, no horrible smells and no air pollution (no CO2)

Due to the various strengths of the renewable cartridges, nicotine strength can be gradually lowered to ease nicotine addiction.

There are more claimed benefits than those mentioned above but it's clear looking at some of these why the electronic cigarette is proving to be such an attractive proposition for smokers. Also the ways these items are packaged and distributed by some companies make it easy for non smokers to make purchases as gifts for smoking relatives and friends.