Posted on July 12, 2011 by joe.d
 Making the decision to quit smoking is one of the healthiest decisions of your life, along with one of the most difficult. The cravings can become overwhelming, causing irritability, trouble concentrating, and physical sickness due to withdrawal symptoms. There are hundreds of products on the market ranging from nicotine gum and patches to prescription drugs such as Zyban to reduce the nicotine cravings.

 One of the newest stop-smoking trends is the electronic cigarette. You see it on TV commercials, in magazines, and on nearly every curb market counter that you visit. It supposedly mimics the look, feel, and sensation of smoking, without the harmful chemicals found in tobacco.

 Sounds like a perfect fix…but does it work as well as advertised?

 It is true. The vapor cigarettes provide the nicotine that is craved by a smoker without the harmful carcinogens found in chemicals and tar. In addition, the second hand vapor is completely harmless to people around you.

 So the simple answer is yes. They really work. They are a healthy alternative to cigarettes and provide the nicotine “buzz” that accompanies a cigarette. However there is a catch.

 I talked to a few people who had tried the electronic cigarettes, and they were very happy with their purchase. They said then enjoyed smoking them…along with their cigarettes! Of the people I spoke with, only one had actually quit smoking cigarettes, and he was not able to quit smoking the electronic cigarette.

 So the electronic cigarette is a great alternative to tobacco if you are actually willing to give up the tobacco. Otherwise you are just increasing your nicotine dosage and in turn increasing your addiction. A complete switch over to the electronic cigarette is definitely a healthy alternative, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will have any easier of a time trying to drop the habit completely.

 The truth is, it took you a long time to develop such a stubborn habit and it will take you a lot of dedication to get rid of it. However, quitting is always the best option. If you can take advantage of products like the electronic cigarette along with medicines like Zyban to help lessen the cravings, you may very well be able to drop the habit for good an begin a new healthy lifestyle.

 About joe.d

 Joe is a native of North Carolina. He holds a B.A in Literature and works full time as a Research Scientist working in Agricultural Biotechnology. He works part time as a freelance writer for scientific journals along with fiction and news media publications.

 View all posts by joe.d → This entry was posted in Current Health News. Bookmark the permalink.

 Important to note

E-cigarettes are NOT classified as a cessation device or quit smoking aid and are not FDA approved as such. They are simply an alternative to traditional smoking.

 However, if you would like more information about the benefits of e-cigarettes and would like to try a Free Sample click here  advantageecigs.com/free/

 They’re not even on the packs yet, but people are already responding.Calls started pouring into national smoking cessation hotlines. More than doubling in numbers just days after people saw those images.

But many smokers here in East Texas say it won’t affect whether or not they light up. Rusty Walker has smoked for 43 years, and knows all the dangers.

 ”All the information is here, just a matter of making the choice to stop,” says Walker. So he decided to buy an electronic cigarette at Tobacco Junction in Tyler. And he doesn’t feel disturbing images on the pack could make any difference for anyone else.

 ”It’s like seeing a billboard everyday, after a while, doesn’t notice it,” says Walker. Just after the images debuted quit line calls nationwide nearly doubled.

whether it be a cessation class, whether it be a nicotine replacement, whether it be motivation to quit, people are looking for that and this is a good tool, great way to get motivation they need,” says Lorri Essary with the East Texas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. She says 75% of smokers are looking for a way to snuff the habit.

 ”Takes out the marketing appeal,” says Essary  before you open the pack and light up, you’ll see the graphic images right on the front. Cancerous tumors, rotten teeth and gums, where you can’t miss it.

“When I grab a pack my hand wraps around it and can’t see anything except the tip of the cigarette,” says Bill Harley, smoker for 40 years.

 ”Only so many ways to warn people to not do it. Can read or look at it, it’s the same,” says Savannah Sterling, a cashier at Tobacco Junction. Some will look beyond those warnings and images and keep going, but others hope to put the habit in their past.”Wish me luck,” says Walker. Speaking with organizations here in East Texas, they think the images will have an impact on the number of calls they receive.

They’re going to have to wait a year to see.

—————

 Also worth noting…

Advantage E-cigarette is currently offering a free sample e-cigarette. Go to http://www.advantageecigs.com/free/ there is a short video explaining e-cigarettes and free sample offer.

It looks like a cigarette and tastes like a cigarette- even gives a “nicotine rush” like a cigarette, but it’s not one.   It’s a way “smokers” are getting a nicotine fix anywhere they want– from bars and restaurants to the mall.

