Opinion: E-cigs can help with quitting tobacco

 BY NATHAN FRIEDLAND, SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE JANUARY 30, 2014

 A person smokes an electronic cigarette in Paris.

MONTREAL — With all the controversy surrounding electronic cigarettes, one thing is certain: the effects of smoking a real tobacco cigarette are devastating to the human body. Walk down the corridors of any hospital and this devastation is a visible reality.

Diagnoses of cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart attack have overloaded hospitals across the entire world. According to Health Canada, “Smoking tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative health impacts on people of all ages: unborn babies, infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer in Canada.”

Personally, I have seen this devastation first-hand — both as a nurse and as a husband. And I know that quitting tobacco is difficult. It has now been a month since my wife switched from tobacco to electronic cigarettes and the effects have been — no pun intended — breathtaking. I am no longer afraid that our next trip together will be to a hospital emergency room for oxygen therapy and an electrocardiogram because of chest pain and an incessant cough. These symptoms of hers have completely disappeared.

I am no longer afraid to go to work at night because I know an electronic cigarette will not burn our house down if she falls asleep while smoking one. What’s more, my wife looks younger, feels better, breathes better at night while sleeping, and that awful smell of smoke in her hair is gone.

At times, even when she used to smoke outside, cigarette smoke would float toward our daughter, causing many fights of epic proportions, nearly leading to divorce.

In my case, it is starting to look like electronic cigarettes have saved my wife, saved my marriage and made our family’s future brighter for all. I’m sure I am not the only one. I understand the arguments against e-cigs: they might be thought of as “cool” by teenagers, which could encourage them to take up tobacco cigarettes. And nicotine is certainly not great for the human body, either. On the other hand, these negatives seem trivial to me when compared with how electronic cigarettes appear to help people quit tobacco cigarettes.

Nathan Friedland is a nurse at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. He lives in Roxboro.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Opinion: E-cigs can help with quitting tobacco

Can e-Cigarettes Solve Your "I Really Want to Quit Smoking" Problem?

OOSTRUM, The Netherlands/PRNewswire/ –

Have you made your new year resolution? Is it to quit smoking, yet again, only to become the usual resolution that you’ll never live up to? Or are you considering e-cigarettes, which are in reality, e-smoking devices? Interestingly, e-cigarettes, also known as a e-smoker, aren’t the solution to your “I will quit smoking” fantasy. Surprisingly though, they could well be your next best option, if kicking the butt is being hard for you.

“We have noticed an increasing demand for our e-smoking devices and e-liquids in the last few months. Consumers today are becoming more health-conscious, so e-smoking is the trend that’s catching on with the smoking population. We have a website that educates our readers on various products in this new, growing segment and also some health & awareness tips. We also have discount promotions running all year long, as traditional combustion cigarettes are being seen as an expensive option.”, says Mr. Willy Michiels, proprietor of an e-smoking devices company.

Every electronic cigarette distributor claims to be the best. However, we’ve come to see that consumers have good experiences with GoedKooproken.net. The reviews are right there for us to read. Also, Goedkooproken has a lot of variety to suit your style, your tastes and your budget. For different flavors in E liquid cartridges, their concoction is vegetable based.

E-cigarettes have been a hot topic of debate in the health ministries across the world. To be on the safer side, the health ministry’s usually advise young people and pregnant women to not use them. However, that’s also the case with traditional combustion cigarettes. The contention raised by the health ministries is that nicotine in e-cigarettes in addictive. “In reality, nicotine is only mildly more addictive than coffee. That’s perfectly harmless. It’s the composition of other chemicals along with nicotine in combustion cigarettes that causes the harmful side effects and lung diseases. That explains why all the big cigarette manufacturing companies are moving towards introducing products in the e-cigarettes category. It helps their business, but they also realize that it’s a safer option.”, adds Mr. Willy Michiels.

There is no evidence yet to prove that use of e-cigarettes can be harmful, despite numerous studies. It’s best practiced in limits however, as too much of anything is usually never good.

For more information on e-smoking and e-liquids, visit http://www.goedkooproken.net.

Can e-Cigarettes Solve Your "I Really Want to Quit Smoking" Problem?

Are Electronic Cigarettes A Way to Quit Smoking?

KALAMAZOO, MI — The popularity of electronic cigarettes for many people is linked to using them as an alternative to tobacco smoking.

And some users flatly consider them great smoking-cessation devices — a combination that allows users to wean themselves off of nicotine and satisfy the tactile practice of using their hands and mouths in social settings, even when others are smoking traditional cigarettes.

E-cigarette flavoring can be loaded with anywhere from 0 to 24 milligrams of nicotine to provide the nicotine jolt that smokers say they get with traditional tobacco products.

Gradually lowering that level, and getting away from the harmful effects of tars and carbon monoxide of tobacco-burning cigarettes is e-cigarette smokers’ overriding claim for it being a great way to quit smoking.

But e-cigarettes’ effectiveness as a smoking-cessation tool has not yet been proven, and e-cigarette makers and sellers are very careful about making strong claims.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is studying e-cigarettes and their effects, but health experts say it will likely be years before research will bear any real findings.

And the e-smoking experience doesn’t work for everyone.

“I think a lot of people try vaping as a means to quit but its fails for them as a quitting aid because they just don’t know enough about vaping,” said Donna Cox, a 32-year-old former smoker who lives in Portage.

She suspects that some people lose their way among the different styles of e-cigarettes, different cartomizers, and different liquids (which range from fruit flavors and scents to those with tobacco flavors and scents).

Matt Searles, owner of Hometown Vapor, said his experience has been positive. “I feel better. I’m not hacking. I’m not wheezing. My chest feels lighter.”

He also said his wallet feels better. He has gone from spending about $396 a month on traditional cigarettes to about $30 per month on e-cigarettes.

“I can tell you anecdotally, that it has worked for me,” said James Bearup, who owns three Kalamazoo Vapor Shops. He became a pack-a-day smoker several years ago in the U.S. Army.

Although he said he originally hated the smell of traditional cigarette smoke and hates it now, he became a smoker in the military in order to take work breaks with other soldiers.

Don’t blow a lot of smoke

Brad Gemmill says he is a discreet e-cigarette smoker. The 19-year-old Kalamazoo Valley Community College student said he switched from a one-year tobacco-smoking habit and has been vaping for about eight months because he wanted to be healthier and hated the smell that tobacco smoke was leaving in his clothes.

“I used to smoke about 10 cigarettes a day, which isn’t much by comparison, but I’ve switched to vapor and haven’t bought a pack since,” he said. “Health-wise, I definitely find myself coughing less, with lungs that feel refreshed. The vapor is available in assorted levels of nicotine, including 0 mg, and a huge variety of flavors.”

Gemmill estimated that he spends less than $10 a week on e-cigarettes, depending on how much vapor juice he uses.

He said he avoids vaping in places where it might make tobacco smokers crave a cigarette. Although the vapors come in a variety of aromas — including fruit and candy – the look of it can make traditional smokers want to light up.

“It was health and price,” Gemmill said of why he started vaping, which he said he has done discreetly in the back of some of his classes at KVCC. “The entire time I was smoking, I knew it was unhealthy. It (e-cigarettes) was a healthier alternative to satisfy the addiction.”

Contact business writer Al Jones may at ajones5@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter at ajones5_al.

Are Electronic Cigarettes A Way to Quit Smoking?

In Rural Jails, E-Cigarettes Are a Calming Vapor

LAFAYETTE, Tenn. — As city governments and schools across the country move to ban or restrict the use of electronic cigarettes, one place increasingly welcomes the devices: the rural county jail.

Though traditional cigarettes are prohibited from most prisons and jails because of fire hazards and secondhand smoke, a growing number of sheriffs say they are selling e-cigarettes to inmates to help control the mood swings of those in need of a smoke, as well as address budget shortfalls, which in some jails have meant that guards are earning little more than fast-food workers.

Inmates are addicted to cigarettes and pay what the market bears to get their fix. Prisons and jails earn a little extra money to pay their guards and provide a safer environment for inmates. Everybody wins. It is obviously not a utopia, but this system logically seems to be one where everyone is relatively content with the outcome.

