The electronic cigarette was first invented by Herbert Gilbert in the 1960s, although electronic cigarettes come in all shapes and sizes these days. It was first patented as a “smokeless non-tobacco cigarette” that would look similar to a tobacco cigarette, but instead of smoke, it produced vapor from a heating element which warmed flavored liquid containing nicotine, turning it into an inhalable mist.
The motivation for electronic cigarettes was that they would replace the negative aspects of smoking with something positive. The electronic cigarette was intended to replace tobacco because electronic cigarettes are an alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes, which are harmful to your health. This is one of the most important reasons why electronic cigarettes became so popular among people who wanted a healthier way to smoke. They even come in one-time-use vapes such as puff plus disposable or ones that you don’t dispose of and refill the juice.
Vaping to get off cigarettes
The electronic cigarette is intended to simulate the experience of smoking a real tobacco cigarette by producing a vapor that looks like smoke but doesn’t take the harmful carcinogens into your body. Additionally, electronic cigarettes don’t have the negative side effects of traditional cigarettes, such as yellowed teeth or bad breath.
Electronic cigarettes are meant to be a way to bridge the gap between quitting cigarettes by using electronic cigarettes as a transitional replacement. People who smoke are trying to find better alternatives to quitting smoking for good; electronic cigarettes are intended to take the place of tobacco without being as harmful, although it does contain nicotine which is an addictive substance.
There are electronic cigarettes on the market that can be used as a tool to help people quit smoking. Evidence shows that electronic cigarette users had more success quitting with electronic cigarettes than those who used nicotine replacement therapies like gum, patches, and pills.
Health effects
Most electronic cigarettes today are made of 3 components:
- A rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
- An atomizer.
- A cartridge (this is the part that contains the liquid solution).
Electronic cigarettes found on the market today use electronic liquid solutions (containing nicotine, flavors, and other chemicals), which can be found in pre-filled cartridges or vials that are sometimes called e-liquid or e-juice.
The electronic cigarette started becoming popular in the early 2000s. It wasn’t until electronic cigarettes became popular in 2003 that electronic cigarettes started being used as a way to quit smoking. Tobacco smoke contains many chemicals that are harmful to your health. The electronic cigarette heats up the liquid, vaporizing it into an inhalable mist free of most of these chemicals. The electronic cigarette is intended to be healthier than traditional tobacco cigarettes.
The overall effect e-cigs can have on smokers depends on how electronic cigarettes are used. Suppose electronic cigarettes are used as a way to quit smoking completely. In that case, electronic cigarettes can be very beneficial because they eliminate the need for tobacco and nicotine replacement therapies like patches or gum, which some people find difficult to use (although electronic cigarettes do contain nicotine). If electronic cigarettes are used in addition to traditional tobacco cigarettes, electronic cigarettes can be just as harmful because electronic cigarettes do contain nicotine, an addictive substance.
Electronic cigarettes are also not recommended for people with heart conditions because electronic cigarette use increases the heart rate and blood pressure, which can be potentially dangerous for these types of people.
Pregnancy and e-cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes are not recommended for pregnant women or people breastfeeding because nicotine can affect the development of the fetus or cause birth defects. Electronic cigarettes do contain nicotine, a stimulant that could potentially produce negative effects on unborn babies or breastfeeding newborns. Smoking while pregnant increases the risk of you and your baby getting different types of health conditions like asthma, lung infections, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), or preterm labor.
Nicotine addiction
The electronic cigarette is not a drug and is not physically addictive like traditional tobacco cigarettes, however, electronic cigarettes do contain nicotine which is an addictive substance.
Although electronic cigarettes do contain nicotine, they are not a tobacco product, electronic cigarette companies argue that the electronic liquid solution in electronic cigarettes is intended to be healthier than traditional smoking because electronic cigarettes don’t have all of the chemicals found in traditional tobacco. However, electronic cigarettes still contain nicotine, an addictive substance, and can make it difficult for people to quit electronic cigarettes even though electronic cigarettes are intended to be a way for smokers to quit.
Nicotine is a chemical that is found naturally in the tobacco plant. Nicotine is a stimulant that affects the brain, causing an increase in energy, concentration, and motivation. People who use electronic cigarettes continue to have nicotine cravings therefore, electronic cigarette companies cannot market electronic cigarettes as a way to quit smoking completely because electronic cigarettes still contain nicotine.
Nicotine stimulates the release of dopamine in your brain, which makes you feel good. When electronic cigarettes were introduced into the U.S. market in 2007, there was very little research on electronic cigarette addiction or how electronic cigarettes would affect people who tried to quit smoking using electronic cigarettes, but one study showed that 8 out of 10 smokers turned vapers reported feeling more satisfied with their electronic cigarette than when they smoked regular tobacco cigarettes and felt electronic cigarettes helped them reduce the amount of tobacco they used in traditional smokes and also improved their health by reducing coughing and shortness of breath.
Marketing to young people
There is some debate about electronic cigarettes and electronic cigarette use among young people. Researchers argue that electronic cigarette companies are marketing electronic cigarettes to young people to get them used to electronic cigarettes because electronic cigarette companies hope they will eventually start using tobacco cigarettes instead of electronic ones.
Vaping companies have been criticized for marketing to young people by using electronic vaporizers with flavors that imitate candy when electronic cigarettes are only recommended for people over the age of 18. Electronic cigarette companies argue they market electronic cigarettes to young people in order to get them interested in electronic cigarettes with flavored electronic liquid solutions because electronic cigarette companies hope electronic cigarettes will become popular alternatives for young smokers looking to quit traditional tobacco.
Regulation
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates all medications or drug products that affect people’s health through their labeled claims. The electronic cigarette is not a drug and does not go through this inspection process; therefore, electronic cigarettes are unlicensed and unregulated by the FDA except for electronic cigarettes that claim to help people quit smoking because electronic cigarettes can be marketed as products to help people stop smoking so electronic cigarettes undergo this FDA process.
The electronic liquid solution in electronic cigarettes is considered an electronic liquid or e-liquid, electronic liquids are products used in replacement of traditional tobacco for electronic vaporizers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates any product that contains nicotine at a much lower level than regular over-the-counter medications such as patches or inhalers to help with quitting smoking, but there is no regulation on how much nicotine can be found in electronic liquids.
Electronic cigarette use and regulation in the United States is still in its early stages, electronic cigarettes are readily available on many websites and can be shipped across state lines without restrictions because electronic cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. Regulation of electronic cigarettes varies from state to state, and many states are still in the process of passing electronic cigarette regulations. Electronic cigarette companies argue that regulation will make electronic cigarettes less available to smokers trying to quit because of the numerous restrictions electronic cigarette companies argue electronic cigarette regulations would place on them.
