The latest buzz for people who are trying to quit smoking is the electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette. Seemingly overnight, this industry sprung up as a supposedly viable solution to quitting smoking, and with good reason: the electronic cigarette isn’t actually a cigarette, it just soothes your cravings for nicotine. So, is it really a good idea?
The Electronic cigarette consists of a nicotine cartridge containing liquid nicotine. When a user inhales, a tiny battery powered atomizer turns a small amount of liquid nicotine into vapour. Inhaling nicotine vapour gives the user a nicotine hit in seconds rather than minutes with patches or gum. When the user inhales, a small LED light at the tip of the electronic cigarette glows orange to simulate a real cigarette.
An electronic cigarette contains a taste of tobacco but none of the harmful substances found in normal cigarettes allowing smokers cravings to be satisfied without inhaling the many dangerous toxins. Is it all smoke and mirrors? Or can this item really be the saviour it wants to be?
The problem for many is, the habit of smoking is an overall “experience”. It’s not only the nicotine. Smokers also like the sensation of raising a cigarette to their mouth and inhaling and exhaling the smoke. The act of smoking gets linked to a pleasurable experience like having a smoke with a good cup of coffee, or after a good meal. The “experience” along with the nicotine, make cigarette smoking an extremely difficult habit to break.
There are e-cigarettes now, which make you feel like you are smoking a cigarette. Most of them produce some sort of vapor that is inhaled into the lungs. It may or may not be infused with nicotine. These are a novel approach since they address both the physical, nervous habit by letting you hold something in your mouth, as well as the addictive chemical portion of the habit.