Electric cigarette ads are everywhere. They really seem to be building momentum on the internet article directories and websites are popping up all over the place claiming terrific results when using them as a smoking cessation tool. I'm a little curious about these because I haven't read or seen any research studies detailing the outcomes (either positive or negative) of this new device. The official manufacturer advertisements themselves, don't brand it as a smoking cessation method, but rather an "alternative" to smoking regular cigarettes. So what is an electric cigarette anyway?
These devices were first used in China in 2004 and come in different "flavors". The body of the cigarette is made of stainless steel. Inside there are circuits, a smart chip and a lithium ion battery. Among these gadgets is an atomization chamber with connecting cartridge. The e-cigarette provides an inhaled dose of nicotine by delivering a vaporized propylene glycol/nicotine mixture. On the surface, this sounds great and in fact, the manufacturers claim in their advertisements that there is no more harsh smoke or odors to worry about. But they don't tell you what is in the vapor. Sure it may not smell bad, but is it good for you or those around you? They also don't tell you what's in the cartridge. The FDA looked at these last year and found several, oh let's call them, "impurities". Now to be honest, I couldn't tell you what these chemicals are or what they do to you once they're in your body. Of course, I could say the same thing about regular tobacco cigarettes too, but I can't imagine the electric cigarette is any safer than a regular tobacco cigarette.
For those who would like to argue this point, I would ask them to refer to the FDA document detailing this information. I would also ask them to provide any scientific data to support the safety of these devices. In my humble opinion, smoking cessation by using the e-cigarette is like deciding to loose weight by eating cake for dessert instead of pie. Sure it's different than the old way, but it's not necessarily better for you.
For it to be officially licensed or marketed as a stop smoking aid, it has to first gain FDA approval, who would then require it to be thoroughly investigated. Obviously, the manufacturers will never do this, so they rely on retailers and word of mouth (the internet) to get the word out.
In theory, an electric cigarette sounds like it would be a great idea. It could safely deliver nicotine replacement in a manner familiar with the smoker. It has already achieved social acceptance in places where smoking bans are in force. It just needs to do a better job of purifying it's ingredients, making sure what's in there is safe and find out what the possible side-effects might be. If you go to some of these websites, you'll not find a list of ingredients anywhere, nor will you find any safety warnings. Interestingly, the FDA did find nicotine in the cartridges labeled "nicotine-free", so I would suspect their quality control needs to be improved as well. Finally, in its current form, I don't think the electric cigarette is ready to offer any real stop smoking help, just yet.
