If ecigs where banned what would you do?

[Electricman]

E is for “easy to fool,” “effortless to fleece,” “eager to take your money”—and so it makes sense that E is also for electronic cigarette.

Elicko Taieb, CEO of Smoking Everywhere, one of the largest distributors of electronic cigarettes, “There are no ingredients in our e-cigs that can cause cancer. However, it is a pretty new product, so we are not 100 percent sure of the side effects at this point,” Taieb said. “But we haven’t heard of any negative side effects yet, but we are pretty sure they are safe.”

Pretty sure? Is “pretty sure” that a product is safe good enough for you, or for your family? If it’s a product that you inhale or ingest, “pretty sure” just does not cut it.

It is a fact that no electronic cigarette company is endorsed by any health organization. This is the reason why there has been an effective Electronic Cigarette ban in a number of countries like Canada. While Electronic Cigarettes are less dangerous compared to real cigarettes, they are still a threat to smokers. For an effective removal of smoking habit, it is best to give up smoking completely. It is best not to try to stop smoking with Electronic Cigarettes.

Yes there are fewer chemicals in ecigs but your body is still being exposed to chemicals that should not be in your system. Nicotine can also cause the body harm, yes many of the products used to quit do contain nicotine, but used correctly a person uses the products to wean down their nicotine level so they can completely get rid of it. Many people are using the e-cigs as an alternative to smoking the regular cigs thinking that it will not harm them and have no intention of quitting, just switching."

In surveys of electronic cigarette owners conducted by CASAA (Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association), respondents overwhelmingly stated that they did not use electronic cigarettes to quit smoking and would go back to smoking if denied access to electronic cigarettes.

An internet questionnaire of a self-selected sample of 783 daily users of electronic cigarettes asked, "Why did you start vaping?" ("Vaping" is a term for the vapor inhaled vs. smoke.) A staggering 92% chose to switch for reasons other than quitting smoking i.e. saving money or reducing the risks associated with smoking. Less than 8% stated they were using e-cigarettes to quit smoking.

So my question is if they were banned would you go back to smoking cigarettes?

[Thulium]

It is a fact that no electronic cigarette company is endorsed by any health organization. This is the reason why there has been an effective Electronic Cigarette ban in a number of countries like Canada. While Electronic Cigarettes are less dangerous compared to real cigarettes, they are still a threat to smokers. For an effective removal of smoking habit, it is best to give up smoking completely. It is best not to try to stop smoking with Electronic Cigarettes.

That is most certainly NOT a fact.
"The Doctors" (TV Show): http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/78613-1289852997-doctors-endorse-revolutionary-smoking-cure.html
The American Association of Public Health Professionals:http://www.aaphp.org/Resources/Documents/20100402AAPHPEcigLegisStatemnt.pdf
Published in the Journal of Public Health Policy: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/centers-institutes/population-development/files/article.jphp.pdf

Yes there are fewer chemicals in ecigs but your body is still being exposed to chemicals that should not be in your system. Nicotine can also cause the body harm, yes many of the products used to quit do contain nicotine, but used correctly a person uses the products to wean down their nicotine level so they can completely get rid of it. Many people are using the e-cigs as an alternative to smoking the regular cigs thinking that it will not harm them and have no intention of quitting, just switching."

It's not just "fewer chemicals", it is a complete elimination of ALL harmful byproducts and side effects of combustion, leaving only vanishingly small quantities (generally less than 1 teaspoon/day) of ingredients that are either Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) and/or approved by the FDA for use in both foods and medicines. Even the FDA's own review of e-cigarettes failed to detect ANY amount of carcinogen or toxin in the actual vapor.

A heavy e-cigarette user vaporizes less than a tablespoon of propylene glycol which is has been known since 1943 to be a very effective germicide and air sanitizer. Although the merits/risks of continued nicotine use are debatable, they account for less than one tenth of one percent of all the known or suspected harms of continued tobacco use. How much time are you going to spend panicking about continued nicotine use while ignoring the nearly 100% FAILURE rates of "FDA Approved" cessation methods to maintain long-term nicotine abstinence?

In surveys of electronic cigarette owners conducted by CASAA (Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association), respondents overwhelmingly stated that they did not use electronic cigarettes to quit smoking and would go back to smoking if denied access to electronic cigarettes.

An internet questionnaire of a self-selected sample of 783 daily users of electronic cigarettes asked, "Why did you start vaping?" ("Vaping" is a term for the vapor inhaled vs. smoke.) A staggering 92% chose to switch for reasons other than quitting smoking i.e. saving money or reducing the risks associated with smoking. Less than 8% stated they were using e-cigarettes to quit smoking.

Many smokers might not have purchased an e-cig with the intention or expectation to stop smoking entirely, but by using an e-cigarette when and where they did not want or could not smoke, the FACT remains that the majority did stop smoking completely.

[Thulium]

To answer your question: If e-cigs were banned, I would exercise my freedom of speech and continue to educate smokers how they can use personal vaporizers (discretely, if necessary) as a smoke-free alternative that eliminates the hazards and byproducts of combustion that account for at least 99% of all tobacco-related death and disease.

The FDA can only regulate what vendors and marketers can do. They cannot prevent me from truthfully informing smokers about the benefits of stopping smoking by switching to a smoke-free alternative any more than they can outlaw fog machines that are hundreds of times more dangerous than e-cigarettes.

