The electronic cigarette: Is this the invention smokers have been waiting for?
A safe product that mimics the experience of smoking tobacco has long been the Holy Grail for smokers who find it impossible to quit.
Many smokers try and try to give up their habit only to find themselves back again puffing on the evil weed. Now, thanks to a Chinese company, they may be able to carry on without the fears of the terrible health consequences of smoking tobacco.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man, with some studies showing it to be harder to quit than ....... and ...... (1). But it is the way that smokers get their dose of nicotine that makes it so difficult to crack.
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products have been on the market for many years now, and their success rate is low with only 23% of users still abstinent from tobacco after a year (2).
Current NRTs work in one of two ways - introducing the nicotine either through the skin or through the mucous membranes in the mouth, nose and throat. Even the inhalator (the plastic cigarette style device) delivers nicotine in this way - despite the user inhaling deeply, the nicotine is deposited onto the mucous membranes rather than being deposited in the lungs.
Although tobacco users do get their nicotine fix, it takes several minutes for the nicotine to reach peak levels in the blood plasma.
However, when a smoker inhales tobacco smoke, the peak levels are reached in several seconds. It is this instantaneous "hit" that renders cigarette smoke so much more addictive than NRT products.
The reason nicotine is so much more rapidly delivered to the user's blood stream in smoke is one of simple geometry and biology. When nicotine is heated in the ember, it becomes a vapour that is inhaled deep within the lungs. In the lungs there are thousands of tiny pockets called alveoli where gases are exchanged between blood and air. The combined surface area of the pockets is between 29 and 69 meters squared (3), allowing the inhaled nicotine to enter the bloodstream extremely rapidly.
So the perfect solution would be one where the smoker still inhales vaporised nicotine, but doesnt inhale the 4000 or so other chemicals present in tobacco smoke. Step forward the Ruyan e-cigarette.
Ruyan - the solution?
The e-cigarette is designed to mimic the smoking experience as closely as possible.
As the user draws on the end of the device, a solution containing nicotine and flavorings is heated and atomized. The resulting vapour hits the users throat at 50-60°C making it feel just like the real thing. The user exhales a cloud of mist almost identical to smoke. Most importantly, of course, the vaporised nicotine is taken deeply within the lungs satisfying the craving just like a cigarette. The LED tip of the e-cigarette even glows red!
The Ruyan is a marvel of modern technology. Packed into the device is a Motorola silicon chip that controls the atomization process; a delicate sensor that activates the cigarette when its puffed on; the atomizer itself; the cartridge containing the nicotine solution and, of course, the battery.
I suspect that out of all these components, it is the advances in battery power that has enabled the e-cigarette to now become a reality. When you use an e-cigarette, the atomizer becomes quite hot, so quite a bit of energy must be being used. With older battery technology, you would have had to change/charge them so often that the e-cigarette would simply have been impractical.
A genuine Ruyan comes in four different models - a cigarette, cigarillo, cigar or even a pipe are available and they will set you back about £100 ($200, 130) for the starter kit, which includes the charger and some nicotine cartridges to get you going.
There are numerous lower-quality copies available from a bewildering array of websites, and while these will give you a cheap entry into the e-smoking market, don't expect them to last you long before blockages and battery decline make them unusable - You buys it cheap, you buys it twice! Many e-smokers buy one of these imitations to evaluate the product and then go on to fork out for the real thing.
Why not just quit? - Surely nicotine is still bad for you?
The subject of nicotine's health effects has been quite controversial amongst health care professionals for some time. Although most concede that on balance a nicotine habit is unhealthy whatever form it takes, many have argued that nicotine is relatively benign. In other words, smokers who cannot quit should be encouraged towards safer forms of nicotine consumption.
The main justification used for this approach is the "Swedish example." In much of Scandinavia, a form of oral tobacco called Snus has been used for decades. Culturally Snus is only used by men, which means researchers have the perfect opportunity to compare data side by side with a control group: Women. And the conclusions are startling.
In Sweden:
So we can see that where a safer tobacco product is widely used, the number of tobacco-related deaths plummets. Perhaps this should not be surprising, but such a drastic real-world example as in Sweden has made health care professionals take notice.
However, nicotine is still a very powerful drug and recent research suggests that it may have a nasty side previously under-examined.
Tests on adolescent rats have shown that nicotine has a profound influence on their behavior, both immediately after exposure and in their long-term brain chemistry.
The rats were studied for their reactions to an inescapable stressful environment and given a sugar-reward test and an anxiety test. The results showed that the rats gave up more quickly in the stress-test, showed a lack of interest in the reward test and were far more anxious in the anxiety test.