John Sawyer’s been smoking since he was in the Navy.  “Cigarettes were ten cents a pack. Everybody smoked,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer used to smoke 2 packs a day. Now he’s cut that in half, because he now smokes electronic cigarettes as well.

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Sawyer took a puff to demonstrate how they work. “The more you pull on it the more you’re going to take it in,” Sawyer said. As he puffs, a light at the end of the e-cigarette lights up.

The electronic cigarette delivers nicotine into the lungs and only releases water vapor. So why did Sawyer begin buying them?  “Why?, because you’re welcome everywhere with one of these, where you’re not welcome anywhere with a cigarette,” Sawyer said.

Now it seems electronic cigarettes are sold everywhere form the mall to local convenience stores.

Mike Ferguson started buying them five months ago. “And so I started with the mild. I  think it’s like 6 percent nicotine,” Ferguson explained, but he had an unexpected result after starting on e-cigarettes.

He lowered the nicotine level to zero and now merely puffs on e-cigarettes because it’s part of his routine. “It helped me to quit even though I didn’t want to quit,” Ferguson said. “I  think it’s just the mouth-to-hand coordination. I need something.”

Now Ferguson can puff almost anywhere, even the mall and local restaurants.

The electronic cigarette basically has two parts, the filter which contains the nicotine and the battery that powers it.  Basically all you do is put it together it’s two pieces, said John Neuse, an e-cigarette vendor for the company, Frii, that has kiosks at Valley View Mall in Roanoke and malls in Lynchburg, Danville and Blacksburg.

“It’s pretty close to an actual cigarette. It’s a little different but you can definitely feel the nicotine hitting your lungs,” said Neuse.

The nicotine filters come in different flavors and deliver different strengths of nicotine.

Neuse told News 7 the e-cigarettes are safer than real cigarettes. “There’s no chemicals to it. It’s completely safe for you. You don’t have all the carcinogens, the tar,” Neuse said.

We asked Carilion Clinic lung specialist Dr. Moises Cossio if e-cigarettes are safer than lighting up.  “No question in my mind that whatever a person does as far as nicotine replacement, it’s better than smoking actual cigarettes,” Dr.  Cossio said.

John Sawyer says he can breath better because e-cigarettes have helped him cut back on the real thing. “It’s as close as you can get without having the fire of a real cigarette,” Sawyer said.

Electronic Cigarette Facts

They’re such a new trend Dr. Cossio says there really haven’t been any scientific studies done in the U-S on them like there have been on the nicotine patch or gums to show how much nicotine is released into the body.

The Food and Drug Administration is trying to regulate them.

While e-cigarettes are allowed in public places in Virginia, several other states have included e-cigs in public smoking bans.

There are start up costs for e-cigarettes. You have to buy the device and the battery charger, but the actual filters are cheaper than real cigarettes.

Prices and quality may vary between e-cigarettes sold at mall kiosks and e-cigarettes sold at convenience stores.

AFP Photo

Smoking kills. Everybody knows this, including hardcore smokers who can’t get through 10 minutes without taking a puff or two.

The question then is, why smoke at all, considering all the damage that it can do to one’s body, from wrinkles to yellow teeth to emphysema and lung cancer?  Not to mention the fact that smoking jacks up laundry expenses, because it takes a lot more soap and fabric softener to get the unpleasant smell out. No wonder smoking in a crowded place never fails to elicit angry glares from dedicated non-smokers. Then there are the ordinances from local governments banning smoking in public places and putting smokers near the level of criminals.

Ask a hundred smokers and you will get a hundred reasons for them continuing to smoke anyway, despite the obvious dangers and inconveniences: It relieves stress, helps us become more creative, is a silent, uncomplaining companion, just can’t enjoy a drink without it, etc.

But mainly, smokers smoke because it makes them feel good to give in to the urge, over and over again. Blame it on the addictive nicotine in every stick.

This is not to say, however, that cigarette smokers don’t want to quit. A good number of them do; it’s just that it’s far easier said than done. Otherwise, smokers would have long become extinct.

Common knowledge dictates that it takes a smoker at least three attempts before he or she finally gives up the dangerous habit. One way to do just that comes courtesy of the electronic cigarettes appearing in department stores and flea markets nationwide.

