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Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

in.reuters.com

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Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#31

Post by dageshi »

melq wrote: post #17
dsschnau wrote: post #5

vaping definitely isn't healthy but it doesn't take much time vaping to determine that it's less bad for you than smoking. i still want to quit nicotine entirely one day but until that day comes, my vape pen and i are good friends. 9 months ago i tried one out, and that same day was the very last day i ever smoked a cigarette.

Is vaping unhealthy because nicotine is inherently unhealthy or are there other harms associated with vaping itself? Need to quit smoking cigarettes myself.

I don't think nicotine itself is that bad for you, it seems like nicotine inhaled via cigarettes is an entire different league to other nicotine/tobacco forms.

Cigar and pipe smokers as a rule don't have the kind of compulsive many a day habits that cigarette smokers do.

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#32

Post by infecto »

revelation wrote: post #8
joelhaasnoot wrote: post #2

"Cold turkey is best way to quit smoking, study says" http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/15/health/quit-smoking-cold-t... Not convinced switching people to a just as addicting, just as nasty way of killing themselves slowly is any better.

I sometimes feel like I'm in loony land with all the e-cigarette FUD. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the cancer causing potential of smoking lies primarily in inhaling smoke containing a large number of carcinogenic combustion products. Vaporizers completely eliminate that; it's why "medical marijuana" is a thing, they couldn't prescribe it when the side-effect is cancer.

While I agree I think the one unfortunate side effect, that i do not have quantitative evidence of, is that more people are vaping who would not have picked up cigarettes.

It could be purely anecdotal evidence but it sure seems like it.

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#33

Post by TeMPOraL »

revelation wrote: post #8
joelhaasnoot wrote: post #2

"Cold turkey is best way to quit smoking, study says" http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/15/health/quit-smoking-cold-t... Not convinced switching people to a just as addicting, just as nasty way of killing themselves slowly is any better.

I sometimes feel like I'm in loony land with all the e-cigarette FUD. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the cancer causing potential of smoking lies primarily in inhaling smoke containing a large number of carcinogenic combustion products. Vaporizers completely eliminate that; it's why "medical marijuana" is a thing, they couldn't prescribe it when the side-effect is cancer.

At this point I'm convinced that this e-cig FUD is a combination of intentional misinformation and general population not being able to think clearly about degrees of things. One would think that "a significantly less harmful thing is better than a harmful thing" is a tautology, but apparently it's not obvious to everyone.

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#34

Post by justin66 »

Xophmeister wrote: post #16
heelhook wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuinely curious; what's keeping you from quitting altogether? Is quitting a priority for you?

> 9 months ago i tried one out, and that same day was the very last day i ever smoked a cigarette. Looks like he's doing pretty well. Nicotine is extremely addictive. One does not just quit smoking.

> One does not just quit smoking.

Plenty of people do.

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#35

Post by [deleted] »

dsschnau wrote: post #5

vaping definitely isn't healthy but it doesn't take much time vaping to determine that it's less bad for you than smoking. i still want to quit nicotine entirely one day but until that day comes, my vape pen and i are good friends. 9 months ago i tried one out, and that same day was the very last day i ever smoked a cigarette.

[deleted]

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#36

Post by alexanderstears »

Our society's tendency to moralize or rationalize issues has made it tough to talk about harm reduction.

Moralizers focus on the corrosive elements of addiction and rationalizers say that e-cigs are still harmful but they miss the point that many people who smoke e-cigs are better off than they would be if they used cigs to get their nicotine.

E-cigs offer a better path to cessation through better control of the nicotine concentrations than cigs do, and e-cigs are probably one of the least harmful ways to get nicotine (and they're certainly cheaper than gum and patches).

I was very disappointed that the Obama administration tried to apply such heavy-handed regulations to the industry, it has its place and I think we'd be better off tolerating e-cigs. Give people an alternative to caffeine.

I think most productive people are dependent on some stimulant or at least most people find their productivity is enhanced through stimulation. Whether it's coffee, nicotine, or amphetamine, we should be honest about why people use it and focus on access that doesn't cause undue suffering.

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#37

Post by XFrequentist »

dxtr wrote: post #28
excalibur wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both. Even vaping 0mg nicotine is bad for you, but not nearly as bad as smoking.

Has it really been proven that nicotine itself is dangerous? I'm thinking of articles like https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-nicotine-all-b... I'm obviously talking about moderate doses. I know concentrated nicotine is very toxic :)

Definitely not "proven" to be dangerous, in fact evidence is more compatible with (low dose) nicotine being quite safe.

Best summary I'm aware of (note the many caveats): https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#38

Post by aphextron »

alexanderstears wrote: post #36

Our society's tendency to moralize or rationalize issues has made it tough to talk about harm reduction. Moralizers focus on the corrosive elements of addiction and rationalizers say that e-cigs are still harmful but they miss the point that many people who smoke e-cigs are better off than they would be if they used cigs to get their nicotine. E-cigs offer a better path to cessation through better control of the nico…

>E-cigs offer a better path to cessation through better control of the nicotine concentrations than cigs do, and e-cigs are probably one of the least harmful ways to get nicotine (and they're certainly cheaper than gum and patches).

Alternatively, e-cigs have made nicotine consumption cheaper, faster, more convenient, more socially acceptable, and available at much higher concentrations than tobacco. The aggregate being that nicotine addiction could very well increase overall, even if smoking rates drop. Most people don't realize that it's not really the smoke and lung cancer that leads to a majority of smoking deaths. It's the cardiovascular effects of nicotine leading to heart disease. Equating that to caffeine is ridiculous.

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#39

Post by excalibur »

Xophmeister wrote: post #16
heelhook wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuinely curious; what's keeping you from quitting altogether? Is quitting a priority for you?

> 9 months ago i tried one out, and that same day was the very last day i ever smoked a cigarette. Looks like he's doing pretty well. Nicotine is extremely addictive. One does not just quit smoking.

His sentiment is actually a very common one. Many smokers who try vaping find that they actually prefer it, and have no inclination to go back. And it allows for a level of control over the nicotine content that cigarettes never will.

Re: Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6M American smokers

#40

Post by josefresco »

Ascetik wrote: post #19

I use nasal snuff, the least damaging and least intrusive form of tobacco use. I vaped pretty hardcore for 3 or 4 years, it definitely has an effect on your lungs, especially if you're into dual-coil sub-ohm builds and all that jazz. Nasal snuff has been a God-send and is much more enjoyable, at least to me. I still smoke a nice briar pipe with a few different pipe tobacco blends on occasion, but nasal snuff has defi…

TIL ... about Nasal Snuff. Didn't even know this was a thing - do you get weird looks in public?
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