Electronic Cigarettes: A Safer Alternative - an Infographic

21 Century Smoking is proud to introduce our first infographic! We wanted to bring you an awesome visual about choosing electronic cigarettes as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. Electric Cigarettes: A Safer Alternative explores why making the switch to widely popular e-cigarettes really is the best bet for you, your health, and the health of those around you. Don't forget, 21 Century Smoking is your source for the best e-cigarette products on the market. Located in Chicago, we're also online 24/7 to fulfill all of your electronic cigarette needs. We hope you enjoy our first infographic! Feel free to share this with your friends! 

21 Century Smoking Presents Brand Video

21 Century Smoking is proud to present an awesome short video all about our brand. We specialize in electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, e-liquid, and other accessories right here in Chicago. Our knowledge team is prepared to help with any questions or concerns you may have about making the switch to electronic cigarettes. If you don't live in the Chicago area, our online store www.21centurysmoking.com offers the same great products and service carried in our store. Stop on by or hop online today! We hope you enjoy our brand video!

The FDA Steps In

The Food and Drug Administration has put a lot of pressure on the electronic cigarette market within the last few years. The FDA has called for widespread testing and it seemed liked they were set on proving electronic cigarettes were just as bad - if not worse – than real cigarettes.

This was until the director for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco came out and said, “If we could get all of those people [who smoke] to completely switch all of their cigarettes to noncombustible cigarettes, it would be good for public health.” – Mitch Zeller.

Although preliminary testing has shown positive results for the vaping community, the FDA is not backing down on seeking hard regulations. They still have concerns that have not been addressed, but they fail to see the whole picture.

FDA Concerns 

• Children 

One of the main concerns the FDA has about e-cigarettes is that children have been able to get their hands on them. This has long been addressed and was halted almost as soon as it started. E-cigarettes are a nicotine product and most e-cigarettes have labels warning against use by children and pregnant women.

• Not enough testing 

There has not been extensive testing on e-cigarettes, but as a relatively new product it is to be expected. The FDA regulations and testing would drown out smaller, start up e-cigarette companies, leaving only room for big tobacco companies to flood the market. The testing that has been both independently done and done by the FDA has shown e-cigarettes to be a safer alternative to smoking. Water vapor is much safer for your lungs than tar filled smoke.

• Health Risks 

The long term health risks of e-cigarettes are still up in the air because – quite frankly – e-cigarettes haven’t been around long enough. Things like this take time and this doesn’t mean the FDA can crush a whole market with strict regulations or even banning them entirely. The preliminary testing has been positive. E-cigarettes are not designed to be for non-smokers. They are an alternative for preexisting smokers to avoid the tar and carcinogens found in traditional cigarettes.

How They Miss the Mark 

The biggest concern for e-cigarette manufactures is the money all of the regulations will cost. Having private tests done, or even FDA testing is extremely expensive. The FDA and larger corporations will snuff out small e-cigarette businesses. This is also bad because there seems to be more pride in a small business and those e-cigarette businesses would provide a safe, alternative to cigarettes that uses already FDA approves ingredients. The e-cigarettes that have been independently tested by the manufacturers to show transparency in their products have come back with positive results. Not all manufactures have the funding for these types of testing, but they follow suit to what the rest of the market is doing.

All in all, regulation is not always a bad thing. Keeping children away from the addictive properties of nicotine and warning pregnant women against its use is absolutely a good idea. It is not okay to use FDA sanctions to crush the market and suffocate those businesses trying to sell a quality product and make ends meet. E-cigarettes still have a long way to come, but there has been plenty of push back against the FDA and big tobacco companies. Doctors, government officials, vaping advocates, and business owners are all taking a stand to prove e-cigarettes are a safe tobacco free product and should not be put under the same pressures as deadly tobacco products. We should want smokers to have a healthy alternative and not have to breathe in carcinogens anymore. E-cigarettes provide that option for those who have already become addicted to nicotine, but no longer want to smoke. It can be extremely tough to cut back smoking, but because of e-cigarettes smokers have that option. The FDA shouldn’t be able to take that away from people who already understand the risks of smoking and want a better alternative.

