By LP Hastings Wed., Apr. 9 2014 at 6 03 AM Categories E Fer Madness, Electronic Cigarettes

John GilhooleySuch little bottles, so much about e cigarettes run the gamut from factual, misinformed, overly positive, and just downright stupid. The latter is the easiest to run with because it’s so damn easily debunked. Here are our favorites…

1. Nicotine Juice is Extremely Dangerous

A recent New York Times article contended that e liquid is just poison by the barrel, and that title alone sparked E Fer Madness across the Interwebz. Since then, reams of articles have fretted about hundreds of cases of people poisoned by it, whether from ingesting the e liquid, puffing like a maniac, or spilling it on themselves in their sleep.

The truth E liquid is not for drinking nor is it a topical oil. There’s hundreds of chemical products in every American home that if ingested or poured onto the skin would make for a real bummer of a night. Most people poisoned by juice via ingestion are kids. Kids are also known to eat shit and drink Drain O if left to their own devices.

Poisoning by inhalation is also easily debunked. Puffing on nicotine for three hours straight makes you nauseous? No way! Smoking regular cigarettes for three hours straight will do the same exact thing! That also applies to drinking, marijuana, excessive jogging, oversleeping, playing Grand Theft Auto V , and every other activity if done in excess. Moderation has always been the key, and e cigs are no different.

One of the few articles to point out this obvious fact quoted someone with little clout these days a Big Tobacco man. Jason Healy, the president of Lorillard Inc.’s Blu E cigs Unit, told the Winston Salem Journal, “The product is for adult smokers, and therefore the responsibility for children’s safety falls on the parents, just like bleaches and prescription focus should be on parenting and education, and not regulation.”

2. Exhaled Vapor is Equivalent to Second Hand Smoke

John GilhooleyOh no! That’s not a barrel full of poison, is it?

Oh no! Pull the fire alarm! We don’t know the affects of second hand vapor and we’re all gonna diiie!

The Huffington Post wrote a laughable piece on the possible dangers of second hand vapor, and that’s not even counting when they wondered if it’s safe to “bogart an e cig” or why people have “got to” smoke in the first place. They examined an admittedly small study by Wolfgang Schober of the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority that found exhaled vapor worsened the indoor air quality and increase the concentration of nicotine, PAHs, and aluminum in the room. Well, sure if you’re hanging out in a vape shop with 10 other people puffing away, it might get a little hazy. But for the average person that doesn’t vape, it won’t affect them since it dissipates almost instantly and the amount of nicotine released after a person has already inhaled is minute. You’ll get more nicotine in your system if you eat an eggplant for dinner.

Time Magazine quoted a study from Nicotine and Tobacco Research that “found…e cigarettes are a source of second hand exposure to nicotine, but not of other compounds released when tobacco is burned.” They also pointed out that the amount of nicotine was 10 times less than tobacco smoke. Pretty sure that when folks worry about real second hand smoke, it’s not the nicotine they’re concerned about.
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Electronic cigarettes: help or hazard? – harvard health blog – harvard health publications

What types of marlboro cigarettes are there
Posted September 22, 2011, 10 07 am Harvey B. Simon, M.D., Editor, Harvard Health

Kicking the cigarette habit is one of the best things that smokers can do for themselves. Nicotine replacement products, prescription medications, and counseling can all help. What about the newest tobacco substitute, the electronic cigarette? Despite the appeal of so called e cigarettes, we don t know enough about their safety or effectiveness to give them the green light.

Electronic cigarettes come in a variety of shapes. Some look like cigarettes, pipes, or cigars, while others are disguised as pens or other more socially acceptable items. Whatever their shape, they all are built around a battery operated heating element, a replaceable cartridge that contains nicotine and other chemicals, and an atomizer that converts the chemicals into an inhalable vapor.

A study published this spring in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine concluded that electronic cigarettes may help smokers quit. Whether they are a safe way to quit is another question preliminary studies from the FDA, New Zealand, and Greece raise some concerns.

There are three reasons to worry about electronic cigarettes. First, the dose of nicotine delivered with each puff may vary substantially. An FDA analysis recorded nicotine doses between 26.8 and 43.2 micrograms per puff. It also detected nicotine in products labeled as nicotine free.

Second, electronic cigarettes deliver an array of other chemicals, including diethylene glycol (a highly toxic substance), various nitrosamines (powerful carcinogens found in tobacco), and at least four other chemicals suspected of being harmful to humans. To be sure, the dose of these compounds is generally smaller than found in “real” cigarette smoke. But it isn’t zero.

Third, by simulating the cigarette experience, electronic cigarettes might reactivate the habit in ex smokers. They could also be a gateway into tobacco abuse for young people who are not yet hooked.

We need scientific studies of e cigarettes. Until then, it’s caveat emptor, buyer beware. And be aware that there are better and safer ways to quit. The most effective strategy involves using nicotine replacement or a medication along with some sort of counseling or support, either in person, by telephone, or even by text message.

If you want to quit, solid information and advice are available at , a Web site developed by the National Cancer Institute. Any of the approved methods are vastly preferable to smoking and to electronic cigarettes.

Dr. Harvey Simon is Editor of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch, a monthly newsletter written to help men lead healthier, longer lives. Related Information How to Quit Smoking 10 Minute Consult Print Related Posts

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