Is Smoking going up in Smoke? – The future of Tobacco

Is Smoking going up in Smoke? – The future of Tobacco

Now before we go any further I don’t want anyone thinking I’m some sort of an anti smoking campaigner, in fact if anything, up until very recently I would have enjoyed nothing more than my morning cup of coffee and my morning smoke.  However over the last couple of months, I’ve been increasingly distracted by people everywhere using these electric cigarettes.  You know the ones I’m talking about, they look like a cross between a small laser sword from Star Wars and a futuristic breathing device.

Well I was having coffee with a friend of mine, a few weeks ago and he had one of these electric cigarettes and was constantly puffin away, so I had to ask and before long I had a go myself and let me tell all the smokers out there There’s No Need To Smoke Anymore! I’m serious, there great! It’s just like the real thing, there is no sacrifice.  I mean I can inhale, blow rings and feel just as satisfied as if I had a real cigarette.

So let’s do a price comparison, let’s say for argument sake I just smoke one pack of cigarettes a day (which very rarely happens), so that’s €70 a week, or €3,500.00 a year (the price of a 3 series BMW).

Now with the electric cigarettes it costs just €3.50 a week or €180 per year, (the price of a good night out) and that’s a saving of over 3 grand! That’s not all, to be honest my breathing has not been great for the last 6 months or so, I mean I’m only in my forty’s and I’m wheezing at night, not anymore, since I’ve started smoking the electric cigarettes my breathing has improved greatly.

I guess in a way I’m an advertisement for the argument against the electric cigarettes.  In so far, as I have replaced one addiction with another, after all their raison d’etre is to help people completely quit not find a cheap alternative.  But these are a healthier alternative to tobacco while they do contain nicotine (which causes heart disease) they’re not nearly as carcinogenic as the real thing, and by utilizing water vapor, one’s breathing is not as adversely affected.  The government is beginning to reign in on the E – Cig, but is that wise? The state no longer allows them on public transport or near hospitals, bearing in mind that due to the fact they only release water vapor, they cannot be accused of creating conditions of second hand smoke.

The State tacitly supports harm reduction philosophies with other addictions.  Why should smokers be different?  There is a level of cynicism with the State regarding smokers, they can just quit, quitting smoking is one of the hardest things people can do in life.  I am for a tomorrow where people don’t smoke but at the same time there is no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.   People can wind down their intake with these devices over time and slowly become more adapted to the idea of smoking becoming increasingly a thing of the past in the West.

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