Just Say "NO!" to e-Cigarettes

Most of us don't usually read those emails you get from your doctor that tell you to sleep more, drink less (alcohol), and get plenty of exercise. But since I have seen a steady rise in vapor clouds coming from the various quads around campus, I have been wondering if e-Cigarettes are safe?

So when this infographic popped up in my in-box I was intrigued and after reading it, all I can say is "JUST SAY NO!"

E-Cigarettes contain known cancer-causing agents. I don't even need to read the rest. According to a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine:
"We've found there is a hidden form of formaldehyde in e-cigarette vapor that has not typically been measured. It's a chemical that contains formaldehyde in it, and that formaldehyde can be released after inhalation," the writer, Pankow, said. "People shouldn't assume these e-cigarettes are completely safe."
WT? Formaldehyde? And what about those essential oils? Vanilla may be good in a cake, but should you really being lighting it on fire and inhaling the vapor?  The tobacco industry is doing some push-back against the cancer claims directed at e-Cigarettes, but seriously, are you going to take the word of an industry that first sold cigarettes as being "healthy"?

How do you judge health information about a product? Should you listen to doctors and/or industry scientists? Do you think there should be a warning label on e-Cigarettes? What other products should come with warning labels?

Comments

  1. I agree with the author, No matter cigarette or e- cigarette they both harming your life, should stop smoke with it and both can cause cancer and affecting other people health specially children and elder. Cities and state should limited cigarette sale and smoke in special area. The air without smoke always the best and health environment.

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  2. Smoking is seriously becoming a big issue in this society. I agree with the author that e smoking and smoking are a deadly weapon to our bodies. E smoking is dangerous as it can cause cancer. Not only does the person smoking get affected, but other people who inhale it get affected as well.

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  3. In several countries such as Canada, Australia, and parts of Europe put very graphic effects of how cigarettes can harm you on the carton of the cigarettes. So when people purchase them they tend to feel bad about themselves and don't purchase them as much, as well as the pricing is really high just for one. In result of all this, these countries have low percentages of smokers. In america we tend to hide the negative effects of cigarettes or e-cigarette's I feel that if there aren't constant warnings then it's just going unnoticed till we have an epidemic on our hands. I agree that we should implement large warning signals. Lots of people on campus use e-cigarettes because they haven't updated the laws of banning them in areas where cigarettes would be banned because they don't show harm to others or have a scent that a regular cigarette does. That's why more people are choosing this alternative way from smoking but without the realization that not having a smell and all kinds of flavors is causing a huge impact on their health in the future.

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  4. I would agree with the author of this post because although they say it will help you quit or its not that bad for you its only vapor, it can not be good for you because anything your inhaling that is not regular air can't help you. It could be better for you than actual cigarettes in some ways like how they say its vapor not smoke, but what is that juice actually made of. At the last college I attened last year i had friends that bought the flavoring and juices online and flavored it and made it them selfs and ended up selling it to all the kids in the dorms for half price that the stores would sell it as, but what is the price of buying not even "professionally made juice. Another concept to think about when talking about ecigs are there are rumors out that if the juice gets on your lips or tongue then it is prone to cause mouth cancer.

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  5. Its well aware to the human public that cigarettes are bad for you. Cigarettes lead to an aggressive addiction with harmful side effects such as emphysema, birth defects and cancer. However when comparing the act of smoking a pack of cigarettes and an e cig I believe there are a many major differences between the two brands. These differences include the way it makes you feel, the way it looks and the way it tastes. Having smoked both a cigarette and an e cig I can say that both are awful, however the lesser of 2 evils is without a doubt a cigarette, especially if you are looking to enjoy your smoke. While smoking an e cig I felt like it was smoking me, the reverse effect of how a normal cigarette feels. The taste of an e cig does not compare to the taste of a real cigarette, it felt like I was smoking out of a plastic tube with a metallic taste. Along with the terrible taste of an e cig, who in there right mind goes and buys an e cig when real cigarettes are right next to it. Who cares if an e cig may last longer, doesn't smell as bad and is more socially acceptable, if I'm going to spend my money on this poison then I'm going to buy the better, stronger, more enjoyable cigarette, not an e cig. Do not smoke cigarettes, I rarely do, however if you are going to light one up go buy a real cigarette.

