According to the World Health Organization, there are one billion smokers in the world today, and each year, six million deaths can be directly linked to tobacco use. Annually, more than five million people die from diseases acquired through direct use and another 600,000 from exposure to second-hand smoke. If you think this is spine-chilling, consider this: the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million by 2030.
Though these statistics are scary, they have not prevented people from smoking cigarettes, and the reason for the habit has nothing to do with tobacco and everything to do with nicotine.
Nicotine: The Reason Why People Smoke
People smoke not because of tobacco but because smoking cigarettes is the way for them to get their nicotine fix. There are a number of reasons why people smoke. Nicotine itself is addictive. Fortunately, however, nicotine is not the harmful substance it has been made out to be.
Experts have said that there is no evidence to show that nicotine causes cancer or that it increases cardiovascular risk. It is in fact being considered as part of the treatment course in several diseases, including ulcerative colitis, Tourette syndrome, memory impairment, attention deficit disorder, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. It is therefore wrong to think of tobacco and nicotine as synonymous.
Providing Nicotine without the Tobacco
There is an ongoing race to provide nicotine without the conventional tobacco smoking route. Big name tobacco companies such as Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds are spending millions to figure out how nicotine can be delivered safely. This research direction has evolved as a response to the growing opposition to tobacco and the spread of information on the harm caused by traditional cigarettes.
As a result of their efforts to provide products that can deliver nicotine without the risks associated with smoking tobacco, both RJ Reynolds and Phillip Morris have come up with their version of “safe” products. RJ Reynolds is reviving cigarettes with less smoke, less smell, and no ashes. Phillip Morris is also coming up with its own version of a cigarette that allows people to smoke without burning tobacco, while still using essentially the same tobacco-based product.
E-cigarettes have long pioneered in the search for the perfect and safest possible way of delivering nicotine. Even cynics agree that e-cigarettes produce an aerosol that simulates tobacco smoke and provides nicotine without the tobacco and with fewer or less toxic chemicals than those produced when tobacco is burned.
Alternative Methods of Nicotine Delivery
The market has several alternative methods to provide nicotine for people who need their nicotine fix. There are lozenges that dissolve in the mouth and release nicotine gradually; there are gums that serve the same purpose. There are nicotine inhalers, nicotine sprays, and nicotine patches that are all designed to deliver nicotine without the accompanying toxicity of burning tobacco. While these methods have worked, they have not succeeded in recruiting enough smokers into their camp – at least not enough to make a dent on the world’s current number of smokers (one billion).
Strangely, though, these other alternative methods have not elicited as loud a negative reaction as e-cigarettes. E-cigs deliver nicotine through “vaping”. More than this, vaping also simulates the motions involved in smoking – bringing the cigarette to the mouth, inhaling and exhaling. These motions become part of the satisfaction in smoking and because vaping allows the same motions, e-cigs are, in the long run, a more attractive alternative than sprays or patches.
Improving the Delivery Method
At present, there is continued research on improving the delivery of nicotine through e-cigs. This is happening in the face of constant bad press about e-cigs and their effectiveness as a tool for moving away from tobacco. The innovations continue with the vaping battery, the atomizer, and the cartridge – the different parts that allow users to inhale vapor containing nicotine.
One of the best developments in perfecting nicotine delivery is the study conducted by Etter and Eisenberg. Their study shows that e-cigs are less addictive than tobacco cigarettes and, even when containing nicotine, these may be less addictive than nicotine gums. These pronouncements show that e-cigs keep moving towards delivering nicotine without the usual tobacco-related toxins and without worsening addiction.