[greenlover]

Wow if E cigs were banned then I wouldn't have to see those "Smokers Ally" ads everyday of people so thrilled to have an out to continue their habit

[John Phoenix]

If e-cigarettes were banned i'd have plenty of choices. I'd make my own. Making an e-cig can be very easy and all of the parts and chemicals for the e-juice are readily available. They could only ban the manufacture and sales of consumer ready e-cigs. They cannot ban all the parts and chemicals needed to make one because they are so very common and can be purchased legally for many other purposes. they cannot ban a person from using an e-cig privately in their own home, at least in the USA.There are plans to do this all over the net and lots of people already do this to save money.

If the above was not an option, I would get an FDA approved nicotine inhaler and modify it to be more effective and deliver the nicotine content I require. Both of these of course in keeping with the means to an end to stop using nicotine one day when I'm ready to do so by way of weening myself off of nicotine..

[renstyle]

To answer the OP's question: If ecigs were banned what would you do?

My answer: I would change nothing, would keep doing exactly what I am doing now. Ecigs in and of themselves (ie as a complete entity) cannot be banned in the States (I cannot speak for other countries).

My thinking behind the answer:

The three ingredients in my "e-liquid": glycerine, propylene glycol, and "lorann" flavoring (or other similar flavor) are and will continue to be completely legal and available in all 50 states (and most places around the world).

On the hardware side of things:

You can build an ecig with $15.00 of hardware purchased from Radio Shack, or Mouser Electronics, or Digikey. I know because I have done this.
The nichrome wire used to create the vapor is also available worldwide.
Non combustable wick? Any aromatherapy shop, or camping supply store will have this material.

I can provide links to youtube videos showing all sorts of individuals that have already accomplished this small feat, up to and including the atomizer (ie the thing that makes the vapor). Just let me know!

None of this hardware is sophisticated. Honestly it is a wonder that these devices weren't invented sooner!

The only ingredient that could be "banned" (read: regulated) is the chemical nicotine itself. Those that still 'think' they need nicotine (I am framing this using your own logic, since need for nicotine is mostly a test of willpower/resolve from your POV) could use a zero-nic ecig and bite on nic gum, or lozenge, or even a patch. It is all OTC right now. Seems silly at first, but I know others that do exactly this, use the ecig to quench their ritual cravings, and get their nicotine from another source entirely.

Should the current system of free (free as in speech, not free as in beer) nicotine e-liquid availability be quashed, it will be regulated by the FDA and other authorities and then doled out in "measured doses", most likely provided in the States by Big Tobacco (they have all of that raw material and would love to ingratiate themselves with the FDA and political entities). Plus they have the money to fund a full FDA study on the matter in order to gain approval.

Hmmm, maybe pfizer would be tops on this list instead?

One way or another, the public will demand an ecig that has gone thru the legal trials and tribulations if a "ban" is put into effect. Thus the ecig cannot be truly banned, only made available in a regulated form when it contains nicotine.

We need only revisit the 1920s to see what happens when the government tries to ban a substance (then alcohol) that was formerly freely available. The whole apparatus was trashed quietly with the passage of the 21st amendment. Here is literally how 'quietly' it was resolved:

Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Big Tobacco *OR* Big Pharma could easily start up production lines on their own "FDA approved" nicotine cartridges. Not really the outcome I'd be looking for, but it does help frame your argument.

Bottom line: you just cannot ban anything in a zero-nic ecig. Canada bans e-liquid containing nicotine (officially), but ALL other hardware and zero-nic e-liquid is still available with age restrictions (which is appropriate). Should a "ban" go into effect here, it will be exactly the same.

I have no need to go back to smoking cigs, and no desire.

To me this is exactly the same question as "can water bongs be banned"? Pipes? Hookas? The answer (in the States at least) is no. The government has criminalized the substance that is associated predominantly with this hardware, but the hardware itself cannot, as it has non-cannabinoid uses (like smoking tobacco and legal herbs).

So where does that leave us?

1. You cannot ban nicotine outright, only regulate it.

The only way you could realistically ban nicotine is to ban sales of cigarettes. We both know that isn't going to happen any time soon.

2. You cannot ban hardware.

I find it VERY difficult to believe that anybody would seriously attempt to criminalize possession and use of a non-nicotine ecig in the States. Even the ardent believers of the nicodemon only think this is a really dumb way to spend money. (ie why pay $34.00 when a straw will do just as well?)

The countries that currently ban ecigs have many other motives (mainly taxes, see my earlier post on this subject) and are using the lack of studies to suppress ecigs in their jurisdictions. I really, truly believe that these concerns will be fleshed out, just like long-term NRT will be approved (my belief).

Sorry for the novella folks...

[cigarbabe]

Good logically sound reply renstyle novella or not!
C.B.

[Inquistadora]

I suppose I would get very upset for a time and then come to terms with being unable to quit smoking cigarettes, at least until something new comes along.

However, I doubt batteries or atomizers will be banned. Those units are used in far too many popular devices to go down easily. I don't see 21st century life working without them: no remote controls, no automatic garage door openers, no laptops, no spray products, get serious!

If they ban anything, it will be the liquids; it would be lightyears better if they regulated those.