(Kansas State Collegian) Blowing Smoke/E-cigarettes, chewing tobacco offer alternatives to smoking

[ezmoose]

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Seems the author has written off E Cigarettes based on his bad experience; perhaps substandard E Cigarettes combined with his lack of skills has something to do with that?

 

[Vocalek]

Left a site comment:

"Cigarette smokers are fairly common on campus and e-cigarettes appear to be non-existent." Well, there goes the theory of Matthew Myers of Campaign for tobacco-Free Kids that young people are going to be attacted to these in droves, become addicted, and move on to tobacco cigarettes. Most purchasers are older, have smoked for decades, and want a way to regain their health. I've never used disposables, but I managed to kick a 45-year addiction to smoking by switching to a reliable model of electronic cigarette. I've been smoke-free since March 27, 2009. If there are smokers on campus who are serious about wanting to quit, I suggest visiting some of the online forums to get advice on which products work best and techniques for successful use.

 

[kristin]

Great points, Elaine!

I commented on some other points:

Unfortunately, the author of this article has had the typical e-cigarette failure issue - a new user who does no research on the product, tries the cheapest, most ineffective brand and then dismisses them from that limited experience.

My first e-cigarette was expensive - purchased at a state fair expo booth - and ineffective. Instead of giving up, I hit the internet and found an online forum. Soon, I discovered that there were MANY less expensive, yet more effective, devices available online. Rechargable and refillable devices are a much better option. You can get starter kits for as little as $35 and a month's worth of refill liquid for as little as $18. There is also a technique for how to inhale from an e-cigarette. It's a small learning curve, but well worth it.

All I can say is, if you are interested in e-cigarettes - DO THE RESEARCH. The e-cigarette community is very helpful and very passionate about these lifesaving devices. Don't be afraid to join an online forum, read as much as you can and ask questions.

Those interested in smokeless tobacco (remember, the danger is in the SMOKE, not the tobacco itself) but don't like the hassle and distaste of the spitting associated with chew, consider snus. Snus is a powdered tobacco in small little packets - much like tiny tea bags. No loose tobacco getting stuck in teeth and no spitting. It works much like nicotine gum - just tuck it into your lip or cheek.

Now, before anyone goes off on how chew and snus cause mouth cancer, let's look at the facts. Yes, there is an increased chance of mouth cancer, but do you know what that chance is? It's actually only 1-2% at most. That means there is a 98-99% chance that users WON'T get mouth cancer. Additionally, smoking has TWICE the risk of mouth cancer than smokeless tobacco and smokeless tobacco has ZERO risk of the lung cancer and emphysema caused by smoking. The warnings required on smokeless tobacco are doing more harm than good. People see them and think they may as well keep smoking, when in reality, switching to smokeless would reduce their health risks by up to 99%!

For more info on smokeless alternatives and e-cigarettes, visit the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association at CASAA.org. We are not funded by the tobacco or e-cigarette industries. We are a volunteer, non-profit organization formed to get the truth out to smokers about switching to smokeless alternatives.

 

[Reyth]

Awesomeness!

 

[rothenbj]

Kristin, I followed up your response with-

"Just a few additional comment to add to what Kristin said. I smoked for 43 years, at the end smoking between 2 and 3 packs a day. I had given up quitting, having done it at least a dozen times using every method except Chantix. Had my girlfriend not seen an ad and talked me into trying an electron cigarette, I'd still be smoking.

Bought the wrong one, but even at that, my cigarette intake dropped off significantly. Then I did what I should have done initially and googled e cigarette forums and found e-cigarette-forum.com. There were a lot friendly, knowledgeable people who were more than happy to help. Within a week or so I had one that worked well as a starter unit, a model 510, manual battery. They get marketed under various names, but they're great to learn on. I was still smoking, but I had reduced my intake to a half dozen a day.

This was good for about six months, but by then, I had getting off cigarettes as a goal. That's when I found Swedish snus. It's harder to get and more expensive since the PACT act, but still doable and a lot less expensive than smoking both in money and health. Camel is okay to find out if you like the concept, but Swedish gives you so many options. About seven months ago, I put my first portion under my lip. Seven months ago I had my last puff on a cigarette. A portion is a very small amount of very finely ground tobacco delivered in a small teabag type pouch. I normally have, on average, four portions a day.

The truth about smoking is that it is not exclusively a nicotine addiction, that is a fabrication brought to us by the anti movement, a puritanical, abolitionist style group that believes that any lie is appropriate, as long as their goals are met. Some people are heavily influenced by nicotine. Others are heavily influenced by the the hand to mouth habit (these people find that the PV (personal vaporizer, another name for e-cigs) all they need to quit smoking and getting off nicotine all together. They will vape zero nico liquid fairly easily. Then there is the other group that gets benefit from the other alkaloids in tobacco. That's where I was.

Until you go through some self evaluation, you really don't know where you are or how you'll eliminate smoking from your life. Those other alkaloids level me off and that is what snus provides me. I still use my PV, normally in social settings and at very low nicotine content. However, each person needs to find there own course.

However, the message is clear. There are solutions to smoking, a serious health risk, that work effectively for those that have not been able to quit via any other way and it can be very pleasurable to do so. You need to find your own course."

Don't you ever get tired of typing the same message. I sure do and I'm not nearly as active as you and Elaine. I just feel compelled to get the message out in as many places as possible.

 

[BCB]

I never get tired of reading the well-written responses by Vocalec, Kristen, Rothenbj, Ezemoose, et. al. (Sorry for the ones I inadvertently left out).

Keep up the good work, all!

I just wrote a pro-ecig article for a local paper that serves a few tiny, very rural communities in eastern north Idaho and western north Montana. Can't hurt.