It is therefore possible that nicotine has a similar effect on people, reducing their capacity for pleasure and reward, perhaps permanently if smoking started in early adolescence. Additional studies have also demonstrated a far greater incidence of depression amongst smokers.
Sadly, nicotine has one last sting in the tail: Many cancer sufferers who smoke carry on smoking, believing that the harm has already been done so there's no point in quitting. However, research has shown that nicotine actually makes cancers more aggressive (4).
Nicotine addiction is one of the hardest to break, with only 1 in 5 still not smoking a year after quitting using NRT. Scientific research has thrown up two alternative medicines to tackle it in recent years: Bupropion (Zyban, Wellbutrin) and Varenicline (Champix, Chantix), but the jury is still out on how effective they are.
Until there is a truly effective medicine or technique for quitting tobacco, the e-cigarette may be the least-worst option for those who have tried but just can't quit smoking.
Buying an electronic cigarette
Unless you live in the Far East or parts of Europe, you will be unlikely to find a Ruyan at your local drugstore. Legal uncertainty surrounds any new nicotine products in Europe, America and elsewhere, where strict regulations control the tobacco industry.
In Europe, it looks as though the Ruyan will have to be designated a CE class IIa medical device and sold under the same regulations as NRT products. In America FDA approval is pending, and as soon as it is approved we will probably see action being taken against the counterfeit sellers. At any rate, getting hold of the genuine item will certainly be more straightforward.
Still, quite a number of websites do sell them, most offering worldwide express delivery. If you have any doubts as to whether a site is selling a genuine Ruyan, e-mail the owner and ask them! If you have any doubts or don't receive a reply, look at another supplier. A large and growing list can be seen at www.e-cigarette-forum.com.
Please register at the forum to review your e-cigarette and to take part in the discussions, so other users can benefit from your experience.
Good luck with your e-smoking adventures!
List of academic references
A safe product that mimics the experience of smoking tobacco has long been the Holy Grail for smokers who find it impossible to quit.
Many smokers try and try to give up their habit only to find themselves back again puffing on the evil weed. Now, thanks to a Chinese company, they may be able to carry on without the fears of the terrible health consequences of smoking tobacco.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man, with some studies showing it to be harder to quit than ....... and ...... (1). But it is the way that smokers get their dose of nicotine that makes it so difficult to crack.
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products have been on the market for many years now, and their success rate is low with only 23% of users still abstinent from tobacco after a year (2).
Current NRTs work in one of two ways - introducing the nicotine either through the skin or through the mucous membranes in the mouth, nose and throat. Even the inhalator (the plastic cigarette style device) delivers nicotine in this way - despite the user inhaling deeply, the nicotine is deposited onto the mucous membranes rather than being deposited in the lungs.
Although tobacco users do get their nicotine fix, it takes several minutes for the nicotine to reach peak levels in the blood plasma.
However, when a smoker inhales tobacco smoke, the peak levels are reached in several seconds. It is this instantaneous "hit" that renders cigarette smoke so much more addictive than NRT products.
The reason nicotine is so much more rapidly delivered to the user's blood stream in smoke is one of simple geometry and biology. When nicotine is heated in the ember, it becomes a vapour that is inhaled deep within the lungs. In the lungs there are thousands of tiny pockets called alveoli where gases are exchanged between blood and air. The combined surface area of the pockets is between 29 and 69 meters squared (3), allowing the inhaled nicotine to enter the bloodstream extremely rapidly.
So the perfect solution would be one where the smoker still inhales vaporised nicotine, but doesnt inhale the 4000 or so other chemicals present in tobacco smoke. Step forward the Ruyan e-cigarette.
Ruyan - the solution?
The e-cigarette is designed to mimic the smoking experience as closely as possible.
As the user draws on the end of the device, a solution containing nicotine and flavorings is heated and atomized. The resulting vapour hits the users throat at 50-60°C making it feel just like the real thing. The user exhales a cloud of mist almost identical to smoke. Most importantly, of course, the vaporised nicotine is taken deeply within the lungs satisfying the craving just like a cigarette. The LED tip of the e-cigarette even glows red!
The Ruyan is a marvel of modern technology. Packed into the device is a Motorola silicon chip that controls the atomization process; a delicate sensor that activates the cigarette when its puffed on; the atomizer itself; the cartridge containing the nicotine solution and, of course, the battery.
I suspect that out of all these components, it is the advances in battery power that has enabled the e-cigarette to now become a reality. When you use an e-cigarette, the atomizer becomes quite hot, so quite a bit of energy must be being used. With older battery technology, you would have had to change/charge them so often that the e-cigarette would simply have been impractical.