The trend stands in contrast to restrictions on e-cigarettes approved in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and other big cities. County jails in at least seven states have permitted the sale of a limited selection of flavors of e-cigarettes to inmates. They have quickly become one of the most sought-after items in jail commissaries. And although federal prisons ban e-cigarettes, the inmate market has so much potential that Chinese and American manufacturers now produce “jail-safe” versions made of plastic instead of metal.

In Gage County, in southeastern Nebraska, Sheriff Millard Gustafson said that he had sold out of the 200 e-cigarettes bought in December for the 32-prisoner jail, but that more would be arriving soon. “They’ve been selling like hot cakes,” he said. “I look at this as something to control their moods. And so if they’re not a good boy or girl, I’m going to take them away, just like I do with the TVs.”

Electronic cigarettes, most of which contain nicotine but not the harmful tars found in traditional cigarettes, are sold to prisoners for $8 to $30 each, depending on the number of puffs they deliver. Some jails earn profits of more than 400 percent for each e-cigarette — money that goes either to the county’s general fund or directly into the jail budget.

Mark Gammons, sheriff of Macon County, Tenn., said he had introduced e-cigarettes to create an additional revenue stream for the jail after successive years of budget cuts and a grim funding outlook.

He said that at least half of the jail’s 150 inmates were smokers and that many had turned to e-cigarettes.

Sheriff Gammons said that he had taken pains not to encourage smoking among inmates, but that the jail commissary had still sold about 1,100 e-cigarettes since they were first offered five months ago. He said his priority is to win a pay raise for his overworked guards, who earn a top salary of $10.58 an hour — which after taxes typically amounts to less than the state’s $7.35 an hour minimum wage, the guards say.

The jail buys each e-cigarette for $2.75 and sells it for $10. An e-cigarette at the jail — either a Marlboro-style flavor or a menthol version — is good for about 500 puffs, which is the equivalent of about three and a half packs of regular cigarettes, jail officials and inmates say.

Mr. Gammons said that depending on sales, he hoped to collect between $20,000 and $50,000 from e-cigarettes this budget year.

“I just want my boys to make as much as they can,” he said, even if it is only an additional $1 an hour.

Behind the scenes, e-cigarette distributors have been lobbying local officials at state sheriffs’ association meetings, and dropping by penitentiaries and leaving behind samples.

Precision Vapor, based in Lexington, Ky., says on its website that it is “at the forefront of the introduction of electronic cigarettes to the prisons and continues to expand into all 50 states.” Its sales pitch concludes: “Providing revenue to the jail. Where it belongs.”

Electronic cigarettes, powered by a battery, heat a liquid solution to create a vapor that users inhale. The most popular flavors contain nicotine, but there are also nicotine-free varieties.

 E-cigarette makers say their product is safer than regular cigarettes because there is no combustion, which means that byproducts of that process — including tars and carbon monoxide — are absent. But whether they are safe or help reduce dependence on regular cigarettes remains unclear.

In September, 40 state attorneys general sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration urging it to regulate e-cigarettes in the same manner as tobacco products. The F.D.A. is expected to soon set marketing and product rules on the devices.

“They have potential because their short-term effect appears to be far less harmful than combustible cigarettes,” said Thomas Glynn, director of cancer science and trends for the American Cancer Society. “But we don’t know the long-term effects.”

Despite the unanswered questions, the use of e-cigarettes has increased significantly in the past three years. There are now more than 350 varieties and global sales have reached nearly $2 billion, according to the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, an industry group.

County sheriffs say the most significant benefit for them has been a reduction in violence and tension in jails, which are often overcrowded and where minor disagreements can quickly escalate into fights, endangering the safety of guards.

“When these guys get in here they’re wound up anyway, and then you tell them they’re not getting cigarettes, and it’s on,” said Jason Armstrong, who runs inmate accounts at the Greene County Detention Center in eastern Tennessee, which began selling e-cigarettes in September. “Now, they’re pretty much getting their nicotine fix, so it’s cut down on altercations.”

Mr. Armstrong, who said that “pretty much everyone” at the jail used to smoke, said they had nearly sold out of the 1,500 devices bought for the facility’s 350 inmates. “It’s been tremendous,” he said.

In Nebraska, Sheriff Gustafson said the influence that e-cigarettes exert over inmates has been instrumental in maintaining good order. “The thing I like about it is it controls the guy,” he said. “We had four or five fights last week. One guy who’d had a fight asked for an e-cigarette and it calmed him down. It’s not meant to help inmates, it’s meant to help my guys.”

Logan Smith, 32, an inmate at the Macon County jail in Tennessee, said that before his arrest he had been a two-pack a day smoker. Jail, he said, put him “on edge,” but smoking a single e-cigarette each week helped soothe him.

“I’d get withdrawals from nicotine, but I didn’t want to try them at first because I didn’t think they’d help,” he said. “But it takes the nicotine edge off.”

Byron Satterfield, Macon County’s chief deputy sheriff, said that because the introduction of e-cigarettes had led to fewer inmate fights, there had also been a reduction in trips to the hospital.

“The cost of fixing a broken nose is $2,000,” he said, “so I figure we’re saving the county some money.”

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMSJAN. 23, 2014

A version of this article appears in print on January 24, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: In Rural Jails, a Calming Vapor.

 

In Rural Jails, E-Cigarettes Are a Calming Vapor

Big U.S. Cities Foment Baseless, Superstitious Fear Of Electronic Cigarettes

Whatever became of urban sophistication, especially on matters scientific and technological? We lifelong city folk cultivated a nasty habit of looking down on the denizens of the “flyover” regions as hayseeds, believing the sun revolved around the earth.

Not any longer, thanks to the baseless, superstitious fear running amok in the big-city linchpins of New York, Los Angeles, and now Chicago. The source of this surprising revival of the need to burn witches? Electronic cigarettes.

Given the potential public health miracle represented by electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), I was immensely pleased when last month the Chicago City Council flouted the demands of Mayor Rahm Emanuel by refusing to kowtow to his strong-arm tactics to have Chicago join in the attack against e-cigs (while their counterparts in New York and L.A. caved). But last week, the Council reversed course and went along with the Mayor’s bullying, consigning desperate ex-smokers into the cold Chicago night, to be surrounded by smokers, from whose toxic habit they had thought themselves free.

Meanwhile, a Midwestern state — Wisconsin by name — took pains to exclude e-cigarettes from its tightened tobacco control laws. Most other localities have taken similar, science-based measures, avoiding the counterproductive regulatory intrusions of our biggest cities.

How can the pervasive campaign against e-cigs be explained, much less justified? Cigarette smoking takes the lives of more Chicagoans than any other health threat. And not just Chicago, but nationwide, among the 44 million smokers, the annual, preventable loss is about 480,000 — an unbelievable tragedy.

While Americans’ smoking rate has gradually declined to about 20 percent since the groundbreaking Surgeon General’s report in 1964 (it was almost 50 percent during that “Mad Men” era), progress has stalled in recent years. Quitting cigarettes is devilishly hard (I know — it took me about twenty tries): inhaling the nicotine in smoke, along with its thousands of other chemicals, make cigarette addiction extremely hard to break. Without help (“cold turkey”), only 5 percent succeed, and the numerous products approved by the FDA — nicotine patches (NRT), gum, inhalers, drugs — raise the “success” rate only to an abysmal 15 percent. While three-quarters of smokers say they want to quit, smoking will eventually kill over half of them. Something had to be done to ameliorate this intolerable situation.

It now appears that perhaps something can be done: a recent, game-changing technology, electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), came upon the scene, appearing on our shores in 2007. The most commonly used e-cigs resemble cigarettes (“cigalikes”), and deliver an effective dose of nicotine suspended in water vapor and either propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin, plus optional flavorings. Most have a glowing LED tip, to further the mimicry of the real cancer sticks — crucial to satisfying smokers’ behavioral needs for successful quitting. And studies have shown that the trace levels of chemicals in e-cig vapor are not a threat to bystanders’ health. And — this is crucially important — despite what many believe (even many doctors), nicotine from these products is not toxic, nor does it cause cancer.

Ecigs are a potential public health miracle. Yet the official response has been, perversely, a monolithic refusal to even consider the potential benefits. Instead, federal and state agencies have unleashed a relentless campaign of misinformation, arising out of alleged concern for long-term, hypothetical risks. The CDC, FDA, numerous nonprofits and academics have closed ranks to disparage e-cigs and warn smokers not to even try these potential lifesavers. They have conspired to “solve” a problem that does not exist — the “harms” of e-cigs — while ignoring the actual problem: smoking-related disease and death.

