Everybody wants to be healthy, whether it is a self-conscious decision or not. It especially holds true for those who have struggled or are struggling to give up the bad habit of smoking for the sake of their health.
Health-conscious attitudes has turned the world over to electronic cigarettes, which are viewed as a safer alternative in satisfying tobacco cravings for smokers.
In 2003, Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik noticed these questionable shifts in attitudes towards these tobacco companies and was immediately inspired to invent his own electronic cigarette by imitating the effect of smoke without fire and vaporizing nicotine, according to the Quit Day website.
“I already knew it would be a revolutionary hit in China,” Lik told The Spectator. “Some in China have called it the fifth invention – after navigation, gunpowder, printing, and paper.”
By 2006, the e-cig trend gained popularity in Europe, and in 2007, the United States. However, E-Cigarettes are harmful to the body and should not be considered a healthier alternative to smoking.
Playing with chemicals
According to the American Lung Association, nicotine, one of the main addictive substances used within e-cigs, is harmful for adolescent brain development and pregnant women because it damages the fetus’s brain development and lung function.
Aside from nicotine, forty-one different chemicals have been analyzed within these e-cigarettes, in which six of them (including nicotine) are emitted by second-hand smoke.
Three of these six chemicals include n-nitrosonornicotine, a substance known to cause cancer, benzene, which can reduce the numbers of red blood cells, and diethylene glycol, which can cause respiratory tract irritation.
Nicotine and poisoning
Regardless of Hon Lik’s unintentional harm in providing society with electronic cigarettes, he may have overlooked one of the biggest significant problems concerning nicotine and the consequences it carries.
Studies and research provided by the American Association of Poison Control Centers have shown that nicotine carries large amounts of neurotoxins. If ingested or absorbed through the skin, this poisonous substance can cause seizures, vomiting, and death when digested through the spoonful.
“This is one of the most potent naturally occurring toxins we have,” Lee Cantrell, who serves as the director of San Diego’s division of the California Poison Control, told the New York Times. “It is sold all over the place. It is ubiquitous in society.”
E-Cigs and regulations
In 2015, according to the Food and Drug Administration, more than three million middle and high school students were in possession of electronic cigarettes, with 81 percent of them admitting the appeal of flavors as one of the primary enjoyments provided by the e-cigs.
In 2016, the FDA proposed extended a “deeming rule” that will allow Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems to be regulated as tobacco products.
“We’ve agreed for many years that nicotine does not belong in the hands of children,” said Sylvia Matthews Burwell, who serves as the secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services, at a news conference this past May. “Progress has been made, but the context has changed so we need to act.”
If finalized and adopted, such rule will allow the FDA to have regulatory authority over wide assortments of said products, including electronic cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco.
Safer and healthier alternatives
Quitting any sort of addiction is easier said than done. But in order to win the good fight, people have to fight the good fight.
To start off on the right foot, think about looking into natural remedies instead of medical ones. Write a list of reasons why it’s worth quitting, of the dangers caused by tobacco, and keep looking at it for as often as possible.
Another alternative is to drink plenty of water, which acts a natural detoxifier and will cleanse the body of all the toxins from smoking tobacco.
Consumption of ginseng also may help the body fight off tobacco cravings while digesting ginger can counteract the nauseous side-effects brought on by the body’s denial of cigarettes.
(This article was also posted on Ka Leo.)
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