Selling from a low  P380 to as high as P3,200, the e-cigarettes are supposed to provide smokers a “healthy” alternative to smoking because they do not contain nicotine and other harmful chemicals – just the cigarette “flavor.” Plus, you can still look “cool” because the e-cigarette still looks like a regular stick,  complete with smoke – although odourless – and what looks like a flaming tip, from a small red light. And it does not burn.

According to vendors, an electronic cigarette has “the obvious effect of reducing smoking frequency.” It also does not produce second-hand smoke “and causes no harm to people and to the environment.” And because no lighting is needed, it is not a fire hazard.

The e-cigarette has two main parts: the cigarette body and the flavor cartridge. The body is charged for two to three hours every day. The reserve power is needed not just to power the “flaming tip” but also to heat the inside of the flavor cartridge to produce both smoke and flavor.

The joy of puffing: An electronic cigarette pack comes with a charger, flavor cartridges and other accessories. photo: diytrade.com

A regular e-cigarette pack comes with 10 cartridges, each one providing that alternative cigarette “flavor” that smokers out to reform themselves may be looking for. One can choose from high, medium low or no flavor. Each cartridge is good for about 150 puffs before it has to be replaced, otherwise the user will just be sucking air.

Depending on how often you suck on the e-cigarette, it can go on for at least five hours before the light at the end of the cigarette body starts flickering, indicating that it has to be recharged.

Understanding that some persons may become as addicted to the e-cigarette as the regular cigarette, the Chinese manufacturers made it convenient for people to charge this pseudo-smoke, with the pack containing a regular wall charger, a USB charger and even a phone charger – all in the name of uninterrupted enjoyment of the e-cigarette.

But is it really all that enjoyable to puff on a e-cigarette? The jury is still out on this one.

For entrepreneur Nono de Monteverde, e-cigarettes have been a boon to his health and outlook as these have provided him a “healthy” substitute for the cigarettes that he’s been smoking since his college days at the University of the Philippines.

“E-cigarettes help me quit because they are a good substitute when I feel the urge to smoke,” De Monteverde, 41, says, adding that they at least look like cigarettes so they give him that notion that he is still actually smoking – some joy with no side effects.

Sure, e-cigarettes do not taste the same as the regular cigarettes that he still craves for once in a while, but it’s still better than nothing.

But e-cigarettes had quite the opposite effect on Gerard Jerome C. Dumlao, who says the faint taste   of burning wires in e-cigarettes makes him go back to puffing away on the real thing.

“They are okay once in a while, but they really don’t taste the same. It’s not enough of a substitute for me,” he says.

For him, there really is just one way to go, and that is to quit cold turkey. It’s just a question of when.

 ”I’m going to have to pocket it,” he said of the added expense. “If I go up a dollar a carton, there’s a store less than a half-mile down the road that will have a dollar to play with” in their pricing.

 But Haynesworth will be able to put off the tax a little longer.

 The Rocky Mount Town Council approved the new tax two weeks ago as part of its $8.5 million 2011-12 budget, but preparations to collect it aren’t finished. The town estimates it will raise $125,000 from the new tax. The cigarette tax is now scheduled to go into effect Aug. 1, but that date could change as town officials complete details, said Town Manager James Ervin.

 For now, some retailers are confused about how the tax will be collected. Johnny Singleton, owner of Riverside Minute Market, said he thought the distributor who supplies him would be responsible for the tax and provide the tax stamps on the packages.

 Haynesworth thought each retailer would have to buy rolls of the stamps from the town at $1,500 a roll for 1,500 stamps to account for the tax.

 Both situations are possible, Ervin said. The distributors could buy the stamps, or if retailers find themselves with unstamped merchandise, they can purchase a roll of stamps. As soon as details are solidified, the town will focus on educating the retailers, Ervin said.

 Singleton acknowledged how difficult the decision must have been for council members but said he thought it was unfair to tax a select group.

 ”Everyone needs to pay their fair share,” he said.

 The tax won’t change the shopping habits of Melissa Goodman, who lives near Singleton’s store. But retailers fear people will start shopping in the county, which like all Virginia counties except for two in Northern Virginia cannot levy a cigarette tax.

 ”People are still going to buy them, but they will aggressively shop” for the cheapest price, Haynesworth said.

 Kimberly White, with TNC Oil and Grocery just outside the town limits, expects her family’s business to benefit from the tax. A smoker herself, White said she would ride just up the road for a cheaper pack of cigarettes.

 Some 30 cities, 43 towns and two counties receive revenue from the tax, according to a 2009 report by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.

