UK Government Encourages Use of Electronic Cigarettes

Posted by Admin | Posted on 16-09-2011

Category : Featured, Regulatory Issues Surrounding E-Cigs

The government’s “nudge unit” wants to encourage the use of electronic cigarettes, banned in many countries around the world, in an attempt to reduce the numbers killed in the UK by smoking diseases each year.

The Cabinet Office’s behavioural insight team – better known as the nudge unit – wants to adopt the new technology because policy officials believe the rigid “quit or die” approach to smoking advice no longer works. Rather, they want nicotine addiction to be managed to help smokers who otherwise won’t quit – an approach the unit believes could prevent millions of smoking deaths. Ten million people in the UK smoke, and smoking claims 80,000 lives a year.

Current alternatives to smoking range from smokeless tobacco to the Swedish snuff-like product Snus, which is illegal in the UK. Versions of smoke-free cigarettes are illegal in Australia, and banned in Canada, Brazil, Singapore and Thailand because side-effects haven’t been tested.

But experts have advised the UK government that the nicotine contained in some new, smoke-free cigarettes is no more harmful than caffeine in coffee. A Cabinet Office source said: “A lot of countries are moving to ban this stuff; we think that’s a mistake.”

John Britton, professor of epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, told the Guardian that on top of the current smokeless range – which includes electronic or “e-cigarettes” that simulate smoking by producing an inhaled mist – there are three or four devices in different stages of development. But he said some companies have been reluctant to develop this technology because they had expected it to be as tightly controlled as pharmaceutical drugs.

Britton said: “If a manufacturer makes a health claim for anything then it becomes a drug, and drugs have to be regulated with tight controls. The current nicotine replacements are sold as drugs; however, e-cigarettes contain nicotine but get around this by making no health claim and so can be sold freely, but with little or no information on safety or standards. What we’re asking for is a regulation change to bring all nicotine products into a light-touch regime that will guarantee reasonable purity and safety standards but make them as available as cigarettes in a shop.”

The Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is looking into approving these devices for use. If it finds in their favour, the government is likely to push for them to be placed prominently in shops alongside tobacco cigarettes, where they would be sold at a cheaper rate.

This is fantastic news for the Electronic Cigarette industry. It seems that these products are finally being recognised as important and successful alternatives for smokers.

Catherine Zeta Jones Quits Smoking

Posted by Admin | Posted on 07-08-2011

Category : Featured

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Catherine Zeta Jones has happily announced that she has finally quit smoking. Her decision was made after seeing her husband Michael Douglas fight throat cancer. It was only weeks ago where Catherine Zeta Jones was snapped using an Electronic Cigarette on holiday, and has reportedly found the safer smoking alternative a great help with her smoking addiction for the past 3 months.

Catherine Zeta Jones has now been added to the long list of celebrities that have seen using Electronic Cigarettes. Others include Leonardo DiCaprio, Katherine Heigl, and Charlie Sheen. Katherine Heigl announced she was using this innovative device in an interview on the Late Show with David Letterman. You can see the full video here. 

 

Electronic Cigarette used by Katherine Heigl

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland – Responsible or Irresponsible?

Posted by Admin | Posted on 04-08-2011

Category : Featured, Regulatory Issues Surrounding E-Cigs

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Recently the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) has issued a statement that states the “PSI considers that it would not be appropriate for any of these products to be offered for sale or supply in retail pharmacy businesses in Ireland.” We have been looking into the reason why they have taken this decision and what the thoughts of healthcare professionals and also users of Electronic Cigarettes in Ireland are in response to this statement.

 

The Dangers of Smoking – How can Electronic Cigarettes help?

Posted by Admin | Posted on 02-08-2011

Category : Why use Electronic Cigarettes

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Smokers have heard time and time again just how bad cigarettes are for their health. When discussing smoking related deaths majority of people immediately think of lung caner, and 87% of all lung cancer deaths are due to cigarette smoking, it is far from the only health risk that face smokers worldwide.

