If you have read health oriented news, been to a shopping mall, or spent enough time looking at the smoking options at a gas station in the past 4 years, you’ve probably heard of E-cigarettes. You might even have a friend or family member that uses them, since they have increased dramatically in popularity with smokers and non-smokers alike. But you might be wondering what an e-cigarette actually is and how it works.
E-cigarettes are electronic devices that combine a power source, usually a lithium ion battery, with a heated filament atomizer and a liquid reservoir of “e-juice”. They come in many shapes and sizes, but these primary components are found in all makes and models of e-cigarette. To use the e-cigarette, users activate the heated filament by drawing inward on a tube or pressing a button. This action draws the e-juice into contact with the filament which causes it to change from liquid to vapor. The vapor is then inhaled into the mouth and lungs, and then the user then exhales it. This process requires no drug additives, but because this process is an effective flavor and drug administration method, additives such as natural and artificial flavors, caffeine and nicotine are added to the e-juice to produce the desired vapor dose.
E-juice is the liquid in the reservoir of the e-cigarette that is turned into vapor. It is usually comprised mainly of vegetable or propyl glycol (or a mix of the two). These chemical food additives are widely regarded as safe, and can be found in many foods and drinks. Particularly frozen drink mixes. These chemicals are used because they turn into vapor at fairly low temperatures and mix well with nicotine and flavorings.
One of the major advantages of e-cigarette use, called “vaping” by most users, is that the user can control the dosage of any additive very easily. Thus, vapers who want nicotine can control how much is in their cigarette by having e-juice mixed for them at a smoke shop or buying e-juice based on its premixed nicotine content. Users who do not wish to vape with nicotine do not have to use it at all. This makes e-cigarettes excellent for adults to use socially or to use as props in film and stage.
E-cigarettes are often marketed to smokers who are trying to find a smoking alternative. While the scientific community is still studying the effects of e-cigarette use, common sense indicates a number of obvious advantages. Smoking is definitely messy. E-cigarettes are often reusable, can be cleaned, and leave no ash or cigarette butts to stink up clothes or burn upholstery. Smoking has also become a serious social taboo, but e-cigarettes carry much less of that because they do not smell bad or cause lung discomfort to those around them.
While there are many places that are extending the ban on indoor smoking to e-cigarettes, people who use them generally find that they do not have much effect at all on the indoor environment of their home and office. According to SmokelessImage.com, “They do not stain ceilings, they do not get ash all over the carpet, they don’t require ash trays, and they can be safely used in bed. For smokers looking for an alternative to smoking indoors, e-cigarettes definitely compare favorably to chewing tobacco and snuff in all departments.”
Though e-cigarettes do not burn tobacco, and thus do not carry the same risks as cigarettes, some early studies have shown that they are not a healthy alternative to smoking. One problem with them is that some models seem to release formaldehyde. This is because the heating elements on some more powerful models heat the e-juice up more than is necessary in order to produce thicker vapor. E-juice that contains nicotine also obviously carries with it the risks that any nicotine dosage might, the same health problems that may result from chewing too many nicotine mints or using too many patches.
As with everything else in the world, there are many things to consider about the workings of e-cigarettes.