Sensing a ripe political opportunity to denounce “toxic” e-cigs, demagogues have sought to ban or restrict them. Lawmakers whose zeal exceeds their scientific insight intentionally (or ignorantly) conflate e-cigs with “cigarettes,” and vapor with smoke. When I testified at a public hearing of the New York City Council and heard Commissioner of Health Tom Farley pompously assert that he had no idea what was in e-cig vapor, I quickly corrected his misstatement. Nevertheless, our City Council proceeded to ban all public use of e-cigs except where cigarettes are allowed.

As is often the case, Chicago’s Council members alleged that their intent was to protect kids from “second-hand smoke” — although there’s no smoke involved. And despite the phony statistics manipulated by the CDC, there is no evidence that e-cigs are being taken up by teens to any degree (recent studies show that youth smoking rates are down, and e-cigs are likely a gateway away from real cigarettes, not into them). And we do know that millions of smokers have become vapers, after trying and failing with the approved products.

Agenda-driven and conflicted opponents cry, “Regulate e-cigs.” They mean to regulate them off the market and into the hands of Big Tobacco. I say, Yes, regulate them, by all means: age restrictions, ingredient labels, and good manufacturing practices all need to be mandated. But making e-cigs inaccessible for desperate smokers by inane restrictions will send this message: “Keep on smoking.” To those who say, “We just don’t know what might happen,” I respond, we sure do know what happens with the real ones: almost half a million dead American smokers every year.

Gilbert Ross, M.D. is Medical and Executive Director of the American Council on Science and Health. 

From Real Time News on Forbes

Big U.S. Cities Foment Baseless, Superstitious Fear Of Electronic Cigarettes

E-Cig Bans Should Go Up In Smoke

New York City, Chicago and other parts of the country are banning electronic cigarettes anywhere smoking is prohibited. The nanny state ninnies pushing this are doing a severe disservice to folks who are trying to stop smoking or want the pleasure of seeming to smoke without doing it. These devices simulate smoking by vaporizing a liquid that may or may not contain nicotine, depending on the “smoker’s” preference. They aren’t traditional cigarettes, and the vapor isn’t smoke.

So why the moves to ban them? Because using e-cigarettes sort of looks like smoking, although anyone who isn’t blind can easily see that these aren’t the real deal. Prohibitionists also cry that there needs to be more scientific study, even though there isn’t a scintilla of evidence that e-cigs are as harmful as inhaling smoke. Until there is definitive proof of adverse consequences we should leave e-cigs alone. After all, they are ideal for smokers working to break the habit or trying to avoid going back to it. They’re a tool in the fight against cigarettes.

This mindless attack against e-cigarettes is reminiscent of the assaults against smokeless tobacco. Masticating tobacco is repulsive and harmful, but, again, it’s small beer compared with cigarettes. However, such distinctions are lost on the growing ranks of behavioral dictators.

Forbes Staff

 

E-Cig Bans Should Go Up In Smoke

Banning e-cigarettes a bad trend for recovering smokers

As a recovering nicotine addict, the rising tide of local bans against puffing in public on electronic cigarettes makes me wonder what the lawmakers have been smoking.

By an overwhelming 45-4, Chicago’s City Council has voted to follow New York, Los Angeles and other cities that have passed or are considering limits on e-cigarettes that banish their use in restaurants, bars and most other indoor public places.

Retailers also are required to sell e-cigarettes from behind the counter, so it’s harder for minors, among others, to get their hands on them.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered fake cigarettes. They contain no tobacco, require no combustion and, after exhaustive health studies, appear to cause no physical harm — compared to real cigarettes, at least.

You can’t even call their use “smoking.” Some users call it “vaping” for the vapor the devices create by heating up a liquified nicotine mix. When puffed and exhaled, the white misty vapor resembles smoke — like your breath on a cold day.

By duplicating the rituals of smoking, the devices are designed to help wean users off the nasty habit.

I understand how that works. Although I am too cheap to buy an e-cig, and the nicotine patch didn’t work for me, I alternate between a non-electric nicotine inhaler prescribed by my doctor and nicotine chewing gum.

Unfortunately, I must confess, I am still addicted to nicotine. Don’t worry about it, says my doctor, echoing other health experts. Even if the research is still inconclusive on the health risks of nicotine substitutes, anything is better than falling back into the grip of tobacco.

So what’s the problem?

Kids.

It is easy to see how protecting impressionable youths from the lethal lure of demon tobacco, which captures 90 percent of smokers as teens, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It amounts to a cause that is too tough for politicians to resist, even when the dangers of e-cigs is not entirely clear or present.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel took up former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’scrusade against tobacco and other potential health hazards, including e-cigarettes, even if they only look like a health hazard.

How far, Emanuel nobly asked, are elected officials willing to go to protect children from addiction? Well, gee, when you put it that way, what politician is not going switch immediately into better-safe-than-sorry mode?

Since 2009, when the first e-cigarette bills were introduced, 25 states, the District of Columbia and numerous municipalities, including the Chicago suburb of Evanston, have passed measures defining and regulating them.

All of those states restrict sales of e-cigarettes to minors and most require identification for both in-person and online transactions.

Fine. I am completely in favor of keeping these devices out of the hands of underage users. Our young people have more than enough dangerous temptations around them as it is.

The percentage of middle and high school students who said they had ever used e-cigarettes once more than doubled from 2011 to 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many are lured undoubtedly by the most important factor in most teens’ lives, being “cool” with their friends. Although it’s not clear how e-cigs might be a gateway drug to harder stuff, like real cigarettes, the mere possibility is a legitimate cause for concern.

Nevertheless, I ask, how does it protect kids to ban the use of e-cigs in bars, for example, where minors already are prohibited?

What next? Will government come after my nicotine gum and non-electronic inhaler? If not, will e-cigarette “vapers” claim unlawful discrimination under the Constitution’s equal-protection clause?

President Barack Obama might want to join the pushback. He vowed to quit smoking in 2007, passed a sweeping anti-smoking bill in 2009 and more recently has been seen chewing nicotine gum. Some of us feel your pain, Mr. President.

Clarence Page is a Chicago Tribune editorial writer and columnist. You can email him atcpage@tribune.com

By Clarence Page

Copyright © 2014, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Banning e-cigarettes a bad trend for recovering smokers

E-cigarettes: It's like the Wild West

With few boundaries from the FDA or Oregon, inhaling vaporized nicotine-laced liquids is gaining popularity and increased visibility

Nate Little, 30, has been smoking since he was 17 and has tried many times to quit. Nothing worked, he says.

He was smoking two packs a day. That’s a costly habit — both in terms of finances and his health.

Six months ago, the Keizer resident landed on a compromise: electronic cigarettes. Now, he would never go back to tobacco cigarettes, he says.

He spends $20 on a bottle of liquid nicotine-flavor mix, instead of $140 on cigarette packs, every two weeks. He smells better and breathes better, Little said.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that allow users to inhale vaporized nicotine, flavors and other chemicals. The flavors range from tobacco to piña colada. They’re different from traditional cigarettes because they don’t contain tobacco and tar, and there is no burning involved. The device heats up the liquid nicotine mixture, or e-juice, converting it into vapor.

Another major difference is that e-cigarettes are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the laws in place regulating tobacco do not apply to e-cigarettes. This includes TV advertising restrictions, sales restrictions to minors and use restrictions in public places. The FDA in fall of 2013 proposed a rule that would expand its oversight on tobacco products to include e-cigarettes.

Some states and municipalities have begun regulating e-cigarettes, and Oregon may soon join the ranks.

Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany, has a draft bill in hand that he’s planning to introduce in the February legislative session. It would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors — a boundary on which industry leaders, users and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should be able to easily agree.

“This is a common-sense bill,” Olson said in an interview, noting that e-cigarette retailers already have been practicing the no-minors policy. “It’s not going to be a battle out there.”

So far, at least 27 states have banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

‘The Wild West’

A barrier to policy making on e-cigarettes is the lack of scientific knowledge on the products. Long-term health effects of the products both to the users and others in the environment are not yet known.