The detrimental substances that are created from burning tobacco include tar, carbon monoxide, and approximately 4000 others. The tar from tobacco smoke starts to accumulate on the bronchial tubes leading to the lungs. The hot smoke burns the tiny hairlike projections (called cilia) that trap harmful particles before they enter the lungs.

Carbon Monoxide is a poisonous gas that is quickly absorbed into the blood, reducing its capacity to carry oxygen. As a result, the smoker has to exert more physical effort to attain a given task than does a nonsmoker. The heart in particular must work harder, particularly during rigorous exercise. Increased levels of carbon monoxide in the blood can impair vision, perception of time, and coordination.

Surprisingly however it is maybe the less severe detriments of smoking that are discussed less often. Smokers are often associated with ageing quicker, it affects the health of the skin, especially noticeable on and around the face. Carbon Monoxide deprives the body of oxygen and more importantly Vitamin C, which is extremely important in helping the skin repair itself. Yellow teeth, and bad breath are also problems which smokers must overcome.

Electronic Cigarettes besides reducing the risk of lung cancer and other illnesses related to smoking, also helps with the more less serious impacts. No carbon monoxide means the body is not deprived of Oxygen, and therefore also reduces the yellowness of teeth. The lack of tobacco smoke reduce the terrible odour associated with smoking.

More and more dentists are now promoting the idea of Electronic Cigarettes to smokers simply for the reasons above. Its to fair to say that these E Cigarettes have much more that the obvious health benefits that people thin of initially, and can help with so many of the problems of traditional smoking.

 

How much would you save?

Posted by Admin | Posted on 02-08-2011

Category : Why use Electronic Cigarettes

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With the sudden rise in publicity on e-cigarettes, there is plenty to read on the benefits, controversies and companies out there; yet one topic that is very rarely featured is the immense cost savings that can be made by using electronic cigarettes as an alternative to traditional cigarettes.

I believe it is now fair to suggest that with the quality of some electronic cigarettes in the market today that they can be deemed as viable and realistic alternatives for smokers to use and with the obvious health benefits, it should be a no-brainer anyway. However, considering the current economic climate and the savings we already look to find in our daily lives from entertainment to weekly shopping, it of course makes sense to look at a habit that for a 20-a-day smoker can cost in the region of £2,300 a year!

Nicocig E-cigarettes have now been available in the market for over 3 years and are readily available from a range of pharmacies and online retailers. One would initially be required to purchase a Starter Kit, which costs about £39.95 to begin with, now whilst this sounds expensive, it does come fully loaded everything needed to get going with rechargeable electronic cigarettes including 4 cartomisers worth 20 traditional cigarettes each, 2 rechargeable batteries, 1 USB charger and a mains adaptor. Now this is where the savings kick in; thereafter users only need to purchase refill boxes containing 3 cartomisers which are available in 4 different strengths in tobacco and menthol flavour. Each one of these cartomisers is comparable to 20 traditional cigarettes making each refill box the equivalent of 60 cigarettes and the best bit is that they cost just £4.95, cheaper than a normal box of 20!

So lets take your average 10-a-day smoker, he would be spending £1186.25 per year on cigarettes, (based on cigarettes costing £6.50 for a box of 20). However, if he were to start using Nicocig e-cigarettes, he would only be spending £301.13 annually instead! that’s a huge saving of £885.12 per year. The best thing about this great deal is that it can be made without any sacrifice; you still get your nicotine hit, you still get the pleasure of holding the cigarette and the inhaling and exhaling of the smoke-like vapour. Furthermore you even reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle, the ability to smoke in public places and even a better taste than cigarettes. What more could you ask for?

So if nothing else has sold the concept of e-cigarettes to you, why not do it so you can take an extra holiday this year and think about ‘how much would you save?’

 

Why Electronic Cigarettes circumvent the smoking ban?

