While smoking an electronic cigarette did not manage to kill my tobacco craving, it did help help slow it. After two weeks of smoking exclusively electronically, I caved and bought an actual pack. I now use the electronic cigarette as a method of reducing my intake of paper cigarettes. And in that respect, the electronic cigarette has succeeded. I smoke less and waste less than I used to. I'm now down to a pack a week (half of what I used to use) and I'm going to continue attempting to reduce that amount. Hopefully one day, I can kick my tobacco habit completely.
I guess my ultimate conclusion comes down to this: Electronic cigarettes are not yet a suitable replacement for paper cigarettes. I think it's important to note that E-cigarettes still go unregulated in the USA. Their safety has not been evaluated by the FDA. And while the Electronic Cigarette Association consistently states that Electronic Cigarettes carry no carcinogens, until the FDA approves their safety, no one can really be sure as to what they're putting into their bodies.
This is what I know: As I stated in my first blog entry, smoking sucks. It's stupid and it's malignant, not only to the smoker, but also to the people around the smoker and to the environment. Smoking an electronic cigarette helped me smoke and waste less. It's an imprecise alternative, but in terms of other smoking alternatives I've tried (nicotine gum, patches, cold turkey), it's been more successful than all of them. The best way to reduce the effect smoking has on the environment is simply just not to start.
If you're interested in sampling an electronic cigarette, here's the link to the website I used:http://www.electroniccigarettesinc.com/.
Further reading on electronic cigarettes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/us/02cigarette.html
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ScienceResearch/UCM173250.pdf
http://www.ecassoc.org/
You can also e-mail me at: gucciar2@uwm.edu if you have any questions.
After Two Weeks
So I began to take the e-cigarette to school with me regularly and using it the same as I would use a standard paper cigarette. I conducted a two week trial, smoking the e-cigarette roughly seven times a day and noting how I felt and whether it continued to work with stopping my cravings.
For the first week or so, the e-cigarette worked perfectly. It fulfilled my cravings and I didn't feel the need to go outside and smoke an actual cigarette. I fielded questions from a few curious smokers and gave them advice as to where to buy an e-cigarette. I sampled it with a group of friends who smoke and they all felt the nicotine work. They also noticed an unusual (not unpleasant) grapey flavor. For an entire I week, I went without buying or wasting cigarettes.
Then mid-terms happened.
Stress causes smokers to smoke more. The smoker uses the nicotine as a crutch during these times of pressure. I was up late at night and waking up early in the morning. I began to use the e-cigarette more often (8-12) times a day. I found that the e-cigarette wasn't giving me the same feeling as it once did. I found myself craving paper cigarettes. This caused me to do a little more research and this is what I found:
"Another study, conducted this year at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and financed by Ruyan, an electronic cigarette company, shows that users typically receive 10 percent to 18 percent of the nicotine delivered by a tobacco cigarette." (New York Times)
It makes sense that I wanted a paper cigarette. By smoking an electronic cigarette, I was only getting, at best, 20% of the nicotine I would smoke with a regular cigarette.
For the first week or so, the e-cigarette worked perfectly. It fulfilled my cravings and I didn't feel the need to go outside and smoke an actual cigarette. I fielded questions from a few curious smokers and gave them advice as to where to buy an e-cigarette. I sampled it with a group of friends who smoke and they all felt the nicotine work. They also noticed an unusual (not unpleasant) grapey flavor. For an entire I week, I went without buying or wasting cigarettes.
Then mid-terms happened.
Stress causes smokers to smoke more. The smoker uses the nicotine as a crutch during these times of pressure. I was up late at night and waking up early in the morning. I began to use the e-cigarette more often (8-12) times a day. I found that the e-cigarette wasn't giving me the same feeling as it once did. I found myself craving paper cigarettes. This caused me to do a little more research and this is what I found:
"Another study, conducted this year at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and financed by Ruyan, an electronic cigarette company, shows that users typically receive 10 percent to 18 percent of the nicotine delivered by a tobacco cigarette." (New York Times)
It makes sense that I wanted a paper cigarette. By smoking an electronic cigarette, I was only getting, at best, 20% of the nicotine I would smoke with a regular cigarette.
