Electronic Cigarette Review

The electronic cigarette is a recent invention, which has sparked several debates across the world, most of them centered around its safety. So while the mechanism claims to reduce some of the health hazards associated with smoking, health problems associated with nicotine consumption still remain.

How the Electronic Cigarette Works

The electronic cigarette is a battery operated device in which the combustion is electric and there is no smoke involved neither are a lot of the chemicals in cigarettes. There are three main components - the first is the mouthpiece or the cartridge which is a removable metal piece which contains nicotine. The cartridge needs to be replaced once the nicotine in it is over. The second component is the heating device or the atomizer which helps you smoke and is powered by the third component - the batteries and the circuits. The electronic cigarette, as the name suggests, is a battery operated device which along with the circuits helps light up the atomizer.

There are two basic types: the automatic and the manual cigarette. There is a button on the manual cigarette which a smoker has to press, which activates a heating element inside, which in turn vaporizes the nicotine inside the cigarette. The automatic one has a sensor which detects the air flow when a person inhales through the cigarette. After the air flow is detected, the heating device starts up and nicotine is vaporized as a result.

There are several costs associated with the electronic cigarette - which is a bummer if you thought that smoking an electronic one will save you the money of buying a packet each time. The nicotine cartridge and the battery need to be replaced often, based on how often you smoke. The atomizer most certainly goes off within a month and needs to be replaced as well. They also come with flavors - the most common ones being vanilla, caramel and coffee.

Health Risks

The marketers for claim that the risks are minimal given that there is no tobacco and no smoke whatsoever. Which means that health effects of smoking which are due to consumption of tobacco are nullified. Electronic cigarettes only contain the chemical compound of nicotine and no tobacco. Nor are you inhaling any smoke.

But the marketers conveniently pull the blanket over the health risks of nicotine. So while there may be no lung problems (we don't know yet, given that the electronic cigarette is a pretty new product), the health problems related nicotine refuse to go away. It's not going to help you stop smoking. Health risks which include constriction of the arteries which is an umbrella cause for coronary artery disease, hypertension and cardiac ischemic events. There are other non-artery and heart related health risks like peptic ulcers and esophageal reflux. The cancer risks of smoking electronic cigarettes is still being researched.

So, in conclusion, it is safe to say that while it seems like the electronic cigarettes may reduce a clutch of health risks of smoking, they still contribute to several ills. That bit about them helping smoking cessation on is also all hogwash because they technically still contain nicotine which smoked from whichever device - the cigar, the hookah or the smokeless cigarettes - is still addictive.