E-cigarettes: It's like the Wild West

Boston University Study Suggests E-Cigs Can Help You Quit

The Boston University School of Public Health released a study about electronic cigarettes, concluding that “Electronic cigarettes show tremendous promise in the fight against tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.” The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (online this month and should be in the next print version).

Electronic Cigarettes more effective than the patch or gum

Even though electronic cigarettes aren’t designed to be used to quit smoking, the study found that 31 percent of respondents reported having quit smoking within 6 months of purchasing an electronic cigarette. This is abouttwice as effective as traditional nicotine replacement products like the patch or nicotine gum, which only have a 12-18% average 6-month abstinence rate.

In addition, the study found that almost 67% of respondents reported having reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked after using electronic cigarettes.

According Michael Siegel, on of the study’s authors and professor of community health sciences at Boston, “This study suggests that electronic cigarettes are helping thousands of ex-smokers remain off cigarettes.”

Siegel says that “while it is well-recognized that nicotine plays a role in smoking addiction, little attention has been given to the behavioral aspects of the addiction. These devices simulate the smoking experience, which appears to make them effective as a smoking cessation tool.”

States still fighting to ban e-cigs

A number of objective studies have suggested that electronic cigarettes are quite a bit better than tobacco cigarettes. Still, a number of states and municipalities have sought bans on the devices in an attempt to wipe anything even remotely associated with cigarettes off the face of the Earth. According to Siegel, “banning this product would invariably result in many ex-smokers returning to cigarette smoking,” and “would substantially harm the public’s health.”

A few more interesting quotes from the study:

On electronic cigarettes compared to tobacco cigarettes:

• “Theoretically, we would expect vaping to be less harmful than smoking as it delivers nicotine without the thousands of known and unknown toxicants in tobacco smoke.”


• “A product that mimics the act of smoking, in addition to delivering nicotine, can address both pharmacologic and behavioral components of cigarette addiction.”

On the safety of electronic cigarettes

• “As [about] 5300 of the estimated 10,000 – 100,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke have ever been identified, we already have more comprehensive knowledge of the chemical constituents of electronic cigarettes than tobacco ones.”


• “[Tobacco-specific nitrosamines] (TSNAs) have been detected in two [previous] studies at trace levels of 8.2 ng/g. This compares with a similar level of 8.0 ng in a nicotine patch, and it is orders of magnitude lower than TSNA levels in regular cigarettes…a 500-fold to 1400-fold reduction in concentration.”


• “The presence of [diethylene glycol] (DEG) in one of the 18 cartridges studied by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is worrisome, yet none of the other 15 studies found any DEG.”


• “Other than TSNAs and DEG, few, if any, chemicals at levels detected in electronic cigarettes raise serious health concerns.”


• “Although the existing research does not warrant a conclusion that electronic cigarettes are safe in absolute terms…a preponderance of the available evidence shows them to be much safer than tobacco cigarettes and comparable in toxicity to conventional nicotine replacement products.”

If you’re interested, you can check out the original study here [hsph.harvard.edu]

Boston University Study Suggests E-Cigs Can Help You Quit

CDC Fact Sheet on Smoking Tobacco

Cigarette smoking:1,2

Harms nearly every organ of the body

Causes many diseases and reduces the health of smokers in general

Quitting smoking lowers your risk for smoking-related diseases and can add years to your life.1,2

Smoking and Deaths

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

Cigarette smoking causes more than 440,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is about one in five deaths.2,3,4

Smoking causes more deaths each year than all of these combined:5

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Illegal drug use

Alcohol use

Motor vehicle injuries

Firearm-related incidents

Smoking causes about 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths in men1,2 and 80% (or 8 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths in women.1 More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer.6

About 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are caused by smoking.1

Smoking and Increased Health Risks

Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.

Cigarette smoking is estimated to increase the risk—

For coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times1,7

For stroke by 2 to 4 times1

Of men developing lung cancer by 23 times1

Of women developing lung cancer by 13 times1

Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease

Cigarette smokers are at greater risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease).1,2

Smoking causes stroke and coronary heart disease—the leading causes of death in the United States.1,4

Smoking damages blood vessels and can make them thicken and grow narrower. This makes your heart beat faster and your blood pressure go up. Clots can also form.

A heart attack occurs when a clot blocks the blood flow to your heart. When this happens, your heart cannot get enough oxygen. This damages the heart muscle, and part of the heart muscle can die.

A stroke occurs when a clot blocks the blood flow to part of your brain or when a blood vessel in or around your brain bursts.

Blockages caused by smoking can also reduce blood flow to your legs and skin.1,2

Smoking and Respiratory Disease

Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) found in your lungs.1,2

Lung diseases caused by smoking include COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.1,2

Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer.1,2

If you have asthma, tobacco smoke can trigger an attack or make an attack worse.1

Smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than nonsmokers.1

Smoking and Cancer

Cigarette smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body, including:2

Bladder

Bone marrow and blood

Cervix

Esophagus

Kidneys and ureters

Larynx (voice box)

Lungs

Mouth, nose, and throat

Pancreas

Stomach

Trachea

If nobody smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the United States would not happen.2

Smoking and Other Health Risks

Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and affects a person’s overall health.1,2

Smoking can make it harder for a woman to become pregnant and can affect her baby’s health before and after birth. Smoking increases risks for—1,2,6

Preterm (early) delivery

Stillbirth (death of the baby before birth)

Low birth weight

Sudden infant death syndrome (known as SIDS or crib death)

Smoking can also affect men’s sperm, which can reduce fertility and also increase risks for birth defects and miscarriage (loss of the pregnancy).2

Smoking can affect bone health.1,6

Women past childbearing years who smoke have lower bone density (weaker bones) than women who never smoked and are at greater risk for broken bones.

Smoking affects the health of your teeth and gums and can cause tooth loss.1

Smoking can increase your risk for cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens that makes it hard for you to see).1

Smoking can make diabetes harder to control.2

Quitting and Reduced Risks

Quitting smoking cuts cardiovascular risks. Just 1 year after quitting smoking, your risk for a heart attack drops sharply.2

Within 2 to 5 years after quitting smoking, your risk for stroke could fall to about the same as a nonsmoker’s.2

If you quit smoking, your risks for cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder drop by half within 5 years.2

Ten years after you quit smoking, your risk for lung cancer drops by half.2

References

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004 [accessed 2013 Dec 17].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2010 [accessed 2013 Dec 17].

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008;57(45):1226–8 [accessed 2013 Dec 17].

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. QuickStats: Number of Deaths from 10 Leading Causes–National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2013:62(08);155. [accessed 2013 Dec 17].

Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL. Actual Causes of Death in the United States. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 2004;291(10):1238–45 [cited 2013 Dec 17].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, 2001 [accessed 2013 Dec 17].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon GeneralExternal Web Site Icon. Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 1989 [accessed 2013 Dec 17].

For Further Information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Office on Smoking and Health

E-mail: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov

Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO

Media Inquiries: Contact CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health press line at 770-488-5493.

CDC Fact Sheet on Smoking Tobacco

Electronic Cigarettes Have a Rich and Powerful Enemy

Electronic cigarettes have been one of the most disruptive technologies to hit the tobacco sector in recent years. The market for them has grown rapidly, and many smokers are now switching to the electronic cigarette, or e-cig, over traditional, more harmful cigarettes. This rise to fame within the smoking community has sent tobacco players such as Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) , Altria Group (NYSE: MO  ) , Reynolds American, andLorillard into a sort of e-cig arms race.

E-cigs are for the most part unregulated, allowing companies to aggressively market these products and claim that they are relatively safe, something they cannot do with conventional cigarettes. However, opposition to e-cigs is building, and an unlikely backer is funding the move against these reduced risk products.

Foul play
The force working against the introduction of e-cigs is big pharma. Now, this will come as no surprise to some: big pharma profits from treating disease, including diseases stemming from smoking; if there is less disease to treat, then their profits will fall, which is bad news for shareholders.

In addition, big pharma is highly active in the nicotine-replacement therapy, or NRT, market.NRT includes such items as nicotine gum, lozenges, and patches, and GlaxoSmithKline(NYSE: GSK  ) is the leading marketer of these products within the United States. Obviously, if smokers who are in the process of quitting turn to e-cigs rather than NRT, Glaxo will lose revenue.

