Are Electronic Cigarettes a Smoking Revolution?

In an effort to stop smoking, many people in the United Kingdom have switched from cigarettes to electronic cigarettes to wean themselves off of nicotine and other harmful chemicals found in most cigarettes. Even though the safety of e-cigarettes is still being studied, experts in the field consider them to be revolutionary.

Life Saving Cigarette Alternatives

In the UK alone, over 100,000 people die each year from smoking and the estimates worldwide attribute more 5 million deaths per year to this activity. At a recent E-Cigarette Summit, Robert West, who is a professor of health psychology at the University College London, said that electronic cigarettes could save “literally millions of lives.”

Currently e-cigarettes are not regulated, but their designation as cigarettes have some advocates and researchers concerned that they could unfairly fall under current smoking laws that bans smoking in public places. Already there are many locations in the UK banning their use in public venues.

A private consultant, who has studied the effects of smoking, Dr. Jacques Le Houezec, said over-regulation would be unfair. He called them a “revolution” and went on to state that e-cigarettes would be preferably for adolescents to experiment with when they try smoking, rather than using regular tobacco.

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How Does the Public Perceive Electronic Cigarettes?

Even though they are touted as being a healthier alternative to smoking regular cigarettes, not every country has embraced the use of electronic cigarettes. Many countries have banned their use, while other countries have regulated them and allow them to be sold in pharmacies with a prescription. The British government has been considering whether to ban them or how to regulate e-cigarettes. While some groups and researchers are encouraging the ban, others are asking authorities to lightly regulate the popular smoking alternative.

E-Cigarette Popularity in the UK

Electronic cigarettes are used by many people to reduce their smoking habit and/or to help them permanently quit. Studies have shown that they are just as effective as nicotine patches when it comes to helping people quit smoking. A study of 657 participants conducted at the University of Auckland showed the over 7% of the participants greatly reduced their use of tobacco or quit after using e-cigarettes for six months. In comparison, not quite 6% of the participants using nicotine patches had similar results.

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Drunkenness without the drinking – the e-cigarette of booze?

Perhaps it’s something about the weather, or the great British beer tradition. But whatever drove them to it, it should come as no surprise that it’s researchers in London who are on the verge of making a great breakthrough in the way that we approach alcohol. They have developed the alcohol equivalent of the electronic cigarette.

The great breakthrough

The drug these scientists have developed is reported to give the user all the benefits of getting drunk without the side effects. Drinkers will get the giddiness and fun of intoxication without the hangovers. And, more seriously, it should remove the health risks that come with alcohol abuse, such as liver damage and the crippling the problems of addiction.

Alcohol addiction is a serious problem. According to some figures, 10% of the people who drink will become alcoholics. Of over a million deaths from alcohol each year, nearly all are addicts.

The substitute drug directly acts on the neurotransmitters which send messages, including pleasure and pain, around the brain. By doing this it tricks you into feeling the same things you would while drunk, including the enjoyment and the loss of inhibitions. The results can be indistinguishable from the real thing.

This comes with an extra benefit, quite aside from the health issues. Because the drug is directly interacting with the brain, an antidote can be taken that will block its effect straight away. You might be able to go out for a few drinks, take the antidote at the end of the evening, and be safe to drive home or go back to work. Suddenly office Christmas parties take on a whole new tone.

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The Month of June in E-Cig World

What a month June has been. It brought a roller coaster of events to the electronic cigarette world and may well of been one of the biggest months for e-cigs since they hit the market. With news on regulation, conspiracy, new investments, public uprisings, and battles in the board rooms, its been a non stop month for the electronic cigarette world.

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