Let’s hope e-cigarettes are just a fad

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/09/2014 (4218 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twenty-five years ago, I quit smoking. I had never intended to start smoking, but the stress of university life, and social contacts convinced me that it was the “cool” thing to do.

By the time I began my teaching career, four years later, I was smoking a package of cigarettes a day. I quit smoking when I found out that I was pregnant but I never threw out that package of cigarettes — a telling sign. I finally quit because it was becoming impossible to find a place to smoke.

No one in my family smoked, and I was tired of waking up with a cough. I have not touched a cigarette since that day — the day I decided to quit. I now understand that my decision to smoke was a choice that became an addiction.

Because of my personal experience I am the disturbed to see the proliferation and popularity of e-cigarettes and “vape” shops.

E- cigarettes are battery powered devices that deliver nicotine to smokers through a vapour instead of tobacco cigarettes. There are four items that go into an e- cigarette. They are water, propylene glycol, flavour, and sometimes nicotine. Although they simulate real cigarettes, there is no tobacco involved, only liquid nicotine. Flavours can be added to the devices, delivering a tastier smoking experience. E- cigarettes are currently advertised as a safer and cheaper alternative to tobacco cigarettes.

Often these new devices are promoted as an aid to quit smoking. The catch is that so far there is no real evidence that they help smokers cut back on cigarettes or quit them altogether.

“Vaping” (using e-cigarettes), is often seen as a “cool” alternative to tobacco smoking, and a less harmful one. Because it is a relatively new phenomenon, the use of e-cigarettes is currently totally unregulated. The long term biological effects are also unknown. Health Canada is advising Canadians not to use e- cigarettes.

As a former tobacco addict, I see all kinds of red flags here. “Vaping” may simply become the new “cool” habit for a new generation. At the very least, e-cigarettes should not be sold to minors, and should not be allowed in public places.

I often think about those 10 years of my life when I was chained to a cigarette. I think about the damage to my health and to the health of those around me. I think about the money I wasted.

I hope that e-cigarettes are just a fad, and that a new generation does not become addicted to a deadly substance.

Joanne O’Leary is a community correspondent for Riverbend.