The electronic cigarette has been in existence since 2003 but it is only in the last few years that the product has risen to the status of being “big news”. There is an ongoing tug of war of epic proportions being fought, with the electronic cigarette right in the middle.

Manufacturers and distributors are obviously keen to see the product succeed whilst opposition from governments and health authorities are urging caution to say the least and in some countries they have tried to implement a complete ban.

Initially, e cigarette companies were billing the product as a “healthier” alternative to smoking and as a device to help quit smoking. However, due to the strong opposition to the e cig and the way it was being marketed, distributors in many cases have been forced into changing their marketing language.

Instead of “healthier”, some promoters are now billing the device as “less harmful”. It appears that branding the e cigarette as a method of quitting smoking is now generally prohibited with phrases such as “an alternative way of smoking” being the new preferred language.

What is all this fuss about anyway? Most electronic cigarettes look very similar to their tobacco counterparts with the main difference in structure being their reusable nature. E cigarettes are battery and cartridge operated and emits only vapour rather than smoke.

Perhaps the most significant difference between an e cig and a regular tobacco cigarette is the tobacco itself. The electronic version contains no tobacco at all and as a result all the tar that comes from the tobacco is absent also. This, claim the distributors of electronic cigarettes is what makes the product “less harmful” than tobacco cigarettes, after all it is well known that the combination of tobacco and resulting tar can cause cancer.

One ingredient that is present in both products however, is nicotine (although a nicotine free cartridge can be used with an e cig). This is of course the ingredient that is addictive and it is also the ingredient that health authorities and certain governments are keen to see the electronic cigarette closely monitored over.

The debate will likely rumble on for some time to come but bright news for the electronic cigarette and its supporters is the fact the smokers who have decided to try the product, mostly seem delighted with it and many never go back to their old tobacco cigarettes again, claiming that they do in fact feel generally better than when the smoked their old cigarettes.

There have been many articles written about the general controversy and coverage of electronic cigarettes and there are likely to be many more written too. How about just for a moment, we take a look at what the distributors of e cigs say are the positive things about the product, and then if you are interested you check into it all in more detail at one of the many websites that promote them.

To take a clearer look at some of the so called benefits of electronic cigarettes, we first need to think about all the known terrible things about smoking regular tobacco cigarettes.

Bad things about tobacco cigarettes:

• Diseases and illnesses. Lung cancer is the most obvious of the cancers than can be caused by smoking but there are many more besides, such as throat cancer and mouth cancer. Bladder cancer and cancer of the kidney are also much more common in smokers.

• As well as all the cancer threats there are also cardiovascular diseases and other lung diseases to worry about. All in all, research has shown that smokers are likely to live 7 or 8 years less than those that don’t smoke.

• Passive smoking – not only does smoking put the smoker at risk but also the health and lives of the people around them, through passive smoking or inhaling second hand smoke.

• Bad breath, yellow fingers and teeth and smelly clothes are some of the other unpleasant effects of smoking tobacco cigarettes.

How are electronic cigarettes less harmful?

• Although an electronic cigarette still contains the addictive nicotine, there is absolutely no tobacco present and therefore none of the tar (which is the cancer causing substance) build up that is associated with regular cigs.

• An e cig only emits water like vapour (no smoke); therefore there is no danger of passive smoking.

• The vapour itself is odourless so none of the smelly breath or clothes occurs.

• They are legal to smoke anywhere, unlike tobacco cigarettes which are banned from pretty much all public places.

• E cigarettes are approximately about 80% cheaper to smoke then ordinary cigarettes, so potentially a huge saving.

• Without the tar, there is little or no pollution which actually makes e cigs much greener and less harmful to the environment.

So, are electronic cigarettes less harmful than tobacco cigarettes? On this particular evidence the answer would have to be an unequivocal yes! There’s lots more information out there than can help you decide whether as a smoker, the e cigarette is something for you or not.

Do you have and opinion? Add your comments to this post.

I have read so many comments on forums recently, mostly in American ones, complaining about how the FDA are trying to prohibit the sale of Electronic Cigarettes in the USA.

It seems so crazy to me that they have all the statistics right in front of them, all the information in the world telling them how dangerous cigarettes are and all the benefits of the E-Cig and they have the audacity to ban it! Aside from that, the majority of American smokers are in favour of electronic cigarettes, in fact they highly rate them!

One user of the Smart Smoker electronic cigarette said ‘This is the best alternative out there by a mile!’

Bill Godshall of Smokefree Pennsylvania said that, “denying 45 million cigarette smokers access to exponentially less hazardous smokefree nicotine alternatives would result in millions of preventable deaths among smokers, millions of nonsmokers continuing to be exposed to tobacco smoke pollution, and tens of thousands of e-cigarettes users reverting back to smoking cigarettes.” He also said, “it is absurd for the FDA to even contemplate protecting the deadliest nicotine products (cigarettes) from market competition by the least hazardous nicotine products.”

Smart Smoker is a very popular electric cigarette company all over the world and smokers who are trying their hardest to kick their habit are being forced to use other methods that are not neccesarily as effective or as wallet friendly.

What really gripes me though and I’m sure it will you too, is that the person influencing regulations on electronic cigarette sales in the USA is Senator Frank Lautenberg who has a vested interest in not allowing electronic cigarettes to become the most popular, alternative to smoking. Known for putting a stop to smoking on aeroplanes, Lautenberg has now lost the plot in his crusade for a healthier America and rather than helping smokers, banning electronic cigarettes is just going to reverse all the good work they’ve already done for a vast amount of the public.

Let us know what you think!

Did you know that you can get a case for your Electronic Cigarette? The smart, discrete, black and silver case is great for keeping your E-Cig in along with a spare battery and a couple of cartridge refils so that you won’t get caught out.

Apart from the obvious benefits, Electric Cigarettes from Smart Smoker don’t burn like regular cigarettes so you can take a few puffs on one and then put it in your pocket if you want to. The case that Smart Smoker sell for the Electronic Cigarette though is more hygenic than a trouser pocket though and you can store accessories inside it without losing them so that all your essentials are in one place.

The Smart Case retails at just £5.95, which is a good investment when you consider that it is re-usable and will store more than just the electric cigarette itself.

The case comes as part of the package with the ‘Springtime – New You!’ kit which has FREE shipping!

Get yours now from www.smartsmoker.co.uk

I’ve just been out for some lunch in a local restaurant with some of the team. It was very enjoyable; the restaurant is what I like to think of as very avant garde and the menu changes weekly, showcasing local produce – it’s really very nice. My experience there today though was particularly enjoyable not least because it wasn’t just the Smart Smoker founder smoking his electronic cigarette after the meal, there was another group of people from an office round the corner from the restaurant and two of them were also smoking e-cigs!

I’ve been in bars and pubs and seen them being used quite frequently, especially since the smoking ban but never in a restaurant so to see them being used in my favourite eatery was great!

They do attract attention or curiosity, shall I say, but then that is the job of many fashion accessories – not just to complete an outfit but to show a bit of personality and to get you noticed – to stand out from the crowd.

It really was great to see – I was happy that the people were avoiding cigarettes and opting for the electric cigarette instead and also that they were doing it inside, just causing a bit of a fuss – great!

Enjoy your electronic cigarette from Smart Smoker anywhere, any time!