e-cigarettes ... the digital age of smoking

Anastasia Cunningham •Health Coordinator

Smokers around the world are now moving to a new trend: e-smoking or 'vaping' - the digital age of smoking - as an alternative to the highly addictive nicotine fix that drives the multibillion-dollar tobacco industry.

Electronic cigarettes, more commonly known as e-cigarettes, are increasing in popularity. Reports are that within recent years the sales of e-cigarettes have jumped, with more than a million smokers joining the trend.

According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, in 2011, about 21 per cent of adults who smoke traditional cigarettes had tried electronic cigarettes, up from about 10 per cent in 2010.

With Jamaica now joining the more than 100 countries across the world to establish tobacco-control measures on Monday, it became a criminal offence to smoke in public spaces, as health campaigners aim for a smoke-free Jamaica.

Hoping to get smokers to kick the habit, campaigners have been advocating alternative means to deal with the addiction. Nicotine-replacement products like patches and gums have long been on the market, but in a bid to continue the practice without the harmful effects, e-cigarettes have become the 'in thing' for smokers.

WHAT ARE THEY?

E-cigarettes are basically rechargeable battery-operated plastic 'cigarettes' that deliver a smaller dose of nicotine to the lungs via a spritz of water vapour from a tiny canister (replacement filter/cartridge) in the electronic devise. When someone inhales on the e-cigarette, the nicotine solution is heated and evaporates. The 'smoke' is then exhaled as water vapour.

E-cigarettes allow the smoker to mimic the actual action of smoking, of holding a 'cigarette' between their fingers, inhaling and then exhaling the 'smoke'.

According to manufacturers, in addition to nicotine, the cartridge contains a solution of propylene glycol or glycerine mixed with water, minus the more than 4,000 harmful compounds found in real tobacco cigarettes - such as tar, arsenic and radioactive polonium-210.

The replacement cartridges are available in different concentrations of nicotine, and various flavours such as apple, chocolate, coffee and mint. Most e-cigarettes have an LED at the tip, which lights up when someone inhales, in a similar way to the lit tip of a cigarette.

Currently, e-cigarettes are not regulated, so their safety and effectiveness on smokers, non-smokers, ex-smokers, children and the society in general have not been determined. Research has also found that some e-cigarettes contain other chemicals than those listed by manufacturers.

TOO EXPENSIVE

Not wanting to give up the action of smoking a cigarette or going somewhere private every time he wanted to satisfy his craving, Paul decided that e-smoking was the best alternative to kick his 20-year addiction.

"E-smoking was the perfect solution at first. I could still hold a cigarette between my fingers, I didn't have to leave the room to grab a smoke, and it helped with wanting to quit smoking 'cause it reduced the amount of nicotine I was consuming," he shared.

However, Paul said, after a while, maintaining the habit proved too expensive. Purchasing the e-cigarette package, complete with a charger, for $10,000 a year ago, he realised he was going through more than the recommended once-per day refill in order to get the amount of nicotine he craved.

"The things that triggered my craving were still a part of my life, so I always needed a fix. But going through so many refills was really expensive," he noted.

Paul eventually lost his e-cigarette and decided it was too expensive to replace.

"E-smoking is something I would definitely recommend as an alternative; several of my friends go that route. But the average smoker would not be able to afford it," he added.

Marketers believe, however, that as e-cigarettes become more popular, the price will fall as the sales increase.

SIMILAR PROBLEMS

Examining whether e-cigarettes were a safe and effective form of nicotine-replacement therapy, Dr Knox Hagley, chairman of the Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control, told Your Health that he would not promote it as a suitable alternative.

"The information we have is that it is exposing the smoker to similar problems. It may not be with the same intensity, but it is a concern. It will give rise to tobacco-related diseases, but, yes, it may take a longer time and less severe," said Hagley.

Acknowledging that it is a growing trend worldwide, he said e-cigarettes were available in Jamaica but it didn't appear to have caught on as yet.

According to an official at the Ministry of Health, e-cigarettes also fall under the new regulations of banned tobacco substance.

The Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013 of the Public Health Act states: Every person who smokes or holds a lit or electronic tobacco product in or within a five-metre radius of the entrance, exit, window or ventilation intake of any enclosed space, public transportation, workplaces or any place of employment, government buildings, health facilities including pharmacies; sport, athletic and recreational facilities for use of the public; educational institutions; areas specifically for use by children, and places of collective use, such as bus stops, commits an offence.

Stiff penalties will be applied for breaching the regulations.

Interesting Smoking facts

• Contrary to popular social belief, it is not illegal to smoke tobacco products at any age. Parents are within the law to allow minors to smoke, and minors are within the law to smoke tobacco products freely. However, the sale of tobacco products is highly regulated with legal legislation.
• Smoking bans in many parts of the world have been employed as a means to stop smokers smoking in public. As a result, many social businesses have claimed a significant drop in the number of people who go out to events, pubs, bars and restaurants.
• Scientists claim the average smoker will lose 14 years of their life because of smoking. This, however, does not necessarily mean that a smoker will die young – and they may still live out a ‘normal’ lifespan.
• Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 ingredients, which, when burned, can also produce more than 200 harmful ‘compound’ chemicals. Many of these ‘compounds’ have been linked to numerous ailments.
• Tobacco kills nearly six million people each year. More than five million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to secondhand smoke. Unless urgent action is taken, the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million by 2030.
• Smoking decreases sex drive and causes erectile dysfunction. Nicotine is the biggest reason for damaging veins and arteries, damaging blood vessels, including the male sexual organ. Acute vasospasm, contraction of the penile tissue, and restricted blood flow to the penis are all the side effects of smoking. Cigarette smoking was also shown to lead to male infertility, by reducing the quality of semen.
• Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances consumed by humans. It reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.
• The immune system of smokers has to work harder every day than non-smokers. As a result, a smokers’ blood will contain less antioxidants, although a smoker’s immune system may be quicker to respond to virus attacks due to its more active nature.
• More than one billion people, or 16 per cent of the world’s population, are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws.
• Nearly 80 per cent of the world’s one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries like Jamaica.
• Cigarettes are the single-most traded item on the planet, with approximately one trillion being sold from country to country each year. At a global take of more than US$400 billion, it’s one of the world’s largest industries.

e-cigarette features

• Vapour inhaled to stimulate smoke delivers the nicotine
  
• Rechargeable lithium ion battery lasts 1-3 days
  
• Nicotine cartridge holds a liquid nicotine and propylene glycol solution (solvent used in food colouring
  
• Atomisation chamber heats the solution, vapourising it
  
• LED light illuminates when inhaled 

yourhealth@gleanerjm.com