If you’re a smoker, or someone close to you smokes, you probably rejoiced when they started selling electronic cigarettes in 2004. It was claimed earlier, that e-cigarettes would help smokers quit smoking as it had no nicotine in the vapour. Nicotine is the addictive substance in normal cigarettes.

Did you know the inventor of E-cigarettes, Hon Lik was a smoker himself? The reason behind his invention was his father suffering lung cancer and eventually died. Hon Lik did not want to end up like his father, hence he thought of a less disastrous way of smoking.

Why are e-cigarettes are gaining popularity?

Today, e-cigarettes do not only boast of its aid, to help smokers quit but, they have certain benefits over normal cigarettes. Let’s take a quick look at these first,

E-cigarettes are environment friendly. We are all happy that trees are not being cut down to make paper for cigarettes, which leads to lower waste of cigarette butts. It has been estimated; about 4.5 trillion butts are thrown worldwide annually. There is lesser need for ashtrays and lighters as well.

It’s going to save smokers a lot of money, considering that one e-cigarette and its refills last longer and are cheaper than, having to buy a pack of cigarettes every two days. Smokers will also be more productive because they don’t have to go outside to smoke. In fact, a lot of establishments allow e-cigarette smoking inside their premises.

There will be no smell left behind, unlike normal cigarettes. Smokers won’t be suffering from yellow-stained teeth or fingers as well. But are these advantages enough?

E cigarettes_claims

What we know about them so far

Because the device is roughly ten years old and is only gaining popularity now, there are no long-term studies about its effects on overall human health. There is very little that we know so far as studies are done in smaller scales.

Nicotine consequences from e-cigarettes and normal cigarettes are the same.

A study by the Norwegian Institute of Public health, published in April this year, released its report on e-cigarettes that contain nicotine. First of all, since these e-cigarettes have nicotine, smokers should expect the same consequence from smoking normal cigarettes. And since the nicotine content in the vapours of e-cigarette is the same as the normal ones, bystanders or passive tobacco smokers will also suffer the same fate. So whether you smoke normal cigarettes or e-cigarettes with nicotine, the health consequences will be the same.