Gault’s Place

There was a time when people doubted there were any ill effects of smokiobacco cigarettes and inhaling the secondhand smoke. In fact, it was so accepted that smoking could be done inside public buildings without any ramifications or without anyone giving you a disgusted look. Speed forward a few decades and numerous studies on smoking, and you now have the accepted common knowledge that smoking cigarettes does kill people.

As a result of this backlash against tobacco products, smokers have suffered from rules and regulations that restrict them from enjoying their smoking time. Rules about how far you have to stand from a building have been enforced as well as rules regarding smoking inside any public area. In some places, smoking is looked down upon so much that shop owners will place disdainful and scornful messages on their windows about cigarette smoking.

All that has changed, however, with a revolutionary product that has been causing a whirlwind in the market as of late. That product is the e-cigarette, which may sound like a weird contraption, but is actually very beneficial. The e-cigarette, or electric or electronic cigarette, emulates the traditional tobacco cigarette, but it is different in many ways.

For one, the e-cigarette requires no flame to light up, and therefore there is no smoke. The smoke-like substance you see coming out of the end of the device is actually an odorless vapor. The e-cigarette’s atomizer, or heating element, heats up the liquid solution that is contained in the cartridge and turns it into vapor, which is then inhaled by the “vaper”. The user gets the same feel as smoking a tobacco cigarette because the liquid solution contains different strengths of nicotine. Of course, no nicotine solutions are also available.

Although the e-cigarette is not marketed as a cessation device, many users have found it to help them stop smoking. Because they can still get their nicotine from the e-cigarette, they no longer have a craving to smoke a real cigarette, which is better for them because they are inhaling less toxins and cancer-causing agents that are typically found in cigarette smoke. Users have reported that they feel better, breathe better, and even have more energy than they did before.

As of now, it seems that the vapor emitted from the e-cigarette is safe and contains no harmful chemicals, so there are no laws regarding where they can be used or cannot used.

If you went to a trade show, you might have seen one. If you take a stroll through your mall or shopping center, you might have seen one there as well. This product is the electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, and it has aroused the interest in many people, particularly smokers.

The purpose of the e-cigarette is simple: It is meant as an alternative to smoking tobacco cigarettes. As long as you have a good e-cigarette model, it is supposed to give you the same feel as though you’re smoking a real cigarette but without the harmful side effects. It is not, at the current time, marketed as a cessation device, but the percentage rate of former smokers who started on the e-cigarette have reported that they stopped smoking real cigarettes immediately.

While no research has been conducted as of yet on the long-term effects on e-cigarette usage, users have reported that they are either maintaining the same level of nicotine intake when using tobacco cigarettes or they are actually reducing their intake gradually.

Perhaps the thing that separates the e-cigarettes from other cessation devices is the fact that it combats both the physical and psychological needs of smoking a cigarette. For the obvious addiction to nicotine, the e-cigarette takes care of that through the nicotine that is found in the refill cartridge. For the psychological addiction to cigarettes, which is the act of smoking itself, is also taken care of. No other cessation device can do what the e-cigarette does – not the patch, inhaler, or other herbal remedy.

The benefits of using an e-cigarette are plenty. For one, you will no longer smell like an ashtray. Your home, your clothes, and your belongings will get a whole new makeover and will no longer reek of smoke odors. Second, you will be significantly reducing the amount of toxins that you are putting into your body. The smoke from tobacco cigarettes emits over 4,000 chemicals and other toxins, while the e-cigarette is known, at this time, to emit traces of nicotine.

By using an e-cigarette, you are greatly reducing your risk of developing debilitating disease later on in your life. Research shows that smokers in their 40s to 50s are five times more likely to develop coronary heart disease due to smoking. It is reassuring to know that using an e-cigarette gives you the satisfaction you seek without subjecting your body and health to heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, and cancer of your other organs.

When you compare and contrast the e-cigarette to the tobacco cigarette, it is easy to see which one is the victor. The latter has already caused millions of people around the world to die of disease, while the former has showed no negative implications thus far. Granted, the e-cigarette is still a fairly new object and more research has to be conducted in regards to any health risks it may pose, but one look at the ingredients that make up the liquid solution, and it is still obvious to see which one is safer.

It would probably be fine if the ingredients placed into tobacco cigarettes contained just a few key items, but they do not. In fact, there are 559 additives included in the tobacco mixture, and over 4,000 chemicals are found in the smoke as a result of burning the mixture.

On the other hand, electronic cigarettes contain anywhere from 5 to 20 ingredients, and the main ones are propylene glycol, water, nicotine, and artificial and natural flavors.

The list of chemicals found in the smoke are endless. Tar, the same black, gooey stuff that is used to pave roads, coats lungs. Cadmium is used for batteries, but is found in cigarettes. Arsenic, ammonia, and a plethora of other chemicals, toxins, and cancer-causing agents are found in tobacco smoke. As we all know by now, secondhand smoke can and has killed thousands upon thousands of people.

On the other hand, a recent study conducted by the FDA shows that e-cigarettes contain nitrosamines, which is also a chemical found in tobacco cigarettes. Consequently, there was a big uproar from the e-cigarette opposition, but if tobacco cigarettes have them and a thousand other chemicals, why has the FDA allowed them on the market?

In addition, the butt, or filter, is made with acetate, which dramatically slows down the decomposing of the filter. The filter also leaches cadmium, arsenic, and lead, which causes even more pollution. When the butts are not disposed of in the proper receptacles, both humans and animal life are compromised by these chemicals. Studies have shown that cigarette butts in water have caused defects in marine life, and these chemicals have also been found in the intestines of fish, birds, and other marine animals.

E-cigarettes use refill cartridges that can be reused repeatedly by placing a few drops of e-liquid, or solution. Reusing old cartridges means less waste, which is perfect for those who like to help out the environment any way they can.