Unfortunately, it would also seem as if Glaxo has support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; in particular, Mitch Zeller, a former anti-tobacco lobbyist who was appointed head of the FDA’s center for tobacco products earlier this year. Now, Zeller should not be taking sides in this argument, but according to an article published in The Wall Street Journalback in 2009, Zeller disclosed that he “…provides consulting support to GlaxoSmithKline consumer health through Pinney Associates on an exclusive basis on issues related to tobacco dependence treatment.”

This pharmaceutical consultancy has regulatory authority over competing products, including e-cigs.

Across the pond
Meanwhile, the e-cig industry is facing pressure in Europe. Fortunately, a movement to outlaw e-cigs in their current form has been thrown out by the European Parliament. Nevertheless, a new negotiating document drafted by the European Commission seeks to overturn this decision. Brussels officials fear that there is a “risk that electronic cigarettes can develop into a gateway to normal cigarettes.” This could be a huge setback for the industry within Europe.

Working together
Obviously, this is going to affect Philip Morris’ most recent push into e-cigs. Philip Morris recently partnered with Altria, announcing that the two companies will share the technology for electronic cigarettes and ‘reduced-risk’ products under several licensing, supply, and cooperation agreements.

Under the terms of this technology-sharing deal, Altria will make its e-cigarette products available exclusively to Philip Morris for commercialization outside of the United States. In exchange, Philip Morris will make two of its reduced-risk tobacco products available for Altria to market within the US.

This is actually a great deal for both companies. You see, to some extent Philip Morris, although a leader of the tobacco world, has gotten things wrong; the company has not taken the rise of the e-cig seriously. Specifically, while peers like Altria have had e-cig products under development for months, Philip Morris only announced its intent to enter the market in November of 2013. As a result, Philip Morris has found itself lagging the field when it comes to e-cig technology.

That said, Altria itself has not been proactive in getting its product to market and has only just expanded its e-cig offering in a second state; Altria initially released its offering into 3,000 retail stores within Indiana, and it has since expanded into Arizona. However, Altria has not released sales figures for its product within Indiana, which could be a bad thing.

Foolish summary
All in all, the new e-cig industry is rife with speculation and foul play. With politicians, regulators, and pharmaceutical companies all attacking the industry, which is in its infancy, things could be about to get very messy.

Still, Philip Morris and Altria appear to be in the best position to ride out this volatility. These two tobacco behemoths are sharing technology, and any e-cig revenue is only likely to make up a small percentage of their overall income, so any regulation is unlikely to significantly impact their bottom line.

Dividend stocks can make you rich. It’s as simple as that. While they don’t garner the notoriety of high-flying growth stocks, they’re also less likely to crash and burn. And over the long term, the compounding effect of the quarterly payouts, as well as their growth, adds up faster than most investors imagine. With this in mind, our analysts sat down to identify the absolute best of the best when it comes to rock-solid dividend stocks, drawing up a list in this free report of nine that fit the bill. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can download this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.

Fool contributor Rupert Hargreaves owns shares of Altria Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of Philip Morris International. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Electronic Cigarettes Have a Rich and Powerful Enemy

E-cigarettes can learn from history rather than repeat it

The innovation of electronic cigarettes prompts a new debate on how e-cigarettes should be regulated by various levels of government.

A Journal Sentinel op-ed Jan. 9 comparing the rise of electronic cigarettes in recent years to that of traditional cigarettes in the mid-20th century was off the mark.

With all due respect Ruth A. Etzel, who wrote the piece, there needs to be some balance to the often reactionary commentary against electronic cigarettes.

There are many who believe that electronic cigarettes are providing a choice, helping consumers avoid tobacco, odor and secondhand smoke while reducing nicotine levels. E-cigarettes should be fairly and reasonably regulated like other similar consumer products.

Etzel began her commentary recalling childhood stories about vintage cigarette advertising supposedly being targeted at kids. She inferred that Winston cigarettes sponsored “The Flintstones” prime-time television cartoon from 1960 to 1966 and that characters regularly smoked on the show.

However, Winston only sponsored “The Flintstones” for its first two years, when it was targeted at adults. When the show’s writers added a baby girl character (who can forget Pebbles?) and aimed it more toward kids, Winston wisely pulled its sponsorship. It was replaced by Welch’s Grape Juice, which seems more responsible than dastardly for that time.

Etzel then highlighted the fallout and backlash against cigarettes after the 1964 surgeon general’s report linking tobacco smoking to lung cancer. Most people, even many dedicated tobacco smokers, would agree that the more than 50% decrease in cigarette smoking over the last half-century is a good thing.

So, after that long public battle against traditional tobacco cigarettes, a new technology has emerged with electronic cigarettes in the past few years. E-cigarettes remove the harmful tar, secondhand smoke and other carcinogens in burning tobacco and paper, while providing a relatively odorless vapor with varying nicotine levels.

The innovation of electronic cigarettes in reaction to tobacco marketing regulations, lawsuits and public smoking bans brings a new debate on how e-cigarettes should be regulated by various levels of government.

Because they are a new product, there are also open questions on the health impact of electronic cigarettes on consumers and those around them, including children. However, at this time, there is credible evidence on both sides of that argument, depending on one’s perspective.

For example, a cancer researcher at the Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo recently reported that nicotine exposure from electronic cigarettes is lower than that of tobacco smoke and that nicotine is relatively safer when compared to dangerous toxicants in tobacco smoke. While e-cigarettes produce some particulate matter, regular cigarettes produced about seven times more while e-cigarettes didn’t change the amount of carbon monoxide or other gases in the air, according to the study.

It seems that alarmists are willing to subjectively ignore these kinds of studies, as well as the countless personal stories of cigarette smokers who have used e-cigarettes to cut back on tobacco or to even quit. I would argue that the benefit of e-cigarettes helping current smokers avoid tobacco outweighs the potential that some non-smokers might try e-cigarettes in the future.

As for Etzel’s claim that electronic cigarettes are being marketed to appeal to kids, most e-cigarette brands and companies are avoiding the real or perceived marketing misstep that cigarette companies made in the past. Slick advertising and celebrity endorsements for e-cigarettes are no different than those we see regularly today for products such as alcohol, energy drinks or caffeinated soda.

The real reason electronic cigarette use is increasing with youths is that their use is dramatically up overall, with 2012 sales estimated at $12.5 billion. Energy drink use among kids and young adults is estimated to be between 30% and 50%, but commentary asking to ban their sales, ads or use don’t get much attention or traction.

We should accept the fact that some people are going to smoke regardless, so at least using e-cigarettes is a better choice than tobacco.

Moving forward, there should be balanced and reasonable regulation treating electronic cigarettes as a consumer product helping consumers avoid tobacco rather than encouraging its use.

One specific step toward that end here in Wisconsin is proposed legislation exempting electronic cigarettes from the state tobacco smoking ban in restaurants and taverns.

By Mike Morgan. Mike Morgan of Wauwatosa has covered the electronic cigarette industry on his E Cig Werks blog since 2009.

E-cigarettes can learn from history rather than repeat it

Now doctors say e-cigarettes do help you quit - and could save millions of lives... so why are petty bureaucrats intent on banning them from public places?

• Royal College of Physicians and GPs back them as a safer alternative
  

But last month, New York City banned them e-cigarettes public places

• Said public use ‘threatens to undermine enforcement of anti-smoking laws’

Lighting up the December night sky outside London’s O2 Arena are huge video billboards  – and at a concert by British rock band Stereophonics, there is one sponsor: E-Lites, the UK’s largest electronic cigarette company. Not very rock and roll… or is it?

Stands selling the devices do a roaring trade, while the VIP bar has sold out. As the band take to the stage, the green glow of e-cigarettes can be seen amid the flashes of countless mobile phones.

Celebrity fans of vaping – the verb used to describe the ‘smoking’ of  e-cigarettes – include Leonardo DiCaprio, Cara Delevingne, Robert Pattinson and Paris Hilton. So it is seen not only as socially acceptable but, whisper it, cool.

The Royal College of Physicians and a number of GPs now back them as a safer alternative to smoking. Small studies suggest they help smokers quit the real thing. Yet legislators have been less than welcoming. In Australia it is difficult  to buy e-cigarettes, while the devices have encountered similar problems in Brazil, Mexico and Hong Kong. And last month, New York City banned them in public places. The then Mayor Michael Bloomberg was said to believe public use of e-cigarettes threatened to undermine enforcement of anti-smoking laws.

