I didn't know I was a prophet but I guess I am. Last year, in one of my gatherings of quips, quotes and really bad jokes, I wrote "At the store I saw a new cigarette that was half the price of the other brands so I bought a carton. As soon as I took the first puff I knew something was wrong. In bold letters at the bottom of the pack was the warning, "Made in China, this product contains no tobacco." How soon my prognostication in a form of a joke has come to pass. Actually, I guess they have been working on this for years and just forgot to tell me about it.
Now there is a new electronic cigarette out on the market that actually doesn't have any tobacco and doesn't require a flame. It started in Hong Kong and is making itself known around the world thanks to the internet.
The gist of the product is that it has a tiny battery in the cigarette-looking device that emits a spray of nicotine down one's lungs. The Ruyan V8 sounds more like a new car or a health juice drink but that is the name given to this carefully disguised nicotine inhaler.
The biggest contention of health organizations about smoking is born out by laboratory evidence. Starting a fire and then taking it into one's lungs is no healthier than just stinking one's head into a pile of burning leaves a few dozen times each day and inhaling.
The cocktail of poisonous chemicals released in a cigarette just to deliver the nicotine is what makes a cigarette dangerous. That is why the chew and snuff industries have been able to make billions selling tobacco products that you don't need to burn. Using those products of course won't give you lung cancer. They just make your mouth rot away instead.
Nicotine isn't considered a dangerous drug by itself. That can be seen in the nicotine patches and gums approved for market to help people quit putting methane into their lungs just to get the nicotine.
Since this is actually a nicotine mist, you would think that there wouldn't be any problems with getting this approved by world health organizations including the FDA. The only problem is the company just decided to promote this as a safe and effective means of getting nicotine plus mimic the hand, mouth, drawing down the lungs, gestures that are a part of a smoker's habit.
They decided this without getting any testing since testing takes time and that is all lost money to a company.
Now there was a study done by a veteran of tobacco studies paid for by the manufacturer and lo and behold, he came up with just the findings they wanted to hear.
There are also more worries in the health communities since Chinese companies, famous for making knockoffs of anything that will sell, are mimicking the device to get in on the gold.
China, home of lead burgers, is famous for causing laboratory rats to become extinct in their country. Chinese made anythings right now draw concerns from the world
Other health organizations also don't like the idea these e-cigarettes might be considered cool' by youngsters and the slippery slope of buying these expensive inhalers might by supplanted by the cheaper burning leaves of a cigarette just to keep the nicotine coming.
A lot of the problems with all these things is that studies take years and in the case of a drug to cure someone of a terminal disease that makes no sense. The ambiguity of smoking is that in many cases it causes lung cancer but in others it doesn't. It also often takes years so smoking aids and cures fall under the category of "let's take our time on this"
Another problem is that everyone is so intent on trying to keep these inhalers off the market that they aren't spending the time to find out if they should be touted as the best thing since sliced bread.
There is the chance this is a great new way to cure the world of conventional smoking. The slowness of bureaucracy and studies conflicting with the rush by corporations for dollars causing litigation rather than research again is stopping us from finding out if something is better or worse.
Time will tell. The only problem is at this moment someone has just been told they are dying of lung cancer. Some things need to be prioritized in the lab and not in the courtroom. One would think this would be one of them. One would think.
Freelance writer, columnist, author and writing coach, ex-Chicagoan Mike Fak presently resides in Central Illinois. More information about Mike's services are available at his home website www.mikefak.com
Mike currently writes primarily humor columns for searchwarp bi-weekly and is the managing editor of www.lincolndailynews.com
Mike now offers a 26,000 word e-book on making money as a freelance writer for only $10.00 at this page. http://www.mikefak.com/id45.html
Great article! Why not get this information into President Obama's hands? He's spending money on everything and since he is a smoker, he might just want to pursue this venture as well, especially since he hasn't been able to quit!
very interesting.......what will they think of next? your articles are very well written and interesting, I must look up those cigs on the net for fun...thanks for writing about them
I enjoyed your article. I was finally able to get off cigarettes about 10 years ago through God's grace and it is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I tried to quit many times so I know the struggle. I have great empathy for people who can't quite smoking. My husband quit but he still chews Nicorette gum. My main concern for him is that he is increasing his intake of the gum. Still better than all the tar.
» left by Laura from Florida (244 days 22 hours ago.)
There is surely led paint in those things since they are made in China. I quit smoking finally just a year ago. I had quit a million times before. I had quit during parts of all of my pregnancies, quit for my kids, quit for my health, the money, and just b/c I hated smelling like an ashtray, but none of those things worked on their own. Last winter I got a really bad cold that I could hardly get rid of and I kind of sat down and decided to write a pros and cons list about smoking and I really only found one pro and over 200 cons. I wrote a promise and left it up on my pc screen for a while and read it all the time. It said, "I no longer believe or care that I can never causally just have one cigarette. I never want to smell like an ash tray or be a poor role model for my kids again. I don't even want a last cigarette when I know I am dying. They are a waste of money and my time. There are many things I would die for, but nicotine isn't one of them." That did the trick for me, but I hadn't smoked in my house for years and I couldn't stand when people were standing around the doors of buildings smoking when I was walking around downtown with my kids, so I think that made it easier for me. Good luck to all the other smokers. I never thought I would quit for good, but at this point, after one year, I am certain that I will never have another cigarette again in my life. In fact, I can't even stand the smell most of the time. I tried to promise myself that I wouldn't be one of those annoying former smokers who complained whenever someone lights up near by, but the smell almost makes me ill depending on the brand and I just can't take it. Good article and quit smoking.
I've been using one of these for a couple days now and I have to say I am impressed (Ruyan Jazz).. Why they wouldn't fast-track something like this is ridiculous and we should all be outraged when they ban them.. and I GUARANTEE there will be a ban on these this year.. big tobacco will not take this lying down and we're all about to see just how much pull big tobacco has.
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