Electronic Cigarette Smoking-A Healthier Way?

The most harmful aspect of smoking cigarettes is the 4,000 toxic chemicals that are inhaled when you burn tobacco. It's the actual smoke that is causing lung cancer and respiratory disease, not the nicotine. With electronic smoking none of these 4,000 toxic chemicals are produced because there is no smoke... nothing is actually burning. No smoke means no tar, carbon monoxide, etc.

But what about the nicotine? E-cigarettes still deliver nicotine. How dangerous is that? More independent studies on the effects of nicotine by itself need to be done. Right now the health risks are still inconclusive. Nevertheless, it's obvious that a method of delivering nicotine that doesn't involve real smoke is going to be much safer than burning tobacco.

The FDA recently reported that traces of carcinogens where found in a sample of electronic cigarette nicotine liquid. However, these same carcinogens are also found in nicotine delivery alternatives like the patch and gum (which are both approved by the FDA). Also keep in mind that many every day foods like peanut butter contain trace levels of carcinogens. This is not to say that we should not be concerned about it. Just keep it in perspective. It's important to remember that the dose of a particular carcinogen is an important factor in it's toxicity. If carcinogens are present in e-cigarette vapor, it doesn't not appear to be in high doses. Right now there is no evidence that these carcinogens are are even translated into the actual electronic cigarette vapor that is inhaled.

Are electronic cigarettes totally safe? Until more studies are done it's probably a good idea to err on the side of caution and assume that they are not 100% safe. But when you compare it to "real" smoking there really is no comparison. One thing we know for sure is that tobacco smoking is incredibly dangerous, expensive and inconvenient. E-cigarettes give smokers an alternative that appears to be much safer and will probably save countless lives. Given a choice between the two? I think it's a no brainer...

Electronic smoking is quickly rising in popularity and may change the way people smoke forever. Are you wondering if this is something that would benefit you or a loved one? Let's examine some of the many benefits of the electronic cigarette as a sensible and healthier alternative to "real" smoking.

5 Benefits of the Electronic Cigarette:

1. Health. The most dangerous aspect of smoking is the actual smoke and the associated tar, carcinogens and other chemicals that are inhaled into the lungs. With an e-cigarette nothing is actually lit, so there is no smoke, tar or carcinogens. The nicotine is vaporized into a mist that looks and feels like smoke, but isn't smoke. This is clearly a much healthier alternative.

2. Cost. The cost of the nicotine cartridges is where you really save a lot of money. An electronic cigarette nicotine cartridge is about the equivalent of 1 - 1.5 packs of tobacco cigarettes. A package of 5 cartridges will cost you around $15. This comes out to about $2-$3 per pack... this is a huge savings!

3. Convenience. You can smoke an e-cigarette anywhere because there is no smoke being emitted. You may get some funny looks if you suddenly start "vaping" in a restaurant or bar so you may want to get permission from management first. But technically you can do this in any public area because there is no second-hand smoke to be concerned with.

4. Smell. There is no lingering odor so no more worrying about stinky breath, hair, clothes, hands, etc. You won't be offending anyone with second hand smoke and no one can complain about the smell.

5. Peace of mind. You will have the peace of mind knowing that you're choosing a healthier alternative. True, you're still absorbing nicotine but at least you're avoiding the the incredibly dangerous smoke and 4,000 toxic chemicals associated with tobacco cigarettes.

A lot of people wonder if electronic smoking can help a person quit smoking altogether. There have not been enough clinical studies to prove this one way or another so this is still a debatable subject. However, other nicotine delivery alternatives like gum, patches, etc., are commonly used as a part of many stop-smoking approaches. Common sense would suggest that the electronic cigarette has the potential to do the same.