Smoking Alternatives

Electronic cigarettes have met with suspicion from some regulatory authorities because of their uncertain status. They contain no tobacco and attract smokers worried about their health, but are not smoking cessation products. They are an alternative to smoking conventional tobacco and their marketing and design clearly reflects this.

Manufacturers of electronic cigarettes take great pains to create an appealing, luxury atmosphere for their products. Electronic cigarettes are not dully medicinal, grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it products like the nicotine patch, but something to relax with and enjoy.

But even if electronic cigarettes are not designed to be smoking cessation products, there is no doubt that they can pay enormous dividends when it comes to the health of smokers who may have been struggling with addictions for years.

University of California Study

A study conducted by scientists at the University of California at Berkeley hailed the potential health benefits of electronic cigarettes. Writing in the US Journal of Public Health Policy, they proclaimed: “We conclude that electronic cigarettes show tremendous promise in the fight against tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.”

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

Meanwhile, UK anti-smoking campaign group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has taken the following official position on electronic cigarettes:

“ASH supports a harm reduction approach to tobacco, that is, we recognise that whilst efforts to help people stop smoking should remain a priority, many people either do not wish to stop smoking or find it very hard to do so. For this group, we believe that products should be made available that deliver nicotine in a safe way, without the harmful components found in tobacco.

Most of the diseases associated with smoking are caused by inhaling smoke which contains thousands of toxic chemicals. By contrast, nicotine is relatively safe. Therefore, e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without the harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke, are likely to be a safer alternative to smoking. In addition, e-cigarettes reduce secondhand smoke exposure since they do not produce smoke.”