According to the CDC, cigarette smoking is responsible for over 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, which accounts for roughly one in five deaths annually (CDC 2017). With so many deaths attributed to cigarette smoking, tobacco harm reduction is important for the health and well-being of the population. New and emerging technologies, such as electronic cigarettes, have paved the way to living a healthier, smoke-free, lifestyle. E-cigarettes use a heating element to vaporize a mixture of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and flavoring to simulate traditional smoking. These devices first appeared in China in 2003 but quickly spread across the world and into a multi-billion-dollar industry. With more and more people switching to e-cigarettes, it is clear that e-cigarettes are better than smoking because of the health benefits, their viability as a smoking cessation device, and the booming open source vapor industry.
Critics are quick to dismiss the health benefits of vaping, but science has proven that vaping is far healthier than smoking cigarettes. It is a well-known fact that tobacco combustion causes heart disease, cancer, and stroke. E-cigarettes do not involve tobacco combustion, which means that e-cigarette vapor does not cause any of these ailments. Toxin levels in e-cigarette vapor and risk of long-term harm are low (Royal College of Physicians 79). One of the other deadly aspects of traditional cigarettes is the negative health effects of
Steven Reinberg is a senior staff reporter for HealthDay. He also has won awards for his health journals and has written for both consumer and professional audiences. Reiberg wrote this piece for HealthDay and then it was published on WebMD. WebMD is online source where anyone can go to get health information. All the information comes from over 100 doctors and physicians that WebMD works with so that they can provide accurate information. This article provides information on the the benefits of electronic cigarettes outweigh the harm they might cause. Using the liquid for electronic cigarettes cuts out all the extra chemicals that are found in traditional cigarettes.
Originally manufactured in China in 2003, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were manufactured as a better way of inhaling nicotine without the health effects of smoking tobacco. They were developed to provide the tobacco user with a device that would heat up liquid nicotine and other chemicals including carcinogens that once heated would create a vapor in which the user would inhale. Unlike cigarettes, nothing is burned, and there is no smoke released from the device. E-cigarettes are marketed to the consumer as a better way of quitting smoking or just sustaining the craving of tobacco by allowing the smoker the pleasure of nicotine in reduced amounts. Currently, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products regulates cigarettes, tobacco, and smokeless tobacco and only e-cigarettes that are marketed to the consumer for therapeutic purposes are regulated by the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The e-cigarette format, however, does not eliminate concerns regarding public and individual health risks. The World Health Organization has called for e-cigarette usage to be monitored in the same way as more conventional tobacco products,(23) the US FDA is advocating for more research,(24) and there has been a dramatic increase in analyses of the chemical, physiological, psychological and socio-cultural aspects of e-cigarettes.(2-7,9-12,14-21,24-52)
The popularity of e-cigarettes and vapes has grown exponentially within the last couple of years. These two alternatives offer a “safe” way to consume nicotine or just a substitute to regular cigarette smoking. These products omit water vapor instead of tobacco smoke, constructing it as less of a health risk. Nicotine can be added to the mixture to help quit smoking or offer a healthier option to those with nicotine dependence. There has not been widespread research on conventional e-cigarettes, in addition to data on vapes been relatively premature. These smoking devices have not be regulated by the FDA yet, but the FDA has looked into e-cigarettes and its contents (FDA, 2015). Many e-cigarettes that are thought to be free of nicotine, have
Smoking is an addiction that can risk one’s health, which in turn can lead to death. As time advances, both smokers and non-smokers are beginning to understand the harm in this deadly habit because not only does it harm smokers, it can impact anyone who encounters the smoke second-hand. Since the public has become aware of the health risks induced by smoking, cessation tools such as nicotine replacement therapy are being invented to help terminate the desire to smoke. As technology improves, smoking devices like the electronic cigarette are invented and can be considered an effective cessation tool. Electronic cigarettes can deliver low doses of nicotine to ease withdrawal symptoms. Furthermore, as electronic cigarettes increase in
The addiction to tobacco, nicotine, and smoking is something the humans have embraced and battled since the early 1800’s. With more and more people falling into the habit and becoming addicted, many detrimental health effects on the body caused people to question what was going on and what was causing these negative reactions in the body. Soon enough, the healthy and “cool” cigarettes that everyone was smoking became the face of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, birth defects, and many other deadly bodily reactions. In the early 2000’s electronic cigarettes (ECs) were developed by a Chinese pharmacist that hoped to allow smokers to maintain their nicotine addiction, but limit or end the harmful and detrimental effects of tobacco on the body, due to his father’s death of tobacco-attributable lung cancer.1 A typical EC consists of a rechargeable lithium battery, a heating tool called an atomizer, which vaporizes a humectant (typically propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and/or polyethylene glycol 400). The humectant contains liquid nicotine. When the smoker inhales, the heating tool is activated by an airflow sensor, and the nicotine is vaporized.1 2
The profitable business of electronic cigarettes has raised over $3 Billion dollars annually, vastly spread across over 466 brands which have joined the ordeal. Above all, known as a “gateway drug”, electronic cigarettes have claimed the once-ordinary lives of people, specifically to those who have turned from tobacco cigarettes. What is more, scientists have determined that not enough research has been executed to automatically assume the healthiness of e-cigarettes. Despite this, many have claimed that e-cigarettes, are, and will be the new “healthy” drug, so to speak. Provided that e-cigarettes do not release harmful smoke, they are still not safe for one’s health given that not enough research has been performed on them.