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  6. We all clearly know the bad effects of smoking a cigarette, an e cig, all the above but yet some of these people in our society don't care. The fact that these e cigs are out, the industry tries to make them look cooler and the instincts of these few people fall into it and start smoking. Being a college student, walking to class I always get trapped in a cigarette smoke cloud because of some of the students who enjoy smoking between classes. Through time, I even realized some of my own friends starting to purchase cigarrettes, e cigs and even vapes containing tobacco. At the end of the day I don't see the great feel they get from smoking, the only cool thing to see is the huge smoke cloud coming out of their mouth, besides that, they always have that cigarrette stench I think no one finds pleasant.

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  7. In today's world, many new creations are becoming the new trend. Like cigarettes were a trend many years ago now these e-cigarettes the author is speaking on are the new trend. I would agree that it is becoming an issue. Users don't necessarily know what is in these e-cigarettes and as the author states they are being advertised as cigarettes once were by portraying them to be safe. I personally make a lot of my health decision based on what doctors and scientist discover. I base it off of them because they have research and proof that certain products are harmful. based on what has happened with cigarettes I do believe that e-cigarettes should come with a warning label that lists all the potential risks. People that are users most likely know that they are hazardous without there being a warning label. I believe many people know that there is potential risks for a lot of the things that we do. For example, junk food; many people know that it can potentially cause diabetes and many other health conditions, but do most people care? No. Therefore, many things should come with warning labels, maybe more people will start caring if they have the potential health risks in front of them.

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  8. E-Cigs are the new trend in today's society. Although cigarettes are on the downhill trend, more and more companies are turning their attention towards this form of smoking because of its increasing popularity. To some extent it isn't as bad as cigarettes because it gives you the option to smoke without nicotine and many people smoke using liquid that only has the flavor. Even if e-cigs are on the rise it still serves as a better option than smoking a cigarette. Until a major study or news article comes out showing that the vapor for e-cigs is unhealthy I will continue to support this form of smoking over cigarettes.

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  9. I would agree with the author that people should say no to e-cigarettes since e-cigarettes still harm your body. People tend to purchase e-cigarettes because they seem to think it is a better way to stay away from smoking a cigarette. There are many companies that create e-cigarettes and there are many different types of e-cigarettes like vapes, which still contain tobacco. E-cigarettes and vapes are not different as smoking cigarettes because it still becomes addicting. Although there are many people that have decided to use vapes and e-cigarettes, smoking cigarettes is still going on. I believe that people that choose vapes over smoking cigarettes use vapes because of the juice it contains to add flavor and it looks cooler than smoking a cigarette. The advantage vapes have over cigarettes is that vapes have flavor and the smoke smells good, but it can still become addicting as smoking an e-cigarette and a cigarette.

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  10. I judge health information about a product by looking at the reviews to see the pro and cons about the product. If there are more good reviews about it than bad reviews, I would consider taking the product. I think people should listen to doctors rather than industry scientists because the industry scientists do not seem reliable, as it was mentioned in this article these scientists had claimed that cigarettes were healthy at one point. I do think that E-Cigarettes should have a warning labeling on them because people should be aware that using it is not safe. People use E-cigarettes and vapes thinking that they won’t get addicted but in reality they still do. These products all are bad because they still harm your body. I do not recommend anybody to use any of these products.

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  11. I read this research in the NEJM last year. While in its infancy, the research on e-cigs is invaluable. It took irrefutable research performed over the course of 40+ years to correlate lung cancer and smoking tobacco.

    The research papers that are published in the NEJM are typically robust, so I will be keeping an eye on further research involving e-cigs published by reliable sources like the NEJM.