 Town officials originally proposed a 20 cents per pack tax, but town council decided on 10 cents, with a plan to revisit the tax in six months.

 ”Taxing is extremely difficult,” Ervin said. “No one likes taxes, but everyone has certain service level expectations. And we want to meet them.”

 Vinton began taxing cigarettes in August 2009 at a rate of 20 cents per pack and has collected $292,548 for the nearly finished fiscal year, according to Barry Thompson, the town’s finance director.

 In much more populous Roanoke, city officials project revenue from the tax will hit $2.34 million, or about 2 percent below budget, according to Ann Shawver, the city’s finance director. Revenue from the tax — the region’s highest rate — has declined about 7 percent from the prior year.

 Salem has collected $365,000 in revenue so far this fiscal year from its cigarette tax, though like Roanoke, that figure has been in decline in recent years, according to city spokesman Mike Stevens.

 Staff writers Mason Adams and Brian Kelley contributed to this report.

Also known as smokeless cigarettes, e-cigs contain no tobacco or tar. A battery-operated mechanism heats up flavored liquid that, when exhaled, emits an odorless and fast-fading vapor. The tip lights up, and depending on the choice of cartridge, the smoker can ingest nicotine.

It is too soon to tell whether e-cigs are safe or just the lesser of two evils. Non-industry­sponsored studies are scarce, so it’s unknown whether a relatively unstudied nicotine device, containing a variety of chemicals whose effects remain to be seen, can be considered “safe.”

“The product has not been well-known because of the stigma directed toward regular cigarettes,” says Jason Healy, chief executive of Blu Cigs, one of the leading electronic cigarette brands.

On April 25, the Food and Drug Administration decided to regulate e-cigs as it does tobacco products, rather than under the strict regulations reserved for medical products — a victory for the e-cig industry, which has come under fire from anti-smoking forces over the addictive effects of nicotine and fear that nonsmoking kids will begin “vaping.”

Jean-Louis, a smoker for five years, views e-cigs primarily as cessation devices, which could be a reason celebrities have taken to vaping.

“We aim at that older, more mature market,” Healy says. “E-cigs are not as attractive to younger people because they’re not banned. There’s no rebellious aspect to them. But once you get older and start caring about what you put in your body, it changes.”

Still, with some celebrities using the product, the demand for e-cigs could rise. Blu Cigs have tips that light up blue so they can be recognized by nonsmokers. “When I made the tip blue, everything went from, ‘Hey, you can’t smoke here!’ to ‘What the hell is that?’ ” Healy says. “It went from anger to curiosity.”

Also, as cigarette prices rise, e-cigs might present a cost-effective option for smokers. Though the price of e-cig starter kits can be considered high (on average between $40 and $200), refilling cartridges is comparably cheap, as they last longer than regular cigarettes.

Now Blu Cigs has decided to push the possibilities further by developing a Smart Pack, slated for release this month. The product will capitalize on the popularity of social networking, linking Blu users and indicating nearby Blu retailers and locations that allow vaping.

“Almost by accident, the stigma directed at smokers forced them into a community,” Healy says. “Twenty percent of Americans smoke, and most of our sales are by referral. So that’s a pretty significant number that we’ve barely scratched.”

Chammas is a freelance writer.

E-Cigarette Resources:
E-Cigarette coupons available at
http://e-cig-coupons.org/

Free Sample E-Cigarettes are available at
 http://www.advantageecigs.com/free/

 SYLVANIA  TOWNSHIP, OH  (WTOL)

The electronic cigarettes is, what users say, is a healthy way to get your nicotine fix without the negative side effects of tar and additives.

The Revolver Vapor Lounge in Sylvania Township is a new place to buy them and smoke them as well.

“It doesn’t make your breath stink, doesn’t make your clothes stink. It’s just a lot better for you. I feel better when I smoke it. I don’t cough,” said Brooklyn Beaver.

Inside the e-cig is a cartridge that heats up, turning the nicotine solution into a water vapor when a battery is activated. The vapor is then inhaled and mimics the act of smoking.

Cartridges come in seventy different flavors.

“It tastes good. I use the fruity flavors like the strawberry. I like the flavor and the taste” said Brooklyn’s sister Rachele Beaver.

Everybody that was at the lounge was an ex-smoker and call themselves ‘vapors.’

Angela Fallon says she smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for twenty years before turning to e-cigs a year ago.

“I was having trouble breathing. I found with this I still get my nicotine but none of the harmful side-effects,” said Fallon.

