I found this article at webmd and thought i would share it with you."
e-cigs under fire"
They are nicotine delivery devices intended to be used like a cigarette. What happens to someone who stops inhaling the tars of cigarettes and inhales only nicotine? We don't know. There is at least the potential for harm. "
-- Norman Edelman, MD, chief medical officer, American Lung Association"
We are concerned about the potential for addiction and abuse of these products. We don't want the public to perceive them as a safer alternative to cigarettes. "
-- Rita Chapelle, FDA spokeswoman."
E-cigarettes don't make real smoke, yet they've ignited a firestorm of controversy."
You may have already seen e-cigarettes -- electronic cigarettes -- for sale on the Internet or at one of at least 62 kiosks at malls across the U.S."
E-cigarettes are safer than cigarettes, their makers say or imply. But until e-cigarettes are proven safe, the FDA is refusing to let them into the country and may soon ban their sale, as major U.S. medical associations have asked."
We have an open investigation into this issue, FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle tells WebMD. What is happening right now is FDA has reviewed several e-cigarettes, e-cigars, and e-pipes, and have refused entry of these products into the country. We acted because these products appear to require FDA approval for marketing, and have not been reviewed by the agency. "
An informal FDA review of some of these products indicated that these products are not currently approved, Chappelle says."
If the FDA bans e-cigarettes, an action many observers believe imminent, it won't be the first North American agency to do so. Last month, Canada's health agency banned the importation or sale of e-cigarette products."
What's all the fuss about? At the heart of the issue is a debate over what the e-cigarette really is."
What's an E-Cigarette?"
Like gunpowder, the e-cigarette is a Chinese invention. The first ones came from the Ruyan company in 2004. According to media reports, Ruyan says it sold 300,000 e-cigarettes in 2008, and it's far from the only company making the devices."
The e-cigarette comes in many shapes and sizes. Many look more or less like long cigarettes; others look like cigars or pipes. They all work the same basic way:"
The user inhales through a mouthpiece."
Air flow triggers a sensor that switches on a small, battery-powered heater."
The heater vaporizes liquid nicotine in a small cartridge (it also activates a light at the lit end of the e-cigarette). Users can opt for a cartridge without nicotine."
The heater also vaporizes propylene glycol (PEG) in the cartridge. PEG is the stuff of which theatrical smoke is made."
The user gets a puff of hot gas that feels a lot like tobacco smoke."
When the user exhales, there's a cloud of PEG vapor that looks like smoke. The vapor quickly dissipates."
E-cigarettes contain no tobacco products; even the nicotine is synthetic."
The devices retail for $100 to $200. Refill cartridge packs vary in price depending on nicotine content, and liquid for do-it-yourself refills are sold, too. Each cartridge is good for several uses."
Are e-cigs bad?"
Edelman says nicotine addiction is bad and that people with the habit need help quitting, not help continuing their habit in more socially acceptable ways."
And there's no proof that e-cigarettes don't cause long-term harm. That's what bothers all the health experts who discussed e-cigarettes with WebMD."
We cannot say they are good or bad because we don't have any scientific proof, says Eliana Mendes, MD, a pulmonology researcher at the University of Miami."
What happens to someone who stops inhaling the tars of cigarettes and just inhales nicotine? We don't know, Edelman says. We are talking about use that might be three years, five years, 10 years, we just don't know. Once you have the nicotine habit, you are not likely to quit. "
Rather than quit, e-cigarettes might worsen users' nicotine habits, says Michael Eriksen, ScD, director of the institute of public health at Atlanta's Georgia State University and former director of CDC's office of smoking and health."
I have seen no evidence that people switch from tobacco cigarettes to e-cigarettes or other smokeless tobacco products, Eriksen tells WebMD. If you look at how smokeless products are marketed, they are sold as something to use at times you can't smoke. The implication is you will increase nicotine exposure, not reduce smoking. We'll just be encouraging people to use more nicotine. "
Youngblood says his e-cigarette products are being marketed only to people who already smoke and already have a nicotine addiction. But Eriksen says the unregulated sale of these products might get new users hooked -- users who might then start smoking."
Will e-cigarettes get fewer people smoking? Or will people start with e-cigarettes and graduate to tobacco cigarettes? It is unknown whether these things are good, bad, or indifferent, he says. If for every person who used e-cigarettes there was one fewer person smoking tobacco cigarettes, that would be good. But there is no evidence that will occur. "
And there's one more issue that troubles doctors. University of Miami pediatrician and lung specialist Michael Light, PhD, says underage users will get their hands on e-cigarettes -- even if marketers like Youngblood refuse to sell them to minors."
It will be easy for kids to get the product, Light tells WebMD. It could be a way to get kids into the nicotine habit to get them to smoke. It is a ploy.
</a>Let the count UP begin! 
Yay!I've smoked my last cigarette and refuse to buy anymore starting 7/17/13 and forward! (analogs = cigarettes)-- Edited by Mben on Saturday 20th of July 2013 02:06:14 PM-- Edited by Mben on Tuesday 23rd of July 2013 12:59:22 PM
Keep us up to date on how you are doing.
Thanks for letting me post my link here.http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4133458-10934599 This is what I'm using right now.