A genuine Ruyan comes in four different models - a cigarette, cigarillo, cigar or even a pipe are available and they will set you back about £100 ($200, 130) for the starter kit, which includes the charger and some nicotine cartridges to get you going.
There are numerous lower-quality copies available from a bewildering array of websites, and while these will give you a cheap entry into the e-smoking market, don't expect them to last you long before blockages and battery decline make them unusable - You buys it cheap, you buys it twice! Many e-smokers buy one of these imitations to evaluate the product and then go on to fork out for the real thing.
Why not just quit? - Surely nicotine is still bad for you?
The subject of nicotine's health effects has been quite controversial amongst health care professionals for some time. Although most concede that on balance a nicotine habit is unhealthy whatever form it takes, many have argued that nicotine is relatively benign. In other words, smokers who cannot quit should be encouraged towards safer forms of nicotine consumption.
The main justification used for this approach is the "Swedish example." In much of Scandinavia, a form of oral tobacco called Snus has been used for decades. Culturally Snus is only used by men, which means researchers have the perfect opportunity to compare data side by side with a control group: Women. And the conclusions are startling.
In Sweden:
- 17.1% of men smoke tobacco and 19% of men use Snus.
[/*:m:vmbanec4] - the number of women smokers equates to the European average (around 30%)
[/*:m:vmbanec4] - Per person, the amount of tobacco used is pretty much the same as elsewhere in Europe.
[/*:m:vmbanec4] - 25% of all deaths in Europe are tobacco related. For Swedish men, 11% of all deaths are tobacco related. For Swedish women, smoking related deaths follow closely the European average.[/*:m:vmbanec4]
So we can see that where a safer tobacco product is widely used, the number of tobacco-related deaths plummets. Perhaps this should not be surprising, but such a drastic real-world example as in Sweden has made health care professionals take notice.
However, nicotine is still a very powerful drug and recent research suggests that it may have a nasty side previously under-examined.
Tests on adolescent rats have shown that nicotine has a profound influence on their behavior, both immediately after exposure and in their long-term brain chemistry.
The rats were studied for their reactions to an inescapable stressful environment and given a sugar-reward test and an anxiety test. The results showed that the rats gave up more quickly in the stress-test, showed a lack of interest in the reward test and were far more anxious in the anxiety test.
It is therefore possible that nicotine has a similar effect on people, reducing their capacity for pleasure and reward, perhaps permanently if smoking started in early adolescence. Additional studies have also demonstrated a far greater incidence of depression amongst smokers.
Sadly, nicotine has one last sting in the tail: Many cancer sufferers who smoke carry on smoking, believing that the harm has already been done so there's no point in quitting. However, research has shown that nicotine actually makes cancers more aggressive (4).
Nicotine addiction is one of the hardest to break, with only 1 in 5 still not smoking a year after quitting using NRT. Scientific research has thrown up two alternative medicines to tackle it in recent years: Bupropion (Zyban, Wellbutrin) and Varenicline (Champix, Chantix), but the jury is still out on how effective they are.
Until there is a truly effective medicine or technique for quitting tobacco, the e-cigarette may be the least-worst option for those who have tried but just can't quit smoking.
Buying an electronic cigarette
Unless you live in the Far East or parts of Europe, you will be unlikely to find a Ruyan at your local drugstore. Legal uncertainty surrounds any new nicotine products in Europe, America and elsewhere, where strict regulations control the tobacco industry.
In Europe, it looks as though the Ruyan will have to be designated a CE class IIa medical device and sold under the same regulations as NRT products. In America FDA approval is pending, and as soon as it is approved we will probably see action being taken against the counterfeit sellers. At any rate, getting hold of the genuine item will certainly be more straightforward.
Still, quite a number of websites do sell them, most offering worldwide express delivery. If you have any doubts as to whether a site is selling a genuine Ruyan, e-mail the owner and ask them! If you have any doubts or don't receive a reply, look at another supplier. A large and growing list can be seen at www.e-cigarette-forum.com.
Please register at the forum to review your e-cigarette and to take part in the discussions, so other users can benefit from your experience.
Good luck with your e-smoking adventures!
List of academic references
- (Nicotine psychopharmacology: molecular, cellular and behavioural aspects, S Wonnacott, MAH Russell, IP Stolerman (eds), Oxford University Press, 1990) .[/*:m:vmbanec4]
- Br Med J. 1976 Aug 14;2(6032):391-3. [/*:m:vmbanec4]
- Journal of Anatomy; v.112(Pt 3); Sep 1972, page 399.[/*:m:vmbanec4]
- Journal of Clinical Investigation (DOI: 10.1172/JCI28164)
[/*:m:vmbanec4]
