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02 September 2012

New Study Shows Electronic Cigarettes (E-cigarettes) Still Harmful To Lungs

This s a breakdown of the components of an e-cigarette.
A: LED light cover; B: battery (also houses circuitry); C: atomizer (heating element); D: cartridge (mouthpiece)

An electronic cigarette is a device that acts as a substitute for a real cigarette. The e-cigarette imitates the act of smoking a real cigarette, complete with inhaled vapor, look, appearance and feel of a real cigarette.

Some e-cigarette have nicotine cartridges or nicotine-flavored cartridges to simulate the odor and flavor of a cigarette. It uses heat or ultrasonics to vaporize a liquid solution into a mist that is similar to the way a nebulizer or humidifier vaporizes solutions for inhalation.

In February 2012, The European Respiratory Society (ERS) releaesed a statement on their opposition to the use of e-cigarettes and other nicotine related products. They cite a sample wherein an e-cigarette device contained the chemical diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze.

Experts warn that e-cigarettes can damage the lungs

New research has shown that despite electronic cigarettes being marketed as a potentially safer alternative to normal cigarettes, they are still causing harm to the lungs.

A new study, presented today (Sunday 2 September 2012) at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Vienna, has added new evidence to the debate over the safety of alternative nicotine-delivery products.

Electronic cigarettes are devices that deliver nicotine through a vapour, rather than smoke. There is no combustion involved but the nicotine in the device is still derived from tobacco. There has been much debate over the safety and efficiency of the products, but little scientific evidence to support either claim.

Researchers from the University of Athens in Greece aimed to investigate the short-term effects of using e-cigarettes on different people, including people without any known health problems and smokers with and without existing lung conditions.

Nicotine Patch and Nicotine Gum Not Really Effective

Nicotine Patches and Nicotine Gum have been a popular approach to quit smoking. Studies show that these nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs)are not as effective in helping smokers quit as perceived by the public.

Furthermore, they note that even with professional counselling in conjunction with the use of NRTs, smokers still have a hard time quitting.

Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Massachusetts Boston conducted the study which was printed online of Tobacco Control.

"What this study shows is the need for the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees regulation of both medications to help smokers quit and tobacco products, to approve only medications that have been proven to be effective in helping smokers quit in the long-term and to lower nicotine in order to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes," said co-author Gregory Connolly, director of the Center for Global Tobacco Control at HSPH.

Move Over Nicotine Patch. Cigarette Candies Are Coming!

Cigarette smokers who want to quit or want to have an alternative to ease them out of smoking may find that help may be on the way.

From the nicotine patch, it seems we are seeing the emergence of a new tobacco product. The dissolvable tobacco lozenge; cigarette candy! Actually nicotine candy would be the proper term. And these candies are for adults only!

With the public's heightened awareness on the dangers of smoking, strict regulatory guidelines, and a shrinking market, companies are looking for an alternative tobacco product that doesn't require smoking it.And because of laws banning smoking in public places, smokers are discouraged. This results in lower revenues for traditional cigarette companies in the long run.

Revenue for smokeless products grew 11% in 2010. Some companies, like Star Scientific Inc., are even considering the health care component as a way to transition its use away from combustible tobacco products.

Video: Nicotine lozenges

"Star Scientific makes two dissolvable tobacco lozenges, Ariva and Stonewell, which are not subject to Chapter IX of Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act. The company recently lost a bid for a new trial in its patent-infringement case against Reynolds American Inc."
Source: Marketwatch

Star Scientific says that, "researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina published a study last year arguing that dissolvable tobacco products “led to a significant reduction (40%) in cigarettes per day, no significant increases in total tobacco use, and significant increases in two measures of readiness to quit, either in the next month or within the next 6 months.”

After a wide acceptance of the nicotine patch, a nicotine candy does have more of an appeal because of the active participation of the person in consuming it. It's akin to doing something "with your hands" just like what smoking does. Nicotine patches are more static in the sense that after applying the patch, the wearer does not have to do anything else. It must be noted that hard candies or even gum have been an age old alternative to smoking.

With the advent of products like these, maybe tobacco use will go on the rise again. Except that instead of lighting up, people will be dissolving them down.