The Media Reports Poorly on the Electronic Cigarette

Electronic cigarettes continue to create a lot of buzz in the media and is stirring up some feathers with the FDA and World Health Organization. There is a glaring difference however in the safety of these devices as reported by the media versus the distributors that needs to be addressed.

Distributors say, “Yes, electronic cigarettes are safer for you than traditional tobacco cigarettes.” But when the media reports on the topic, they say, “The FDA has not approved these devices and may be hazardous to your health.” See the problem yet?

This is a classic case of “lost in translation”. Both sources are simply reporting from their stance of “safety”. Reporters give the news from a non-smoking stance while distributors sell to smokers who are comparing the product to an already existing tobacco smoking habit. It may not be safer than not smoking at all, but that is yet to be proven.

Why are electronic cigarettes so blatantly safer than tobacco? In a word, combustion. When tobacco ignites, that is where the 3,000 to 4,000 harmful chemicals come from. It’s not really the plant’s fault. You could smoke anything – lettuce, broccoli, maple leaves – and create most of those same chemicals through the same simple combustion process.

So if we take the ignition out of the combustion process, we are in essence also removing thousands of killer chemicals as well. And you know the carcinogens (cancer causing agents) you’re always warned about? They’re gone too. Now compare the electronic cigarette which is combustion free to a traditional cigarette and you’re suddenly viewing from a different angle. There is only one unproven ingredient in the liquid used by electronic cigarettes that is causing all of this fuss, but the fact still remains that these devices are combustion free.

In spite of the media’s “non-FDA approved” warning, smokers everywhere are willing to give the new e-cigarette a chance and their reviews are being posted in massive numbers every day online. It is common for your senses of taste and smell to improve as well as your overall health shortly after you quit smoking tobacco, and these are the kinds of things that electronic cigarette users are reporting daily. Drastic health improvements from a minimal change in smoking habits.

While the distributors seem rightly biased for them, the media will likely continue to carry a bias against them, at least until the FDA gets around to working something out. In the mean time, smokers will continue to have the freedom to make an educated decision for themselves and consult their doctors about the new smoke-free alternative popping up across the globe.