E-Cigarette Juice: Disbanding the Myths

E-cigarettes are in hot debate and they are coming under more scrutiny everyday. This is not necessarily a bad thing because they are relatively new products, which – until recently – did not have a lot of testing. Lately, e-cigs have gone under the microscope and have been tested and quite a few of the main myths have been disbanded. This comes with a grain of salt of course. Trusted e-cigarettes should always be bought from trusted brands – just like any other product. Trusted e-cigarette brands are in the business of STAYING in business. They don’t want their products to be taken off the shelf because they aren’t safe. The three myths below have been in hot debate and now there are some cold hard facts to shed some light on the situation.

• MYTH 1: E-cigarettes Aren’t Safe 

This is not true. In the past, people didn’t have the facts to whether they were harmful or not because no tests were done. Certain companies have had different tests done on their products that revealed the ingredients and the amount of harm they can do. The Ruyan e-cigarette – one of the first e-cigs on the market – went through extensive research to determine what was actually in their products. The research found that the Ruyan e-cigarette,

“Is very safe relative to cigarettes, and also safe in absolute terms on all measurements we have applied. Using microelectronics it vaporizes, separately for each puff, very small quantities of nicotine dissolved in propylene glycol, two small well-known molecules with excellent safety profiles, – into a fine aerosol. Each puff contains one third to one half the nicotine in a tobacco cigarette’s puff. The cartridge liquid is tobacco-free and no combustion occurs.” 

The last part of the quote above is especially telling. As a tobacco-free product, there is no actual combustion occurring. Water vapor is emitted and not tar filled smoke. The lack of combustion and tar makes the e-cig automatically safer than a conventional cigarette.

• MYTH 2: We Don’t Know What Is In E-cigarettes 

This is also not entirely true. Although there have not been tests on every single brand, the tests that have been done do show what is in certain brands of e-cigarettes. Another study was conducted on the NJOY brand of e-cigarettes. The study broke down the detectable traces of all ingredients. The test results found that,

 “A total of 22 organic chemicals were found at detectable levels in the aerosol. The major constituents were found to be propylene glycol, glycerol, water and nicotine. Minor constituents were primarily FDA-approved flavoring agents, and two nicotine derivatives.” 

Most e-cigarette companies are following suit to Ruyan and NJOY, but they do not have enough funding to have research done to prove otherwise. •

MYTH 3: E-cigarettes Haven’t Been Tested 

As previously stated, most companies are following the same personal guidelines and providing a safer alternative to smoking, but – as startup companies – they are putting everything into producing quality, affordable products. If they had the funding to do it they would. As a new product, it will take time to get proper research done to verify what these companies are already telling you. The fact that e-cigarettes produce water vapor as a non-tobacco product makes them already safer than conventional cigarettes. Tar as a result of cigarette smoking is a huge concern and e-cigarettes have already done away with that.

The Truth Is Out 

E-cigarettes get a bad rap because they are the new kid on the block and threaten the big tobacco companies. This leads to added pressure for research. Bigger companies with more funding have no problem having research done on their products, but where does this leave the small businesses jumping on this expanding market? This pressure for research and lack of funding in some companies is what creates these rumors in the first place. It will take some time for all the research to be out, but it will be clear that electronic cigarettes are the safer, cheaper alternative.

 

Traveling with E-Cigarettes

Guidelines for flying with e-cigarettes have been up in the air (pun absolutely intended) for quite some time. E-cigs were originally marketed as the alternative to cigarettes; you could smoke everywhere you couldn’t normally – even planes. This quickly changed, but not as definitively as you may think. The Federal Aviation Administration has still not set specific guidelines for electronic cigarettes, so the decision is left up to the airlines to decide. Unfortunately, most major airlines have banned the use of electronic cigarettes on planes.

Although e-cigarettes cannot be used on planes, you can still fly with them, use them in airports, in cabs, at resorts, or even in hotel rooms. Luckily, the strain of traveling can still be greatly reduced when you’re able to have your handy e-cig with you.

Guidelines for Flying With an E-cig 

• Liquid Requirements 

If you plan on carrying liquid nicotine with you in your carry-on, you must still follow the TSA’s guidelines of 3.4oz – or smaller – containers. Then, you must put all liquid containers in a clear, one-quart, Ziploc bag. This will ensure you can take all your e-cig refills with you for your travels.

