North Texas Daily

In response to the article “E-cigarette smoking effects still in contention.”

While there is still controversy over public use of e-cigs, the argument about which is healthier to use — tobacco cigarettes or electronic cigarettes — has already been won. Professor Michael B. Siegell of Boston University School of Public Health concluded e-cigs “are much safer than regular cigarettes.” Even Tim McAfee, the director of Centers for Disease Control Office on Smoking and Health and member of the American Public Health Association,  suggested if a smoker switched entirely to using electronic cigarettes, it would embody a benefit to public health.

Why have these medical professionals made these statements? Research has compared the two choices and found that besides delivering varying amounts of nicotine, vapor products produce negligible amounts of toxins.  The levels are up to 450 times lower in e-cigs than what is found in real cigarettes, according to WebMD. Even toxic chemicals discovered in research about secondhand vape were so low that Dr. Maciej L.Goniewicz of the Department of Health Behavior said they were too low to cause concern. 

So why do people like Micah Perkins and Christin Workman feel the switch to electronic cigarettes may result in respiratory issues?  The answer is really simple: withdrawal from tobacco.  The combustion of tobacco results in more than 4,000 chemicals being delivered to the body and the vast majority of these chemicals are not being substituted by use of e-cigarettes.  Look at this timeline provided by quitsmokingsupport.com. In the first five days, a person may experience dizziness, cough, runny nose and sore throat. From one to two weeks, constipation, gas and headaches are more likely. However, with the use of e-cigs a person is unlikely to experience the listed symptoms for two to four weeks, which include irritability, reduced concentration and fatigue, because they are still receiving nicotine. In the unlikely case of experiencing withdrawal symptoms, increasing water consumption seems to help the most.  Depending on how heavy of a tobacco smoker someone is can increase the length of time withdrawal symptoms last. But do not to worry; the symptoms will go away. Most people never experience a single symptom. North Texas Vapor Shop encourages smokers and new vapers who have questions related to vaping to stop in for a free consultation. We are here to help. Sometimes customers just need a little encouragement and reassurance to take the step toward being nicotine free. 

Matthew Page is  an employee  at the North Texas Vapor Shop. He can be reached at northtexasvapors@hotmail.com