 Unlike tobacco, e-cigarettes can be freely advertised in Britain on TV, billboards and online, and there are an estimated 1.5 million users here. Last year, global sales reached £1.3 billion.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated, usually rechargeable devices. As the user sucks on the gadget, an element is activated which heats a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid containing nicotine, turning it into a vapour that can be inhaled. There is no tobacco and no smoke, but a visible vapour is exhaled.

Budget brands can be bought on the high street, while sleeker styles can be found at more upmarket stores and dedicated ‘e-lounges’.

‘Do you want to sit in a bar as someone blows vapour in your face? Or, given that one person dies of tobacco-related disease every five minutes in the UK, do you want to encourage the use of a product that potentially may save the lives of millions of smokers?’

The astonishing popularity – there was an 800 per cent increase in 2013 in smokers using e-cigarettes to kick their habit – is agitating the tobacco industry (its sales fell eight per cent last year), pharmaceutical firms that manufacture nicotine-replacement therapies, and medical bodies concerned about safety.

The European Union wants the products banned for ‘normalising the action of smoking’, but some British doctors view e-cigarettes  as essential for smokers wanting to cut down or quit.

E-cigarettes will be at the centre of one of the hottest health debates this year. Are they a medical or a lifestyle product? Do you want to sit in a bar as someone blows vapour in your face? Do you care that your eight-year-old child can legally buy e-cigarettes when they cannot buy tobacco? Or, given that one person dies of tobacco-related disease every five minutes in the UK, do you want to encourage the use of a product that potentially may save the lives of millions of smokers?

WHAT IS AN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE?

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices with an atomiser and replaceable cartridge. The cartridge contains nicotine in a solution of either propylene glycol, or glycerine and water which can be flavoured. As the user inhales, the battery heats up the liquid inside the cartridge and produces a vapour which delivers a hit of nicotine. Toxins are at trace levels and comparable to nicotine replacement therapies. Whether e-cigarettes with a nicotine solution are as addictive as regular cigarettes is yet not known.

WILL I SAVE MONEY? 

A starter kit (battery, charger and three cartridges) costs between £10 and £90, while a refill pack of  four cartridges will cost between £10 and £18. On average you may save  20 per cent compared with real cigarettes.

HOW MANY PUFFS  IN A CARTRIDGE? 

One cartridge is the equivalent of up to 25 cigarettes. The battery lasts between two  and five hours before it needs recharging.

WILL IT HELP  ME QUIT?

In a New Zealand study, smokers were giveneither e-cigarettes, nicotine patches or nicotine-free e-cigarettes.

Six months later, nicotine e-cigarettes had the highest success rate in terms of users quitting altogether, with 7.3 per cent, then patches at  5.8 per cent and the placebo at four per cent.

LIGHTING UP – IN THE OFFICE

YOU may already have an opinion without knowing exactly how an  e-cigarette works. In fact, in the absence of any significant studies, bodies such as the British Medical Association have erred on the side of caution and deemed them unsafe.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA’s head of science and ethics, says: ‘What they do is normalise the concept of smoking when we’ve all got used to the fact that smoking in public places isn’t allowed.’

Indeed, current legislation remains confusing. If you want to use an  e-cigarette in the office you would be within your rights – the 2006 Health Act only bans smoking in public places. Yet some employers have already barred such devices – for instance, MPs are not allowed to light up an e-cigar (yes, they make these too) in the Commons.

The NHS has taken an upbeat stance: ‘Compared with regular cigarettes they are certainly the lesser of two evils,’ its website states. ‘Smoking e-cigarettes is generally regarded as a safer alternative to smoking for those unable or unwilling to stop using nicotine.’

The US Food and Drug Administration found toxins in the vapour include cancer-causing chemicals nitrosamines and formaldehyde,  but the NHS says: ‘Levels are about  one-thousandth of that in cigarette smoke. We cannot be certain that these traces of toxins are harmless, but tests on animals and a small study of 40 smokers are reassuring, providing some evidence that  e-cigarettes are well tolerated and only associated with mild adverse effects such as a dry cough.’

While the endorsement is not ringing, the NHS is desperate to reduce the nation’s love of tobacco which currently costs the NHS £2.7 billion in treatment a year. The taxpayer spent £88.2 million on ‘stop smoking’ services in 2012 and £63.4 million for cessation aids in 2011-12.

Perhaps an unlikely supporter of e-cigarettes is public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), established by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). It believes ‘there is little evidence of harmful effects from repeated exposure to propylene glycol, the chemical in which nicotine [in e-cigarette cartridges] is suspended’.

Arguably the UK’s leading champion of e-cigarettes is ASH board member Professor John Britton. He leads the tobacco advisory group for the RCP, and is director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at Nottingham University. He says: ‘There are ten million smokers alive today who will eventually be killed by smoking. If they had used e-cigarettes, those deaths could be avoided. It’s a massive potential public health prize. Successive governments have failed to tackle tobacco smoking, watching as millions die in an entirely preventable epidemic.

‘It is vital to do all we can to help people to quit smoking tobacco, and prevent young people from starting to smoke. Given the right controls, e-cigarettes could make a huge contribution to that.’

TOUGHENING UP THE RULES

With an estimated five per cent of the NHS budget spent on the treatment of smoking-related illness, Prof Britton argues that investment should be spent on smoking prevention and the education about the risks of nicotine so that moving on to an alternative such as e-cigarettes makes sense, with a view to eradicating smoking completely.

He also remains a staunch supporter of the regulation of e-cigarettes in the UK through the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The problem is, as Prof Britton explains: ‘Some e-cigarettes contain a range of pollutants that do not need to be there. The risk may be trivial in relation to smoking, but could still be important if these products are used in the long term.

‘So we need to know the solutions are clean, we need to know the devices work and deliver nicotine effectively. Many smokers have said to me e-cigarettes didn’t work for them and have resorted to smoking again; this could be because  the product didn’t deliver enough nicotine. We also need to make sure companies are promoting the health gains as an alternative to tobacco rather than advertising to children or as a lifestyle accessory.’

This is exactly the gripe of Cancer Research UK, which is concerned that celebrity endorsements encourage children to use e-cigarettes -  at present there is no age restriction on buying them. Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK’s head of tobacco policy, says: ‘Tobacco causes one in four cancer deaths. Hundreds of children start smoking every day and we don’t want the marketing of e-cigarettes to confuse the message that smoking kills. We aren’t opposed to them being marketed to adults and hope the effort encourages many smokers to give up.’

DR SMOKELESS’S PLAN

One GP who has triumphed in converting smokers to e-cigarettes  is Dr John Ashcroft, based in a deprived area of Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Last year he turned an empty office near his surgery into Dr Smokeless, a store selling e-cigarettes to patients. ‘I’ve always had a number of patients who I’ve unsuccessfully tried to help stop smoking, and suddenly they’ve stopped by using e-cigarettes,’ he says.

Top Gear’s Richard Hammond at lunch in Notting Hill

‘Some swap for their health or they want to carry on and “smoke” in the pub. Large numbers of my patients use rolled tobacco which costs £16  a week. But e-cigarettes are even cheaper – 20 a week costs £2.50.

‘The public health gain is going to be very, very large – the biggest we’re likely to see this century. We could ban cigarettes in a few years’ time and tens of thousands of lives would be saved. Are e-cigarettes totally safe? The answer is probably, but we don’t really know. I’d like to see funding for proper research.’

Dr Ashcroft has recently managed to have a code put on the national GP system so that doctors are now able to record patients using e-cigarettes. ‘We need to start recording figures of patients using e-cigarettes and health changes as they swap over. The health gains are immense.

‘When the smoking ban came in  we saw a huge reduction in heart disease. It is likely that figure will drop further thanks to e-cigarettes, although it will take longer to see changes from lung disease.’

Has Dr Ashcroft ever smoked? ‘No, but I keep a few e-cigarettes in my pocket to show patients. I passed them around at a medical conference recently. While doctors recognise the size of the health gain, most don’t know a lot about them.’

 

By SARAH HARTLEY

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2537707/Now-doctors-say-e-cigarettes-help-quit-smoking-ban-public-places.html#ixzz2qHyst8b9

Now doctors say e-cigarettes do help you quit - and could save millions of lives... so why are petty bureaucrats intent on banning them from public places?

