Sir: There is an alternative to smoking which would help people to quit smoking, this is called E-Cigarette.
In order to understand that E-Cigarettes contain no tobacco. It contains a nicotine-liquid which is derived from tobacco leaves. That liquid is vaporized and the user inhales the vapor into his lungs and vapor is less harmful.
The real harm of cigarettes comes from the combustion process which releases hundreds of toxic compounds which are also inhaled by the user with nicotine. As E-Cigarettes have no tobacco or any kind of combustion, they release no tar, making them 95 percent less harmful according to Britain’s Department of Health.
Although E-Cigarettes contain nicotine, there is little evidence that it alone is harmful for the body. Like nicotine, caffeine is also a drug but we don’t see people smoking coffee beans, which can have adverse side effects just like smoking cigarettes. It really matters how the drug is delivered to the body.
And E-Cigarettes just helped us with this issue as again, it contains no tar. But we still can’t say that E-Cigarettes are completely safe. As it is a new invention, more research is needed on this topic, especially on its long term effects.
Many former smokers have used E-Cigarettes to successfully help them kick their smoking habit for good.
So probably by now, most of us would be thinking that public health officials and anti-tobacco groups would support and encourage the usage of E-Cigarettes. But instead they are asking for more laws and rules regarding this issue. The government needs to develop a new paradigm for dealing with e cigarettes, one that ensures the basic standards but recognizes there relative safety and immense benefit to public health. If they don’t more people would die. Imagine That?
HUSSAIN BIN NASEER
Via E-mail
Published in Daily Times, February 24th 2019.