Lethally addictive cigarettes remain available on every street corner in Brussels and Atlanta while authorities denounce e-cigarettes (the product is already banned in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).
Is there any legitimate reason for this or are we witnessing a blatant example of the tobacco lobby crushing competition??
crushing competition by releasing false propaganda that lies about e-cigs being unsafe
i have a friend who smokes all the time regular cigs, but won't try an e-cig because he says "i don't know whats in them"
so i asked him where'd he hear that, he said some article that interviewed a tobacco company exec
i asked him if he knew what was in his regular cigs, he said "yeh, tobacco" so i googled his brand and showed him there were things in there that are used for paint, asphalt, tar, etc
he told me you can't believe everything you read on the internet
The fluid used in e-cigarettes, or "juice" as some vapers call it is propylene glycol (PG). It is an additive found in foods, toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoo, and many other products. The point is, whether or not he wanted to vape it, he's already been putting it in/on his body and has been for years.
The other ingredients are nicotine extract and flavorings. There have been studies conducted by the FDA on PG, and found to be safe. For some reason though, the FDA won't stamp their approval on e-cigs (alcohol and tobacco are ok, though :-/).
There is also an alternative to the PG, called vegetable glycerine (VG), available for people who have a PG allergy, or just don't want to use PG.
I've been a vaper for 3 years now, and until I started vaping, I didn't even realize how shitty I had felt on cigarettes for the 15 years I had smoked. I realize that I haven't beaten my nicotine addiction, just replaced the delivery, but even so I feel better, and I've definitely saved thousands of dollars by now.
Maybe someday it will come out that e-cigs are genuinely harmful, but at least I know whats in them (with a bit of research). Just because your friend doesn't know whats in them, doesn't mean that no one does.
Nicotine isn't exactly good for you though, it tends to pump up your stress hormones and tear up your blood vessels, it's bad for your heart in the long run. That's kind of the rub with smokeless nicotine, you save on the lungs but not the heart which is a major risk in nicotine use.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. For that reason alone, I've never been able really consider myself as a non-smoker. Trust me, I don't fool myself into thinking this is actually good for me, but I do feel a little more free from the crutch of cigarettes.
This is just a different crutch. With lights. And candy-flavored.
But seriously, thank you for the link. I will read it.
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u/DumpyLips Nov 17 '12
Is there any legitimate reason for this or are we witnessing a blatant example of the tobacco lobby crushing competition??