Are Electronic Cigarettes Safe?

Traditional cigarettes are responsible for many illnesses and conditions and the harmful effects of cigarette smoking is well known. What is possibly not so well known though is that it's not the raw contents of the cigarette that are dangerous - it's the burning of the contents. When tobacco burns it releases a dangerous cocktail of around 4,000 chemicals including Carbon Monoxide, Tar and even Arsenic. At least 80 of these chemicals are capable of causing cancer and hundreds of others are actually poisonous. [source: Cancer Research UK]

Electronic cigarettes do not burn nicotine, they vapourise it into a fine mist to inhale. This separates them from traditional cigarettes and means that they do not suffer from the effects associated with burning. The reality though is that the other possible health effects of using electronic cigarettes are currently unknown. Health organisations and professionals understandably do not endorse products lightly and require conclusive evidence before doing so. E-cigarettes have not been around long enough for such conclusive studies to be carried out, although there are reports of such studies now being underway. Based upon the removal of the 4,000 chemicals mentioned above it's hard to imagine that using electronic cigarettes is not safer than smoking traditional cigarettes though. We smoke them ourselves and have weighed up the pro's and con's based upon a wealth of information available throughout the internet.

ASH (Action On Smoking And Health - http://www.ash.org.uk/) " ASH’s position on e-cigarettes
ASH supports a harm reduction approach to tobacco, that is, we recognise that whilst efforts to help people stop smoking should remain a priority, many people either do not wish to stop smoking or find it very hard to do so. For this group, we believe that products should be made available that deliver nicotine in a safe way, without the harmful components found in tobacco. Most of the diseases associated with smoking are caused by inhaling smoke which contains thousands of toxic chemicals. By contrast, nicotine is relatively safe. Therefore, e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without the harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke, are likely to be a safer alternative to smoking. In addition, e-cigarettes reduce secondhand smoke exposure since they do not produce smoke. It should be noted, however, that ASH does not provide commercial product endorsement. "
[sources: ASH, ASH PDF ]

Department of Health
"The Department of Health is not aware of any evidence about the long-term safety of e-cigarettes and, as such, would suggest that consumers exercise caution"
[source: BBC ]

You're In Control

Nicotine itself is of course a highly addictive drug and many smokers actually want to stop smoking but are unable to break this addiction. This is where e-cigarettes come into their own. E-cigarettes fulfil the hand to mouth as well as the nicotine requirement. The wonderful thing about e-cigarettes is that you have complete control over the amount of nicotine that you use. You can choose to reduce your nicotine intake by using ever weaker e-liquid. It's even possible to use e-liquid that has zero nicotine content, should you still struggle to break the physical habit completely.

Useful Links

Here are some useful links that give access to more information on the safety of e-cigarettes. The links contain both positive and negative views.

http://www.ash.org.uk/information/facts-and-stats/ash-briefings http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_715.pdf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8467797.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette
http://news.discovery.com/human/e-cigarettes-health-nicotine-tobacco-110127.html

• About E-Cigarettes
• How Do E-Cigarettes Work?
• Benefits of E-Cigarettes
• How Much Does It Cost?
• Are E-Cigarette Safe?
• Guide To E-liquid Strengths
• Cost Calculator