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?