That E- Cigarette Study
You might have heard the State of California is on the attack against e- cigarettes. No surprise there, especially after reports of a recent study that suggested they create more formaldehyde than regular cigarettes. Reason magazine covers a New York Times look at the study and a chat with one of the study's authors. That researcher says reports on the study are misleading.
Yet that's all it takes to get California on the warpath.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:27 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Any a-hole who shows up at my house wanting to use one of those things will be told to suck his thumb instead.
That seems a bit harsh, Julie. Using an e-cigarette has helped me get off of real cigarettes. I do think there should be regulation of the "e-liquids" (the nicotine liquid used in them) so that impurities and dangerous substances are not used. I get my e-liquid from Velvet Could Vapor in San Francisco -- made on-site from all natural and organic flavor ingredients, a vegetable glycerine base (no proplylene glycol) and nicotine "juice" from American-grown tobacco. But not everyone may be so careful about where they buy their e-juice, so there's a legitimate benefit to regulating this part of the industry.
Is it possible that we will find in the future that there is something inherently highly dangerous about vaporizing even the most "natural" e-juice? Yes, I suppose it is possible. But not very likely, and HIGHLY unlikely to be anywhere near as dangerous as regular cigarettes. And from my understanding, nicotine itself, at least at the dosages you can get from e-cigarette use, is fairly benign.
Would it be better to quit outright? Sure, of course. But it can be very hard to do, and for those of us who have tried and failed, I don't see why we shouldn't have this option available to us. My plan is to gradually reduce the nicotine level of the e-juice I buy, until I am down to nearly zero, then try to stop completely. I do realize that most people use it as a "substitute," not as a method for quitting, but so what? Shouldn't harm reduction be something we support.
As far as someone coming to your home and wanting to use their e-cigarette, why not jst ask them to step outside, as I presume you would do with someone who wanted to smoke a cigarette? Why be especially obnoxious to an e-cigarette user?
Human beings are notoriously imperfect, it sure would be nice if we could just be a little kinder to each other about our respective shortcomings, at least to the extent that these shortcomings don't harm others.
TO be clear, I don't believe I have a "right" to use an e-cigarette anyplace where the "secondhand vapor" will bother other people...even though I suspect it's probably completely harmless to anyone a few feet away in an open-air space. Because I could be wrong about that, and in any event it's (in my opinion) all about being kind and tolerant to others...and that kindness and tolerance ought to be a two-way street, but I do acknowledge that the onus is on the person choosing to consume the substance, not on those around them.
So I certainly don't have a problem with anyone not allowing e-cigarette use in their house, car, business, etc. I guess what I'm objecting to is the assumption that all users must be "assholes" deserving of abuse.
I would be interested in seeing your response, Julie. Thanks.
"Is it possible that we will find in the future that there is something inherently highly dangerous about vaporizing even the most "natural" e-juice?"
I can think of at least a few things that were considered bad for you, then good. Also the other way around.
Remember coffee was the bad thing years ago. Now they say it's good for you. Then there's aspirin that was once proclaimed the great life saver. Now there's a movement afoot claiming it's bad for you. Then it was fats are bad, carbs good. The latest I've heard on that is it's the other way around.
Best to make your own decisions on what you think is bad or good and leave the government out of it.
I wouldn't be surprised, assuming the anti- tobacco and nicotine hysteria ever settles down, that we'll find nicotine has some beneficial effects. I've already heard that it's good for brain activity and might slow down development of Alzheimer's.
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