    To be fair, it is probable that e-cigs are a safer form of nicotine consumption than smoking tobacco. To date, formaldehyde is the only carcinogen found in e-cigs. There are thousands of carcinogens found in tobacco smoke. Regardless, I will remain abstinent from e-cigs and vaping. I smoked cigarettes from the age of 12, until about 4 years ago. Good riddance. I don't need another costly habit/addiction that may, or may not, impact the tenure of my existence.

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  12. I recently read an interesting article has a title like "Why Americans say no to e-cigarettes when British say yes to them?" The author comes to a conclusion that Americans have a different view point from British people. Americans think that e-cigarettes may still injure your health--causing cancer and other problems as listed in this article. What British think is "well at least it is better than real cigarettes, it is a good substitution when you cannot stop smoking".
    There is a comment I found interesting under the article too. The guy says "I agree with British, no matter how smokers harm themselves, at least they won't share e-cigarettes with others." (It is common in China of sharing cigarettes between friends, we believe that is how some people get their first cigarette)

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  13. Last Christmas on I was on the verge of buying an e-cigarette for a friend because I thought it was a healthier alternative for him, but after reading this I’m glad I didn’t. This kind of information should be more common knowledge because I’ve seen people nonchalantly smoking their e-cigarette while holding their kids hand. It has gotten so bad that I even seen people smoking nearby my schools daycare center when the kids are out. Hopefully the school police starts to crack down on them.

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  14. Cigarettes or e-cigarettes they still give you cancer. With an cigarette they will put other chemicals so you feel the same sensation you felt with a regular cigarette. An analogy is coke and diet coke. The company of coke added sugar in different ways so you thing that you are not drinking a lot of sugar, this is just the same thing with e-cigarettes. Like Nemo Chen cited that a British guys said "Well at least it is better than real cigarettes, it is a good substitution when you cannot stop smoking," it still harms a persons health. Both of this products gives you cancer neither is better for your body. E-cigarettes companies could just claim that their product is better than a regular cigarette but they could not claim that is better for your health.

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  15. What I'll never understand is why people automatically assume that e-cigarettes are safe. No one has officially claimed that it is a healthy alternative for cigarettes. 'No convincing evidence that they are harmless' is a fancy method of convincing you that they are in fact safer and healthier. It's the same method used by supermarkets where they print the price of a product as $49.99 rather than $50.00. It's a psychological method that makes you see the number 4 rather than a 5 and assume its cheaper. This is the same way that 'No convincing evidence' makes you assume that there is in fact no evidence and that it is safe. Clearly new evidence has surfaced that it does actually have cancer causing chemicals; so how is it really any better than normal cigarettes? Not to mention the numerous videos that can be found online of e-cigarettes bursting in consumers faces, leaving them severely deformed. That in itself should be enough evidence to not use one. Finally, this is not an alternative to quit smoking. And addiction is an addiction, and fueling it, no matter which method you use to fuel it, will help it prevail. There are many other methods to quit smoking, but I strongly believe that e-cigarettes are not one of them.

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  16. I did a presentation a couple months back that discussed the difference between "vaping," electric cigarettes and smoking regular cigarettes. I learned that e-cigs are no different from electronic cigarettes, its still a growing market that has no federal regulation. I've read about how what these companies print on their labels aren't always right. The label could say that there is 0% nicotine, but a study conducted of a random sample of juices used for e-cigs still contain small amounts of traceable nicotine. I think that we should vote no to e-cigs because it's another growing market that's still growing parallel to the tobacco companies and the industry has no federal regulation.

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  17. Smoking e-cigs may cause addition.
    Eating raw fishes may cause nausea.
    Reading this article may cause death - an obsequious conclusion.

    People can't stop criticizing things, over-doubting things. I am not a smoker, but what is so doubtful about people smoking e-cigarets if it were their choice? Who has given us this common goal of lengthening human life expectancy?