Interesting
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/e-cigarettes-may-be-more-effective-than-swine-flu-vaccine-68835517.html
Initial Impressions of the Electronic Cigarette
So I received my e-cigarette from electroniccigarettes.com. It cost me about $55. The package contained a e-cigarette, a charger, and six 16 mg nicotine cartridges. Each nicotine cartridge carries roughly the same about of nicotine as a pack of regular cigarettes. After unpacking it, I read the user manuel and started charging it. The next morning, I brought it to school and started smoking. To be honest, the first thing I noticed was how silly I felt. The tip of the cigarette actually lights up when you inhale and the amount of smoke you inhale is much greater than I regular cigarette. The e-cigarette is also much heavier than a regular cigarette. Oddly enough, the e-cigarette did curb my craving for an actual cigarette. It gave me the same buzz and also helped with the oral fixation.
More Math
WIth my most recent pack of cigarettes, I counted how many cigarettes I would usually waste on the ground.
10.
I still can't get this out of my head:
10.
I still can't get this out of my head:
THE MATH
I smoke 2 Packs of cigarettes a week.
1 pack=20 cigarettes
40 cigarettes per week
4 weeks in a month=160 cigarettes a month
12 months in a year=1920 cigarettes a year
I have been smoking for 3 years
I have smoked approximately 5760 Cigarettes in my lifetime
300 cigarettes=1 tree
5760 Cigarettes=19 trees
1 pack=20 cigarettes
40 cigarettes per week
4 weeks in a month=160 cigarettes a month
12 months in a year=1920 cigarettes a year
I have been smoking for 3 years
I have smoked approximately 5760 Cigarettes in my lifetime
300 cigarettes=1 tree
5760 Cigarettes=19 trees
The Environmental Impact of Smoking
1. Cigarette Chemicals Poison the Atmosphere
Cigarettes contain 4000 chemicals. With every breath, the smoker releases these chemicals into the air around them.
2. Cigarette Disposal Poisons the Land and Water
Millions of cigarette butts are tossed on the ground everyday. Butts on average take 25-26 years to decompose. Many butts make their way into bodies of water where they are often mistaken by animals for food.
3. Cigarette Production
1 tree=300 cigarettes. Transportation of cigarettes and cigarette materials also further pollute the environment. Tobacco plant production requires the use of dangerous pesticides. Cigarette Packaging also requires the destruction of more trees.
It's clear: Smoking Sucks For the Environment
Resources:
http://smoking.ygoy.com/smoking-and-the-environment/
Cigarettes contain 4000 chemicals. With every breath, the smoker releases these chemicals into the air around them.
2. Cigarette Disposal Poisons the Land and Water
Millions of cigarette butts are tossed on the ground everyday. Butts on average take 25-26 years to decompose. Many butts make their way into bodies of water where they are often mistaken by animals for food.
3. Cigarette Production
1 tree=300 cigarettes. Transportation of cigarettes and cigarette materials also further pollute the environment. Tobacco plant production requires the use of dangerous pesticides. Cigarette Packaging also requires the destruction of more trees.
It's clear: Smoking Sucks For the Environment
Resources:
http://smoking.ygoy.com/smoking-and-the-environment/
The Electronic Cigarette and Its Potential
(New York Times)Essentially, an electronic cigarette functions the same as a regular paper cigarette but without the burning.
As the graphic illustrates: the electronic cigarette runs on a rechargeable battery. The battery powers a sensor which detects when air is sucked in. As the air is sucked in, liquid in the replaceable chamber is hearted and nicotine vapor is released along with a vapor mist that simulates the actual process of inhaling.
There are no harmful chemicals because no organic substances are being burned. You can smoke it indoors at no risk to you or the people around you.
Electronic cigarettes are reusable.
They do not rely on pesticides for production. They do not rely on trees for paper.
Next step: Purchase one and try it out.
A Realistic Approach
No one needs anymore evidence as to why smoking is bad. Everyone knows that Tobacco kills. Everyone knows about lung cancer. The aim of this project is not to "cure the world" of smoking. This project embraces the fact that despite immense tax increases, surgeon general warnings, and an unprecedented amount of government sponsored anti-smoking campaigns, 20% of Wisconsinites still light up.
In short, I'm not trying to stop smoking as much as I am trying to change the way people smoke. The recent technological innovation of electronic cigarettes allow for this study to take place. While it has been argued that electronic cigarettes can help curb nicotine addiction, I'm focused on the enviormental potential of the cigarette itself. As you will see, paper Cigarette production, consumption and disposal all severely impact the environment.
In short, I'm not trying to stop smoking as much as I am trying to change the way people smoke. The recent technological innovation of electronic cigarettes allow for this study to take place. While it has been argued that electronic cigarettes can help curb nicotine addiction, I'm focused on the enviormental potential of the cigarette itself. As you will see, paper Cigarette production, consumption and disposal all severely impact the environment.
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