E-cigarettes spark debate prior to legislative session

Electronic cigarettes are sparking a new debate as the start of the legislative session is about to kick off. The smoking alternative is growing in popularity all across the metro.

Corey Halfhill opened his third, and largest, Central Iowa Electronic Cigarette store Wednesday.

“Growth has just been tremendous, and a lot of it’s been word of mouth,” Halfhill said.

Electronic cigarettes are rising in popularity thanks to a growing customer base of former smokers such as Trey Gray.

“Because there’s like a 1,000 chemicals in cigarettes that can cause cancer and so on and so forth and vaping or e-cigarettes are not known to cause problems,” Gray said.

For now, the industry faces light government oversight, but that could change following this year’s legislative session.

“I think it’s imperative that the legislature enact a ban on e-cigs to minors,” said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

Miller is calling for tighter restrictions on e-cigarettes. He wants lawmakers to review whether the smoking alternative should be taxed the same as traditional tobacco.

“I think the tax question is an open question that we should work with the legislature on and have a good discussion with the e-cig people,” Miller said.

Small business owners such as Halfhill fear tinkering with the tax rate will deter customers and slow store growth.

“We’re a little hesitant getting this one started because of that,” Halfhill said.

A legislative director for the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association said it would be a public health disaster if the government makes e-cigarettes less affordable and less attractive for consumers.

Read more: http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/ecigarettes-spark-debate-prior-to-legislative-session/-/9357080/23840898/-/7mn5cq/-/index.html#ixzz2puVScaNr

E-cigarettes spark debate prior to legislative session

Gross Stuff About Smoking Cigarettes - 10 Gross Things to Help You Quit Smoking

I used to be a smoker, so I know first hand all the gross stuff about smoking cigarettes. Of course, you don’t always realize how gross this stuff really is when you’re a smoker, but trust me. It’s nasty. And it’s not all about the black lungs (Though that’s gross and it’s going to be the first thing on my list.).

I came up with these ten different things that are really gross about smoking. If this doesn’t make you want to quit smoking, then I don’t know what will.

10 Gross Things About Smoking Cigarettes

1. Black lungs. It has to be number one right. Everyone’s seen those pictures of what smoking does to your lungs. It’s nasty. Of course, it’s hard for you to think of your lungs actually looking like that, but they do. Or at least they’re getting there.

2. Gum disease. Gum disease is totally nasty. Your gums turn red and bleeding, or sometimes even black. And that’s something that people can see.

3. Teeth stains. Yet another thing that people can see. Smoking turns your teeth yellow. It also leaves dark brown tar spots on some people. Both of my parents are smokers and they’re too embarrassed to show their teeth when they smile. They just do one of those fake tight-lipped smiles.

4. The smell. You think you don’t smell, but you do. Other smokers may not notice it that much, but non-smokers certainly do. My husband still smokes and sometimes he tries to get all snuggly with me right after a cigarette. He reeks. It’s nasty.

5. Cancer. This is a horrible way to die. My grandmother died of lung cancer and it was really hard to watch her waste away. She was a tiny lady, but she was always so strong and feisty, so it was especially difficult to see her looking so small in her hospital bed.

6. Premature wrinkling. Ever noticed how heavy smokers tend to look older than they actually are? This is from smoking. It causes wrinkles.

7. Phlegm. If you’re a smoker, you probably cough a lot. And a lot of the time (particularly morning), you get a big nasty phlegm ball. This is not sexy. And even if you go to the bathroom to get it up and spit it out, people can still hear you doing it.

8. Poisons. Moving away from the physical things, have you ever taken a look at what some of the tobacco company puts into cigarettes? This may be the grossest thing of all because it includes a number of poisons and we actually pay for the privlege of putting them in our bodies.

9. You HAVE to have one. Maybe you’re not this bad yet, but sometimes there are people that are smokers and they just have to have one all the time. You can literally see them going crazy if they can’t have a smoke – like when they’re on a plane. This is a gross behavior that I wouldn’t want to show other people.

10. Manipulation with chemicals. Admit it. You have a favorite brand of cigarette. If you ever run out and have to bum one from someone else, you don’t feel quite as satisfied. This is because the tobacco companies manipulate you into only wanting their brand. You aren’t addicted only to the nicotine, you’re also addicted to the particular blend of chemicals in your brand. This is so gross.

I know all too well that you can’t stop smoking cigarettes until you are good and ready to stop. Hopefully, reading some of the gross stuff about smoking cigarettes have made you think twice about lighting up. If so, click here to learn more about how you can quit smoking without any effort.

By Star Smolik –

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Star_Smolik
http://EzineArticles.com/?Gross-Stuff-About-Smoking-Cigarettes—10-Gross-Things-to-Help-You-Quit-Smoking&id=1587751

 

 

Gross Stuff About Smoking Cigarettes - 10 Gross Things to Help You Quit Smoking

A guide to smoking-cessation options

People who want to quit smoking cigarettes no longer have to suffer through cold-turkey withdrawal.

A number of options now exist, and though most have some side effects, experts generally believe that the benefits of quitting smoking far exceed the risks posed by side effects. Current options include:

Nicotine replacement therapy

A variety of nicotine replacement products have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They include the nicotine patch, gum, inhaler, lozenges and nasal spray, according to Hilary Tindle, director of the Tobacco Treatment Service at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Patches, gum and lozenges do not require a prescription. A doctor’s prescription is necessary for nasal spray or the inhaler, according to the American Cancer Society.

Medications

Two medications can help smokers quit. One is bupropion (marketed as an antidepressant under the brand name Wellbutrin and as a quit-smoking aid under the brand name Zyban); the other is varenicline (Chantix). Tindle said that bupropion can be used in combination with nicotine replacement therapy, but that varenicline generally should not be, though she said there are rare exceptions to that rule. “Both varenicline and bupropion are effective,” she said.

“Chantix has warnings for rare psychiatric side effects, but it’s a very effective and wonderful drug that helps a lot of people quit smoking,” said Dr. Gordon Strauss, a psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and founder of QuitGroups, a free smoking cessation service.

Alternative treatments

Alternative treatments also are available to help people quit smoking, including hypnosis and acupuncture. Tindle said there haven’t been large trials on hypnosis or acupuncture so they’re not included in national guidelines. But, she said that if the only downside to a treatment is the cost or the time involved, and someone really wants to try an alternative treatment, she doesn’t discourage their use.

Social support

“The importance of social support has been minimized, but there are a lot of resources out there, like state quit lines,” Strauss said. “It’s a very important component of quitting.”

Consider, for instance, 1-800-QuitNow, which connects you to your state quit line and guarantees five phone calls from a counselor to help you quit. Tindle said that people who called this number and took nicotine replacement therapy doubled their chances of successfully quitting smoking.

Electronic cigarettes

Although smoking cessation experts have yet to give e-cigarettes the green light, many consumers are already using them to become smoke-free. The devices use heat to turn nicotine and other chemicals into a vapor that’s inhaled, much like smoking a cigarette. Most even look like a tobacco cigarette.

“E-cigarettes have been such a blessing in my life,” said Elizabeth Phillips, a Philadelphia resident and former smoker. “I tried patches, gums and pills, and nothing worked. E-cigarettes combined with perseverance and the desire to quit helped me quit.”

The bottom line?

Tindle and Strauss both emphasized that people shouldn’t be discouraged if their first quit attempt isn’t successful. For most people, it takes more than one try.

“Set a quit date, and realize that failure is part of the process,” Strauss said. “Some people take up to 10 times to quit. Dieters know that when they’re losing weight, it will take time. One day you may have a piece of apple pie, but the next day you start again. Relapses happen; be easy on yourself.”

And as Tindle said, “Remember, no matter what your age, you’ll benefit from quitting.”

More information

To learn more about electronic cigarettes, read this HealthDay story.

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

 

A guide to smoking-cessation options

E-cigarette vapor contains nicotine, not other toxins

People standing near someone using an e-cigarette will be exposed to nicotine, but not to other chemicals found in tobacco cigarette smoke, according to a new study.

E-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, create a nicotine-rich vapor that can be inhaled, or ‘vaped.’