However, there is debate about the health benefits of e-cigs. Some states have banned them, but not Ohio.

The Federal Drug Administration has taken e-cig manufacturers to court.

“They wanted to regulate it as a new drug delivery device. They lost. Now they’re trying to regulate it as a tobacco product but that’s still in the works,” according to Revolver Vapor Lounge Co-Owner Matt Smith.

The e-cig is not sold to anyone under eighteen years old. Smith says starter kits start at $45.00 and then pay $5.00 for a package of five cartridges. He says each cartridge is equal to a pack of cigarettes.

Copyright 2011 WTOL. All rights reserved

E-Cigarette Resources:
E-Cigarette coupons available at
http://e-cig-coupons.org/

Free Sample E-Cigarettes are available at http://www.advantageecigs.com/free/

Source: Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI)
Date: 2011-03-02, (617)373-8462
URL:
http://www.phaionline.org/2011/03/02/6-million-verdict-against-lorillard-in-jack
sonville-with-punitive-damages-deliberations-pending/
ID: 315951

A jury awarded the family of a smoker who died of lung cancer in
1994 at the age of 63 a total of $6 million in compensatory
damages. The jury assessed Lorillard Tobacco Company 65%
responsibility for the death of Jacqueline Miller and 35% to Ms.
Miller. This means that the compensatory damages award will be
reduced by 35% while the punitive damages award will not. 
Therefore, Lorillard is liable for $15.2 million plus interest
for the wrongful death. . . .

Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney for the Tobacco Products
Liability Project (TPLP), which is based at Northeastern
University School of Law in Boston, was delighted with today’s
verdict. “Once again, a Florida jury has heard all the evidence
in a tobacco trial and rendered a significant verdict for the
plaintiff on behalf of a woman who was clearly addicted to
nicotine, right up until her death from lung cancer. In addition,
and not surprisingly, the jury assessed punitive damages as well
to punish and deter Lorillard’s reprehensible conduct .”

Category -Lawsuits
State -Florida
Lawsuit -Engle
Org – Lorillard
Posted

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) – Lorillard and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, claiming the federal agencies stacked the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee with “a clique” who have “severe financial and appearance conflicts of interest and associated biases” on the tobacco industry.
    
 In their federal complaint, Lorillard and Reynolds claim three members of the FDA committee (TPSAC) and three members of its subcommittee also serve as “paid expert witnesses in litigation against tobacco-product manufacturers” and are employed as “consultants for … large pharmaceutical companies that manufacture nicotine-replacement-therapy products and other smoking-cessation products.”

Full Story

A week after Lance Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling, the seven-time Tour de France winner is coming to California today on a political tour – to push for a ballot initiative that would add $1 a pack to cigarettes to raise money for cancer research.

“Cancer doesn’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, young or old,” Armstrong said in an interview.

The cyclist, who became a cancer activist and fundraiser after his battle with testicular cancer – a challenge chronicled in his best-selling memoir, “It’s Not About the Bike” – is co-chairing the California Cancer Research Act. The ballot measure is sponsored by former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, another cancer survivor.

If the required number of signatures is gathered, the measure could be put before state voters as early as June should Gov. Jerry Brown succeed in getting a special election for his budget measures.

California’s tax on cigarettes is 87 cents a pack. The measure would increase that by $1 within 90 days of voter approval.

A report by the state Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that the measure would raise the state’s cigarette tax revenues by $855 million a year by the end of the 2012 fiscal year.

Opponents have argued that increases in “sin” taxes hurt California retailers and push customers to buy the products across state lines.

But Armstrong, who plans to be in Los Angeles today with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to promote the measure, said raising cigarette taxes in California would help groups such as the National Cancer Institute, whose budgets are dwindling.

The measure has the support of the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.

Backers say 60 percent of the revenue from the measure would go toward research into the causes and prevention of cancer, while 20 percent would fund efforts to reduce tobacco use.

An additional 15 percent would go toward facilities and equipment to support research; 3 percent would support law enforcement efforts to stop smuggling and enforce current laws on cigarette sales; and 2 percent would be pay for managing the measure.

Armstrong said his involvement in the campaign doesn’t mean he’s interested in a political career. “I’ve got five kids,” he said, “and right now, this is the type of politics I’m comfortable campaigning for.”

E-mail Carla Marinucci at cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/27/BA021HV5K3.DTL#ixzz1FGdoQI9X