Friday, 10 May 2013

Electronic Cigarettes: The Untold Side

The latest fad that has hit the neo-market is the modern electronic cigarette which has made the eyesore cigarette butt, the chocking tar fumes and cigarette smoke a thing of the past. Also known as the e-cigarette and at times personal vaporizer, this item actually acts an electronic inhaler which vaporizes a liquid nicotine solution in aerosol mist. These e-cigarettes are battery operated and come with a battery, a heater and complete with a cartridge that holds nicotine, a chemical solution of propylene glycol and other substances. These cigarettes serve to give the user a nicotine kick with the harmful components that conventional cigarettes contain such as tar, tobacco and carbon monoxide which have proven hazardous to the human lungs over the years. These products however are not all that rosy and like everything modern it comes with banes, this article will focus on electronic cigarettes and why they are discriminated against.

To begin with these e-cigarettes have been found to contain Diethylene Glycol, an anti-freeze component that has been ascertained as harmful o to humans. This component on inhalation can cause acute respiratory system irritation which in turn affects the lungs by constricting the airflow. In rating this is the biggest and major electronic cigarette side-effect. Aside from Diethylene Glycol, these cigarettes bear carcinogenic compounds such as nitrosamines, should the cigarette break humans (the users) will experience direct contact with the harmful compound which will turn out disastrous to their health.

Adding on to electronic cigarettes and why they are discriminated against is their bad marketing. The marketing strategy of electronic cigarettes has come under the scrutiny of various organizations and suffered criticism. With a good number of cigarette brands hitting the market in an array of flavors such as chocolate, mint and orange, the number of users has been trebling throwing to the light that this is enticing and is bound  to attract smokers as well as curious no smokers. Some even stretch to an extend of including distinct  flavorings in their cigarette juices for example strawberry and caramel , this may in turn  coerce children into smoking, talk of eroding the  fabric of society moral and stealing from them their deserved childhood innocence.

Health experts and researchers beef up the debate on electronic cigarettes and why they are discriminated against by focusing on the components of these products. They argue that these cigarettes do contain liquid nicotine; nicotine an alkaloid substance is harmful to human health. Taking a long puff at this cigarette may result to the user sucking up some of this liquid nicotine which can have adverse effects on their health. Researchers also argue that electronic cigarettes contain Tetramethylpyrazine; exposure to this harmful component over extended periods may result in severe brain damage in human beings. While these electronic cigarettes can be termed as less dangerous compared to the conventional cigarettes, it is just a case of “the lesser evil” they still prove hazardous to human health and pose a huge risk to smokers.


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