Posted by Admin | Posted on 01-08-2011

Category : Featured

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Many of you will have heard Electronic Cigarette companies advertise that E-Cigs can be used legally indoors where traditional smoking is prohibited. Another bold claim is that they can be used on planes too. Just how much of this is true, and what are the reasons.

Firstly the smoking ban in more detail. The Statutory Definitions of the Smoking Health Act Ban is as follows:
(a)  smoking refers to smoking tobacco or anything which contains tobacco, or smoking any other substance, and
(b)  Smoking includes being in possession of lit tobacco or of anything lit which contains tobacco, or being in possession of any other lit substance in a form in which it could be smoked.

It is clear to see that one would not be in breach of either of these two when using an Electronic Cigarette. There is absolutely no tobacco within an Electronic Cigarette, and never is anything lit.

Although this clarifies the legal position, there are other factors which must be considered. Within bars, pubs, clubs restaurants casinos and anything else you can think off, the use of E-Cigs will always be at the managers/owners consent. From our experience most of the time managers in such places have come across these products before, and and generally fine with them being used. Its worth remembering that it’s the pub and bar industry that has been hit the hardest from the introduction of the smoking ban. So now that there is a way in which bar/pub owners can keep drinkers in their venue, they are generally quite happy with it!

The use of Electronic Cigarettes on planes however is not such an easy one. For reasons that you and I will probably not ever understand, airline companies don’t like E-cigs being used on flights. There are some that do not mind, however the majority now seem to not allow them. I have been on flights where it is actually announced that “smoking is not permitted on board this flight – this includes Electronic Cigarettes.”

In an attempt to understand why, we have tried to contact various airline companies. The general response that we have had is that airline companies recognise that there are smokers on board that are already anxious that they cannot smoke. If they were then to see a passenger near them puffing away on an electronic cigarette, although this is doing no harm to surrounding passengers, it may make the already anxious smoker even more agitated.

The question has to be asked why they just don’t make these products available on board their flights so that all smokers could use them freely! Oh well, lets hope that one day this will be the case.

We would like to hear your thoughts on the above, just how freely have you been able to use your Electronic Cigarette?

Are Electronic Cigarettes a Quit Smoking Aid

Posted by Admin | Posted on 01-08-2011

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Its always the first question that smokers seem to ask. Will an Electronic Cigarette help me quit smoking?! Electronic Cigarette companies in the UK and around most of the world will tell you that their products are not marketed as quit smoking aids, instead they are marketed as safer, healthier alternatives to traditional cigarettes.

Numerous E Cigarette companies have started clinical trials on their Electronic Cigarettes, and so it may well be that in the future these products will be marketed alongside regular Smoking aids such as Nicotine patches, gum and inhalators, however in the meantime it is current users of Electronic Cigarettes that will be in a position to be able to answer this question, and recently the telegraph has released some interesting statistics surround this question.

The article explains how many surveys have tried to quantify the mounting hype on electronic cigarette usage. As published in early 2011 by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, nearly one-third (31%) of those who tried e-cigarettes reported that they quit smoking cigarettes within six months of use. As a quitting mechanism, electronic cigarettes have fared better than other methods like nicotine gums and nicotine patches, which had a success rate below 20%. This evidence strongly suggests how effective electronic cigarettes can be in tobacco cigarette cessation.

The report emphasises that success rates with electronic cigarettes are high, especially for smokers who want to cut down their use or for those who want to quit tobacco cigarettes. It is a cost-effective tool that has many benefits, both for the user and the people around them.

Many of you that come across Electronic Cigarettes for the first time, will no doubt naturally assume that the mere nature of them suggests that they are quit smoking aids, however there is no doubt that many companies selling these products recognise that there is a huge market purely for just those that want a safer, cheaper substitute and actually do not intend to quit at all. The largest two reasons for smokers wanting to quit is because of the detrimental health benefits, and the cost of smoking. When these are taken out of the equation, and there is a product that still provides a similar feeling and satisfaction as regular smoking at a lower price point, how many smokers actually still want to quit?