    Ironically people has switched their emotional dependence on so many things, so many things that people can rationalize about to be addictive. Exercise is addictive; using laptops is addictive; riding on roller coasters is addictive; subsequently, often, people write their doubts about over-doing these things what as if they should have never done. And they switch to another rationalizable thing. Last time they went for e-cigs. This time now what.

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  18. Having been a smoker for roughly 5 years, I found this article particularly interesting as it is a controversial topic which sparks a lot of questions and debating. While I am most definitely aware that both cigarettes and e-cigarettes still contain cancer-causing chemicals, I disagree with the article when it comes to the harmfulness of e-cigarettes in comparison to regular cigarettes. Firstly, cigarettes contain over 4000 harmful chemicals, while e-cigarettes contain significantly less of these carcinogenic chemicals. It is a known fact that any form of smoke inhaled into one's lungs is detrimental to one's health, however being a smoker who has turned to e-cigarettes as a means of quitting regular cigarettes, I can state for a fact that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than cigarettes. Why do I make such a claim? Well, the smoke produced by e-cigarettes are noticeably less hot than the smoke produced by regular cigarettes. This is because the process of combustion is involved with regular cigarettes, while e-cigarettes reach temperatures just below combustion, meaning the smoke is cooler and is not actually 'smoke' - it is actually vapor. Moreover, having tried both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, I can tell you from personal experience that one's lungs feel significantly better when using only e-cigarettes in comparison to traditional cigarette smoking. With regular cigarettes, one can physically feel the tar and damage the smoke is doing to your lungs when inhaled. With e-cigarettes however, while it is still harmful to your lungs, one can feel that the state of one's lungs are significantly better by comparing one's breathing rate during physical exertion and exercise. In addition, I've noticed that one's lungs have better oxygen capacity when only using e-cigarettes as opposed to regular cigarettes. Therefore, I personally believe while e-cigarettes still pose some health risks, it is significantly better than smoking regular cigarettes. Lastly, did you know that nicotine itself is more addictive than heroin? Thus for the majority of smokers, it is incredibly difficult for an individual to completely quit smoking. Therefore, the alternative of using e-cigarettes is potentially a much safer and 'healthier' option for those who have no intention to stop.

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  19. I can never trust an industry that has a history of lying and putting people in the hospital for a profit. This post confirmed my doubts about e-cigarettes from the fact since it is the tobacco industry who made it. It could be worse than real cigarettes but many who smoke e-cigarettes might not even realize side effects they will have in the future from it. More people need to be able to judge health information about a product probably, and maybe start doing it if they already are not. They need to look at the health information by credible and reliable sources that give all the facts. Never trust industry scientists since they have an incentive to lie, which is profit.There needs to be a law that requires the industry to put warning labels on e-cigarettes.Another product that should also have a warning label is hookah for what age groups should not do it.

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  20. E-cigarettes are often promoted as a safe option and method of quitting. Worse yet, they come in flavors so as to attract a much younger audience much like how cigarette companies did when they were still allowed to advertise it on television. There are people who believe that e-cigarettes are safe and even healthy, but it's not true, and the article perfectly illustrates this. During the summer, my high school's club, called CATT club, did a summer seminar where we talked about the history of tobacco, tobacco in advertisement, health risks of tobacco, and other related products such as e-cigarettes. One of the most important points about e-cigarettes that was brought up was how there wasn't enough information about the product. Yes, they don't contain actual tobacco thus leading many to believe they are safe to use, but they also contain many harmful substances such as the ones listed in the article. E-cigarettes also contain metal, so when someone vapes, they are essentially putting metal in their body -- doesn't sound that healthy, right? I would definitely keep an eye out for the scientists who are studying this new way of promoting nicotine addiction, and listen to what they have to say. Doctors' words about this product should also be considered. E-cigarettes should definitely have a warning label on them, especially since they're being directed at children as well. Parents should look into it, and educate their kids on the risks. Hopefully as time goes on, and more information about e-cigarettes come out, more people will understand the dangers of vaping and not treat them like how people used to treat cigarettes -- a harmless pass time with no consequences whatsoever.

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