An increasing number of physicians and scientists agree that e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative, and they say these products could end a major health problem. The Royal College of Physicians say, "Electronic cigarettes and other nicotine-containing devices offer massive potential to improve public health, by providing smokers with a much safer alternative to tobacco" (Jen Christensen, sec. 4).
In the United States, the usage of cigarettes is slowly declining, making way for alternative forms of tobacco and nicotine sources to become popular. In the past decade, one of these cigarette alternatives has become very popular, even widely among teens, and it’s referred to as “vaping”. Vaping is the use of electronic cigarettes that replace burning paper and tobacco with flavored steam, which usually has nicotine in it (Kriegel). Since vaping hasn’t been around very long and hasn’t become popular until recently, not much is known about the effects or how harmful it could be long term. One source says, “There's also a widespread belief that e-cigarettes are safe, or at least safer than conventional tobacco products. But several studies have suggested this may not be the case,” (Fox). Although there is a very strong debate on whether e-cigarettes are a safe alternative for cigarettes, there are too many risk factors involved due to conflicting information and studies, for vaping to be deemed safe.
Do you know a friend, or have a family member that uses an e-cigarette? The chances of a person has increased greatly. According to the American Lung Association,”both high school and middle school students e-cigarette usage has tripled in one year, increasing from 4.5% in 2013 to 13.4 % in 2014.” With the rising usage rates, e-cigs and their dangers associated with them are impacting more and more Americans everyday. While some people in America believe that electronic cigarettes are safe, Americans should be aware that electronic cigarettes have dangers, including addiction and harmful chemicals.
Additionally, it is not known if e-cigarettes may lead young people to try other tobacco products, including conventional cigarettes, which are known to cause disease and lead to premature death” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2103). With a lack of scientific study by the very agency concerned with the public health, it is safe to say that Electronic Cigarettes should be avoided at all costs. Do not rush to the finish line based on loose information. No matter what form it comes in, smoking is bad. There are plenty of toxins that enter the body just from the ambient air that people breathe, why add more to the mix? Do not be afraid to take a stand and say no more self pollution.
Each month, the scientific literature surrounding e-cigarettes grows and shows that the e-cigarette causes less harm than smoking. We have seen more than 150 published scientific studies associated with
E-cigarettes appear as an innocent alternative to the real thing but the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory identifying the “volatile” substances in the device and its emitted smoke may not be that harmless after all (“FDA: Second-Hand Smoke From E-Cigarettes May Be Harmful To Your Health”, 2013). Electronic cigarettes contain organic substances including propylene glycol, flavors, and nicotine which are emitted as a mist into the air in enclosed areas. FDA studies show that these microscopic liquid particles have the possibility of penetrating deep into our lungs. Also cited by the FDA in a German publication on electronic cigarettes shows
E-cigarette is believed to greatly reduce on the health effects associated with tobacco smoking. However, e-cigarette has been criticized as a leading cause of smoking among the youth due to its flavor as well as its novel appearance and campaigns. It is also believed to pose some health risks. Despite such drawbacks, e-cigarette has recently gained a lot of popularity and subsequent growth.
Cigarette smoking is something people all over the world have been doing for about 2000 years. Back in 2003, the first electronic cigarette was successfully created by a gentleman named Hon Lik. Lik was a 52 year old pharmacist at the time, whom of which was also a smoker. The inspiration behind making the electronic cigarette came after Lik’s father passed away from lung cancer due to him also being a heavy smoker. “A Historical Timeline of Electronic Cigarettes.” cassia.org. Consumer Advocates for Smoke Free Alternatives Association, 15 June 2017. The idea behind creating this device was to give smokers a way to still ingest nicotine, the most addictive chemical in tobacco cigarettes, without the countless negative health effects that