Researchers and regulators have questioned whether e-cigarettes are a smoking cessation aid or may lure more young people toward smoking, as well as what effects they have on health.

“There is ongoing public debate whether e-cigarettes should be allowed or prohibited in public spaces,” study co-author Maciej Goniewicz told Reuters Health in an email.

Goniewicz is a cancer researcher in the Department of Health Behavior at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

“E-cigarettes contain variable amounts of nicotine and some traces of toxicants. But very little is known to what extent non-users can be exposed to nicotine and other chemicals in situations when they are present in the same room with users of e-cigarettes,” Goniewicz said.

He and his colleagues conducted two studies of secondhand exposure to e-cigarette vapors in a laboratory. Their results were published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

In the first study, the researchers used an electronic smoking machine to generate vapor in an enclosed space. They measured the amount of nicotine as well as carbon monoxide and other potentially harmful gases and particles in the chamber.

The second study included five men who regularly smoked both tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Each man entered a room and smoked his usual brand of e-cigarette for two five-minute intervals over an hour while the researchers measured air quality. The room was cleaned and ventilated and the experiment was repeated with tobacco cigarettes.

The researchers measured nicotine levels of 2.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air in the first study. Nicotine levels from e-cigarettes in the second study were slightly higher at about 3.3 micrograms per cubic meter. But tobacco cigarette smoking resulted in nicotine levels ten times higher at almost 32 micrograms per cubic meter.

“The exposure to nicotine is lower when compared to exposure from tobacco smoke. And we also know that nicotine is relatively safer when compared to other dangerous toxicants in tobacco smoke,” Goniewicz said.

E-cigarettes also produced some particulate matter, but regular cigarettes produced about seven times more. E-cigarettes didn’t change the amount of carbon monoxide or other gases in the air.

“What we found is that non-users of e-cigarettes might be exposed to nicotine but not to many toxicants when they are in close proximity to e-cigarette users,” said Goniewicz.

“It is currently very hard to predict what would be the health impact of such exposure,” he added.

He said more research is needed to find out how the current findings correspond to “real-life” situations, when many people might be using e-cigarettes in a room with restricted ventilation.

“This is an interesting piece and points in the direction that a number of other studies are pointing, though it begins to expand the evidence on the potential effects to others,” Amy Fairchild told Reuters Health in an email.

Fairchild was not involved in the new research, but has studied how e-cigarette use might impact views on regular cigarettes at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

She said the study suggests e-cigarettes are far safer, both in terms of toxins and nicotine, than tobacco cigarettes when it comes to the health effects on bystanders – although more research is needed to know for sure.

“In locales considering extending smoking bans to e-cigarettes, I think that these data weaken the case for more sweeping bans,” Fairchild said. “And so this begins to answer the question about why e-cigarettes are considered better: they reduce risks to both the user and to the bystander when compared to tobacco cigarettes.”

Fairfield said the concern about vaping ultimately revolves around whether e-cigarettes are going to change broader patterns of smoking at the population level.

“There are potential harms, including promoting continued smoking of cigarettes and renormalizing cigarette smoking behaviors,” Goniewicz said. “Regulatory agencies around the world will need to make a number of regulatory decisions about product safety that could have major effects on public health.”

Goniewicz has received funding from a drug company that makes medications to aid smoking cessation. Another study author has received funds from an e-cigarette manufacturer.

Published January 03, 2014  Reuters

E-cigarette vapor contains nicotine, not other toxins

E-Cigarettes: Separating Fiction From Fact

It’s the new year, a time when a smokers’ thoughts often turn to quitting.Some people may use that promise of a fresh start to trade their tobacco cigarettes for an electronic cigarette, a device that attempts to mimic the look and feel of a cigarette and often contains nicotine.

Here’s what you need to know about e-cigarettes:

What is an e-cigarette?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes an e-cigarette as a battery-operated device that turns nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals into a vapor that can be inhaled. The ones that contain nicotine offer varying concentrations of nicotine. Most are designed to look like a tobacco cigarette, but some look like everyday objects, such as pens or USB drives, according to the FDA.

How does an e-cigarette work?

“Nicotine or flavorings are dissolved into propylene glycol usually, though it’s hard to know for sure because they’re not regulated,” explained smoking cessation expert Dr. Gordon Strauss, founder of QuitGroups and a psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “Then, when heated, you can inhale the vapor.”

The process of using an e-cigarette is called “vaping” rather than smoking, according to Hilary Tindle, an assistant professor of medicine and director of the tobacco treatment service at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She said that people who use electronic cigarettes are called “vapers” rather than smokers.

Although many e-cigarettes are designed to look like regular cigarettes, both Tindle and Strauss said they don’t exactly replicate the smoking experience, particularly when it comes to the nicotine delivery. Most of the nicotine in e-cigarettes gets into the bloodstream through the soft tissue of your cheeks (buccal mucosa) instead of through your lungs, like it does with a tobacco cigarette.

“Nicotine from a regular cigarette gets to the brain much quicker, which may make them more addictive and satisfying,” Strauss said.

Where can e-cigarettes be used?

“People want to use e-cigarettes anywhere they can’t smoke,” Strauss said. “I sat next to someone on a plane who was using an e-cigarette. He was using it to get nicotine during the flight.” But he noted that just where it’s OK to use an e-cigarette — indoors, for instance? — remains unclear.

Wherever they’re used, though, he said it’s unlikely that anyone would get more than a miniscule amount of nicotine secondhand from an e-cigarette.

Can an e-cigarette help people quit smoking?

That, too, seems to be an unanswered question. Tindle said that “it’s too early to tell definitively that e-cigarettes can help people quit.”

A study published in The Lancet in September was the first moderately sized, randomized and controlled trial of the use of e-cigarettes to quit smoking, she said. It compared nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to nicotine patches and to e-cigarettes that simply contained flavorings. The researchers found essentially no differences in the quit rates for the products after six months of use.

“E-cigarettes didn’t do worse than the patch, and there were no differences in the adverse events,” she said. “I would be happy if it turned out to be a safe and effective alternative for quitting, but we need a few more large trials for safety and efficacy.”

Strauss noted that “although we can’t say with certainty that e-cigarettes are an effective way to quit, people are using them” for that purpose. “Some people have told me that e-cigarettes are like a godsend,” he said.

Former smoker Elizabeth Phillips would agree. She’s been smoke-free since July 2012 with the help of e-cigarettes, which she used for about eight months after giving up tobacco cigarettes.

“E-cigarettes allowed me to gradually quit smoking without completely removing myself from the physical actions and social experience associated with smoking,” Phillips said. “I consider my e-cigarette experience as a baby step that changed my life.”

Are e-cigarettes approved or regulated by the government?

E-cigarettes are not currently regulated in a specific way by the FDA. The agency would like to change this, however, and last April filed a request for the authority to regulate e-cigarettes as a tobacco product.

The attorneys general of 40 states agree that electronic cigarettes should be regulated and sent a letter to the FDA in September requesting oversight of the products. They contend that e-cigarettes are being marketed to children; some brands have fruit and candy flavors or are advertising with cartoon characters. And, they note that the health effects of e-cigarettes have not been well-studied, especially in children.

Are e-cigarettes dangerous?

“It’s not the nicotine in cigarettes that kills you, and the nicotine in e-cigarettes probably won’t really hurt you either, but again, it hasn’t been studied,” Strauss said. “Is smoking something out of a metal and plastic container safer than a cigarette? Cigarettes are already so bad for you it’s hard to imagine anything worse. But, it’s a risk/benefit analysis. For a parent trying to quit, we know that secondhand smoke is a huge risk to kids, so if an electronic cigarette keeps you from smoking, maybe you’d be helping kids with asthma or saving babies.”

But on the flip side, he said, in former smokers, using an e-cigarette could trigger the urge to smoke again.

The other big concern is children using e-cigarettes.

“More and more middle and high school kids are using e-cigarettes,” Tindle said. “Some are smoking conventional cigarettes, too. The latest data from the CDC found the rate of teens reporting ever having used an e-cigarette doubled in just a year. We could be creating new nicotine addicts. We don’t know what the addictive properties of e-cigarettes are,” she added.

“It’s shocking that they’ve been allowed to sell to minors,” Tindle said.

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about electronic cigarettes.

This HealthDay story describes options to help you quit smoking.

E-Cigarettes: Separating Fiction From Fact