The New York Times came out with a status report on the e-cigarette industry, which is currently in a watershed period as the FDA and CDC are about to release health warning statements on the products. In pharmacology, we learned that e-cigarettes are a a relatively healthier alternative to real cigarettes because they don't contain a lot of the toxic chemicals that are added to cigarettes. E-cigs are essentially vaporized nicotine, which has minimal harmful effects on the body relative to the other ingredients in cigarettes.
This article brings up a good point in mentioning that switching to e-cigarettes from real cigarettes may not be beneficial in smoking cessation as the nicotine rush is less potent than smoking cigarettes. The experts say this increases the risk of relapsing during a quit attempt. While this concern is valid, smoking cessation devices work by this exact method of only delivering nicotine. Another consideration that this article brings up is the increasing prevalence of trying e-cigarettes among youth. This is something that could potentially catch on to a large-scale and become a gateway drug for tobacco use.
The growth of the e-cigarette industry is rapid and the makers of the product are ambitious about eventually making real cigarettes obsolete. At this point, we don't know the harmful effects of e-cigs. It's going to be interesting to see what the FDA has to say about e-cigarettes in the coming weeks.
This article brings up a good point in mentioning that switching to e-cigarettes from real cigarettes may not be beneficial in smoking cessation as the nicotine rush is less potent than smoking cigarettes. The experts say this increases the risk of relapsing during a quit attempt. While this concern is valid, smoking cessation devices work by this exact method of only delivering nicotine. Another consideration that this article brings up is the increasing prevalence of trying e-cigarettes among youth. This is something that could potentially catch on to a large-scale and become a gateway drug for tobacco use.
The growth of the e-cigarette industry is rapid and the makers of the product are ambitious about eventually making real cigarettes obsolete. At this point, we don't know the harmful effects of e-cigs. It's going to be interesting to see what the FDA has to say about e-cigarettes in the coming weeks.