Cool. Refreshing. Safe?
Electronic cigarette usage has skyrocketed in the past several years appearing in many forms such as “hookah pens” to the popular “Blu E-Cigs”. Tobacco fans across the world seem to be excited about the developing sensation of “vapor”, which is not exactly toxic smoke, but a variation that seems to be a less harmful substitute.
Electronic cigarettes could be considered a method of quitting traditional cigarettes, switching to vapor & tapering from higher levels of nicotine to little or no nicotine. At this point the user is inhaling flavored “vapor”, which doesn’t carry the same toxins found in cigarette smoke.
Electronic cigarettes are such a recent phenomenon it makes the long term effects difficult to forecast. Compared to traditional cigarette smoking, electronic cigarettes seem like a clear form of harm reduction, but let’s not celebrate just yet. There are some factors to consider; What about middle school and high school students who catch on to this trend? They see their role models such as Stephen Dorff on TV ads, looking cool, taking a nice smooth drag from an E-Cig, and it’s game on. Also, many people will use electronic cigarettes between smoking cigarettes in areas where regular cigarette smoking is not permitted. In these cases it wouldn’t be harm reduction, but adding another method of depriving organs like the lungs and brain of oxygen.
Electronic cigarettes may be fun, relaxing, and help you to look cool, but the fact is we have only scratched the surface of the effect they have on your body. The best way to quit something is to find a healthy alternative. Electronic cigarettes aren’t healthy, but if they assist people who are struggling to quit cigarette smoking, more power to them.