• Battery and charger 

It would be a good idea to take apart your e-cig – if possible – and place the battery and charger with your laptop or other stored electronics. This provision will safeguard you from setting off any red flags and spending unnecessary time going through security. It will be much easier to reassemble your e-cigarette after your flight than spend hours in security being questioned by the TSA.

• DO NOT try to smoke on the plane

This may go without saying, but you never know. Trying to hide your e-cig and stealthily smoke it during your flight will not end well for you or your e-cig, so just don’t do it.

Benefits of Packing an E-cig 

• E-Cigs Make Layovers Tolerable 

Although electronic cigarettes cannot be used on planes, they CAN be used in the airport. Long layovers will no longer be so bad when you don’t have to worry about missing your flight to get that last cigarette in before takeoff. You now can sit in the waiting area and enjoy as much of your e-cig as you would like.

• Smoke in Cabs or Company Cars 

On some trips, especially business trips, you may end up in a cab, or in a company car, much longer than you would ever want to be. Company vehicles and cabs can sometimes be a problem for smokers. E-cigarettes allow you to smoke without the repercussions that would normally come from smoking in a rental car.

• Smoke in Hotel Rooms 

Its been a long day, your feet hurt, and the last thing you really want to do is get out of your hotel bed to smoke in the pouring rain. If you brought your e-cig along in your travels, you no longer need to worry about that. You can enjoy smoking in your room after a busy day.

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The Moral of the Story 

Traveling with e-cigs could seem like a hassle, but it is certainly worth the extra steps for the convenience it will bring to you when traveling. Going out of town can be stressful enough, and not having to worry about where you can smoke will be one less thing to deal with in your travels. Plus, e-cigs are lighter, cheaper, and healthier than traditional cigarettes; so why not bring one with you?

E-Cigs: A Convenient Alternative

Electronic cigarettes are creating plenty of buzz lately; citywide bans have been enforced, the FDA wishes to crack down and regulate e-cigs, and dirty looks are shot from across the room anytime a tiny LED lights up; but people, even smokers, are missing the mark on e-cigarettes. Generally, e-cigs are helping people quit smoking everyday. They also make the life of a smoker more convenient, for all parties involved.

I know you might be thinking how e-cigarettes could possibly be convenient, especially for non-smokers. All of the wonderful advancements the e-cig has to offer may surprise you, but it’s actually quite impressive.

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Pros for non-smokers 

• E-cigs eliminate the harsh smell of smoke 

Non-smokers, rejoice! The foul, lingering smell of cigarette smoke is a thing of the past with e-cigs. The vapor emitted does contain nicotine for the smoker, but does not produce a smell that will stick to you, your clothes, or your car. E-cigarette vapor also dissipates in a matter of seconds.

• No more second hand smoke 

Going off of the first point, the use of vapor also eliminates the chance of second hand smoke because there is none! Second hand smoke, in the United States, contributes to roughly 3,400 lung cancer deaths per year. The staggering number of deaths related to second hand smoke is staggering, but the use of e-cigs can eradicate that all together.

• Give smokers the freedom to smoke anywhere 

 Have you ever tried to walk through a sea of smokers on a rainy day just to get into the entrance of a building? It can be rough enough to awkwardly snake through a crowd, but the instant you get into the building, you reek of smoke. E-cigs give smokers the freedom to smoke anywhere at anytime. You no longer have to fight through a crowd to get into a building anymore.

Pros for smokers 

• Ne need to make frequent trips outside 

E-cigarettes offer versatility and freedom that you may have never experienced before. With the use of vapor, e-cigs enable people to smoke anywhere at anytime. Instead of running outside multiple times in a day, which can disrupt your work, you have the newfound freedom to smoke right on the job.

• Save a boat load of money 

As I’m sure you know, cigarettes are expensive and the prices keep rising. In the early 80’s cigarettes were only a dollar a pack, and now prices reach well over five dollars. By switching to e-cigarettes, you could easily save thousands of dollars a year. With all the extra money you’ll save, you can go on a vacation, get a new car, or renovate your home.

