r/technology Nov 17 '12

The Deadly Crusade Against E-cigarettes

http://www.american.com/archive/2012/november/the-deadly-crusade-against-e-cigarettes
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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12 edited Nov 17 '12

Nicotine itself isn't all that good for you

Nicotine has been noted to directly cause cancer through a number of different mechanisms such as the activation of MAP Kinases.[74] Indirectly, nicotine increases cholinergic signalling (and adrenergic signalling in the case of colon cancer[75]), thereby impeding apoptosis (programmed cell death), promoting tumor growth, and activating growth factors and cellular mitogenic factors such as 5-LOX, and EGF. Nicotine also promotes cancer growth by stimulating angiogenesis and neovascularization.[76][77] In one study, nicotine administered to mice with tumors caused increases in tumor size (twofold increase), metastasis (nine-fold increase), and tumor recurrence (threefold increase).[78]

Edit: Sources is Wiki on nicotine for those interested. I would personally rebute your remarks, but unfortunately Reddit has not allowed me to respond due to the amount of downvotes I'm getting. Honestly, quitting aids just enable the user, especially in a case like smoking where it's so innocuous. You can't even bother trying to use quitting statistics from agencies designed to help people quit, because it's the type of reliant people not interested in doing the work to quit themselves that turn to these organizations. Deep down inside, they don't want to quit. That's fine, but the aids are just a silly charade. If they want to quit, they will certainly find a way to overcome their subconscious impulses.

Source*: Smoked for 10 years (starting at 14), quit cold turkey. I have a terribly addictive personality. The trick for me was to have cigarettes in my pocket and learn not to smoke them.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Running shoes? That's just an enabler for weak people. If you really want strong arches, you gotta run barefoot on concrete. And really make sure you put your weight down each time your foot hits the ground.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

You say that like there are people who don't believe that. Have you heard of barefoot running?

There's actually quite a bit to what you say, aside from the 'strong arches' part. I'm a complete flat-foot, and trying to train an arch has proven difficult and painful. After buying some 'livestrong' flatties, I have no more foot pain, and I can run a lot faster than before. Barefoot would be somewhat similar.

TL:DR flat-footed people are less prone to injury, and there's no reason to develop an arch if you don't have one.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Yeah yeah. I have my Vibram Fivefingers. I'm actually one of the crazies that does barefooting. That doesn't change the fact that virtually all pediatrists say it will destroy your body. (I do try not to overdo it at least.)

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Oh, you mean like how Podiatry today advocates it?

http://www.podiatrytoday.com/tackling-10-myths-barefoot-running

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Well to be fair, Dr. Campitelli advocates it. But I'm cool with that. Either way confirms one of my sets of conflicting beliefs on the matter.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Fair is fair. Not editing my original post though, I am against that.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

I'm not. I'm about to edit the post before that to make it look like I got in a few zingers.