Cigarette smokers have a new smoke-free option

[jamie]

Cigarette smokers have a new smoke-free option

student news... 3/25/09
The Breeze (James Madison University)

Dr. Stephen Rodgers, the medical director of the University Health Center, believes there needs to a step-by-step program in order for e-cigarettes to even be considered an alternative to quitting smoking.

"The positive factors could be the reduction of the smoking agents that you would receive from burning cigarette tobacco, but you can't endorse nicotine as 'healthy' in any way," Rodgers said. "I'm only in favor [of the e-cig] if it had a program and a limited recommendation, such as the nicotine patch."

 

[JeremyJames]

Well actually if you read the manual some of them do have a "program" to abstain from nicotine...but I agree its a good point

 

[TropicalBob]

There is indeed a way to step down in nicotine strength, exactly as can be done with patches, gums, et al. WHO supports such a method, but slapped manufacturers who advertised the e-cig could be used that way.

E-smoking is faced with an uphill battle because (1) it can't be called a quit smoking method until expensive tests have been done; (2) there is no approved recreational use of non-tobacco products yielding nicotine to addicts.

Our reality is not their reality and it all makes for some very convoluted arguments in which neither side understands the other.

 

[Kitabz]

there is no approved recreational use of non-tobacco products yielding nicotine to addicts.

It would be nice to think that nicotine could be acceptable in the way that caffeine is - you can get coffee obviously but caffeine is available as stand alone pills, within pain killers and within soft drinks (and in the case of certain "energy" drinks, it's the main point).

Could nicotine ever be acceptable for recreational use?

I suspect the tobacco/nicotine connection is too ingrained whereas with coffee/caffeine it is not so much (plus no-one [to my knowledge] ever said "there is no such thing as a safe cup of coffee").

None of the NRTs I've looked at offers the option of indefinite use, they are simply aids to get off the nicotine addiction.

It's such a shame because nicotine has many benefits IMHO and belongs in the same group as caffeine, alcohol and candy - acceptable, even beneficial, in moderation.

 

[kinabaloo]

A recent article discussing the health benefits of coffee: Health Benefits of Coffee - WebMD

The positive impact on type-2 diabetes seems due, at least in part, to the caffeine.

Can a case be made for the benefits of nicotine?
Some pointers here: benefits of nicotine - Google Search

For example: http://www.tobaccoharmreduction.org/faq/nicotine.htm