• No mess 

This is easily the best advantage of the e-cigarette. Ash and cigarette butts are disgusting, even to smokers. Switching to e-cigarettes eliminates all that. No more ash all over the dashboard of your car or your clothes. You also no longer have to worry about getting a fine for littering because you flicked the butt of a cigarette into the street after you were finished.

To sum it up 

E-cigarettes are the healthy, convenient alternative to outdated traditional cigarettes. The benefits go on and on for both the smoker and non-smoker alike. Smokers no longer have to feel as if their rights are being infringed upon and non-smokers don’t have to be concerned with harmful second hand smoke. E-cigs provide versatility that has long been lost to smokers in this day and age. Its time smokers had the freedom to smoke where they wanted without disrupting those around them.

 

E-Cigs Banned in Chicago and L.A., Despite All Logic

Even as cigarettes continue to ravage Americans’ health, two more major cities have joined New York City in their ban on e-cigarettes in public places. Specifically, both Chicago and L.A., arguably the two other major metropolises of the United States, have enacted public e-cig bans similar to New York’s that are intended to “save” bystanders from the supposedly harmful effects of second-hand e-cig vapor, much as public smoking was banned to protect bystanders from the scientifically-proven-to-be-unhealthy effects of second-hand smoke.

Chicago

          

In January, the Chicago City Council voted 45-5 in favor of regulating e-cigs similar to how tobacco cigarettes are restricted in Chicago: anywhere within 15 feet of a building entrance, along with indoor public spaces including restaurants and bars, is off-limits as far as smoking is concerned. The primary argument, of course, wasn’t really based in science; there is no proven negative health impact from e-cig vapor, so bystanders have nothing to fear. Instead, the reason for the ban was to dissuade others from picking up smoking in the first place – the notorious “that looks cool so I’ll do it too!” reason.

Of course, this amounts to a massive infringement on the rights of e-cig users for no reason other than the desire to prevent others from picking up a poor habit that is not, itself, the use of e-cigs! It simply makes no sense, but then, city councils aren’t obligated to make sense. Sadly, the banning of e-cigs from public places can only have the effect of dissuading current tobacco smokers from changing over to e-cigs, thereby preserving their health and lowering the cost of medical care for the city.

After all, one of the primary benefits of switching to e-cigs had, previously, been that you could use them just about anywhere. You didn’t have to stand out in the rain, wind, and snow (all of which are plentiful in Chicago!) shivering away while getting your fix. You could vape anywhere, anytime, and it didn’t bother anyone; in fact, the smell of the vapor is often quite pleasant and refreshing! Of course, now, that reason is gone in Chicago, which is unfortunate. Fewer people will be switching to vaping, which means fewer people will be able to save their own lives and improve the quality of those lives.

Los Angeles 

In March, the L.A. City council followed suit, voting to include e-cigarettes as one and the same as tobacco cigarettes. What this translates to in L.A. law is that e-cigarettes are banned in clubs, bars, on beaches, in parks, in most office buildings, in markets, in restaurants, and in outdoor dining areas in the city. Yet again, this ban on e-cigs makes it harder for current smokers to justify switching to e-cigs, which means that they are less likely to quit smoking; they will continue to suffer the same ill health effects as other smokers. It is truly tragic.

An exemption exists for vapor lounges and e-cigarette stores, but this move largely pushes e-cigarettes out of the public eye – an arena in which they were becoming increasingly more apparent and therefore popular, with more and more people switching to e-cigs. After all, if you were addicted to cigarettes and you knew all the ways you could save money and save your life with e-cigs, you would want to switch too. Some people, sadly, don’t know about everything e-cigs have to offer – and now, they never will, as they may never discover they exist, though they might have if they had simply seen someone using them one day.

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Truly, it is appalling how some cities are banning e-cigarettes based on hysteria, hearsay, and completely unscientific reasoning. Fear without any kind of logical reasoning behind it amounts to poor policy on the part of government, and that is certainly what we can see here with these most recent bans on e-cigs. Fortunately, considering the many benefits e-cigs bring to the population, from health to affordability, the march of the e-cig will move ever forward, with more and more people adopting them as a way to quit smoking or, at the very least, reduce dependence on nicotine and the poor health that accompanies regular tobacco use. At least there’s that!