Electronic Cigarettes in the Media

Many media sources have taken to reporting on the safety of new smoking alternative devices called electronic cigarettes. There seems to be one large fundamental flaw between the reporters in the media and the distributors world-wide.

Let’s examine the argument in question and try to pick out the difference. If you ask an electronic cigarette vendor if their product is safe you will hear, “Yes, these devices contain only nicotine to satisfy your cravings and propylene glycol to give you the sensation of smoking.” When the media reporter gives you their take, it will sound something like, “These devices are not FDA Approved and may carry health risks.” Seems like a fair conflict of interest doesn’t it? But did you examine the context of each statement?

The poor translation between the two sources stems from the starting point of “safety”. Distributors are comparing electronic cigarettes to tobacco cigarettes. The media is comparing them to not smoking at all. This is baffling to e-cig distributors as they implicitly market the product to current smokers who will gladly take any alternative to tobacco.

Why are electronic cigarettes so blatantly safer than tobacco? In a word, combustion. When tobacco ignites, that is where the 3,000 to 4,000 harmful chemicals come from. It’s not really the plant’s fault. You could smoke anything – lettuce, broccoli, maple leaves – and create most of those same chemicals through the same simple combustion process.

So if we take the ignition out of the combustion process, we are in essence also removing thousands of killer chemicals as well. And you know the carcinogens (cancer causing agents) you’re always warned about? They’re gone too. Now compare the electronic cigarette which is combustion free to a traditional cigarette and you’re suddenly viewing from a different angle. There is only one unproven ingredient in the liquid used by electronic cigarettes that is causing all of this fuss, but the fact still remains that these devices are combustion free.

Users of the e-cigarette have rabidly taken to the internet to tell their success stories. Countless testimonials and petitions to keep them on the market can be found in forums, on blogs, and on virtually every vendors’ website. It’s a well known fact that your sense of smell and taste as well as your overall health can return shortly after you quit smoking and these are the kind of results that people are seeing with e-cigs.

The media seems to be biased against them as much as distributors seem to be bias for them, but it is ultimately up to the smoker to decide how serious they are about a smoke-free alternative that may hold the key to helping them kick the smoking habit.

Tagged with: Quit Smoking

Filed under: Quit Smoking

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