It's hard to quit cigarette smoking; as a matter of fact, medical doctors say that the addiction to nicotine is more difficult to get rid of than an addiction to heroin. A number of people who are long time smokers find it easy to stop; they simply put them down and go forward. Other people try over and over to quit smoking cigarettes and find that they are simply cannot get it done successfully. While there are a number of aids to stop smoking on the market, no specific solution will help everybody. A fairly new innovation has come along that may help some individuals, though. That development is the electronic cigarette.
The electronic cigarette is an electronic appliance powered by a battery that physically resembles a traditional tobacco cigarette. The device includes a battery, an electric heating element, and a capsule that contains water, propylene glycol, tobacco flavoring, and nicotine. The e-cig even has an LED on the end that glows while the user inhales, in order to replicate the glow of a traditional cigarette being smoked. The unit is generally on; once the user inhales from the end, as they could with a regular cigarette, the device produces a heated mist that the person inhales. They get nicotine and water vapor, but no tars, carbon monoxide, or smoke. They exhale primarily water vapor, though it does look like smoke when exhaled.
One good thing about smokeless cigarettes is that they may be used in many locations where smoking cigarettes is otherwise forbidden. That might include night clubs and restaurants, although major airlines have prohibited their use throughout flights. Nevertheless, they can come in handy if the user is in many places where they would otherwise not be able to smoke. Electronic cigarettes are less pricey to use over time than standard cigarettes, as they are not presently susceptible to the heavy taxation billed for tobacco.
While consumers of e-cigarettes continue to be making use of nicotine, they are not inhaling the toxic chemical compounds found in tobacco smoke. The advantage of an e-cigarette over other stop smoking aids, for example nicotine patches or gum, is that the unit replaces the part of the habit of smoking that other aids cannot - the need of the smoker to carry something in his or her hand and to put something in their mouth. These routines, established over years of smoking cigarettes, are simply something which the smoker is used to doing everyday and are rather difficult to get rid of. While it could be ideal for the smoker to stop using nicotine products completely, getting the smoke out of their lungs is a good first step.
While the Food and Drug Administration has not yet authorized electric cigarettes to be promoted as aids to stop smoking, a lot of people have used them as a stepping-stone towards quitting smoking completely. In the long run, each and every smoker who needs to stop must find the method that works best for them. Anybody who has used the nicotine patch, or gum, or hypnosis or acupuncture without results may want to take into account an electronic cigarette as a substitute device to help them quit smoking.