Ill Effects Of Electronic Cigarette For Health

Have you heard of the well known and 'safe to use' electronic cigarettes? This electronic cigarettes which is considered a healthy option for smokers is now considered to be a threat! This electronic cigarettes has grabbed the attention of countless tobacco users from around the world. But are they really safe to use and healthier than a normal cigarette bud? Experts say that this cheaper alternative to a traditional cigarettes has a number of side effects to one's lungs when compared to that of the traditional cigarette. It is said that with the help of these electronic cigarettes one can enjoy a cheaper and healthier cigarette which has no bad smells, second-hand smoke and no cancer causing chemicals. But are these facts really true?

These electronic cigarettes which are battery operated devices have been developed as an alternative to your traditional cigarettes. They are made up of a heater, battery and a cartridge which contains a solution of propylene glycol, nicotine and some other various chemicals. The electronic cigarettes thus gives the smoker an effect of nicotine intake without delivering the toxic elements which is tobacco, carbon monoxide and tar which is said to harm the lungs. With the use of electronic cigarettes a smoker does not have bad breath nor suffers from the yellowing of teeth. These electronic cigarettes which is seen by many as a healthy option of tobacco smoking, does have some side effects which is not healthy for the lungs. Lets take a look at some of the ill effects of electronic cigarette. The use of electronic cigarettes can cause damage to the lungs. The reason being that when a smoker uses the e-cigarette he/ she exhales the vapour instead of smoke which is not good for the lungs as it leads to a problems in lung functioning. One is not aware as to how much nicotine is present in an e-cigarette.

Consumers of e-cigarette products currently have no way of knowing whether e-cigarettes are safe or not! However, one should know that an electronic cigarette does not contain those harmful chemicals which is usually found in a traditional cigarette. It is said that smoking electronic cigarettes will not give you cancer. But the ill effects of electronic cigarettes is that they provide to greater affects like that of heart diseases, heart attacks and other ailments. An electronic cigarettes contains cancer-causing compounds like nitrosamines.

Experts say that if this e-cigarette accidentally breaks, one is exposed to these harmful components. The other ill effects of an electronic cigarette is that these cigarettes contain an anti-freeze component which is called as diethylene glycol. It is a toxic to humans and can cause health worries when it comes to inhalation. This is one of the biggest and major ill effects of electronic cigarette. An E-cigarettes also consists of Tetramethylpyrazine. One who involves in a prolonged exposure to Tetramethylpyrazine can lead to brain damage. Therefore, it is best to avoid the use of the electronic cigarette. So you see that though an electronic cigarette is said to be less dangerous compared to traditional cigarettes, it is still a threat to smokers.

Source: http://www.boldsky.com/health/wellness/2013/ill-effects-electronic-cigarette-health-034483.html

GATS Report and Tobacco Use in Nigeria

Recently, a report by Global Audit on Tobacco Survey (GATS) indicated that incidence of tobacco use in Nigeria is low, a report that may not go down well with the civil society groups that campaigned against tobacco smoking, advertisement and production.

Tobacco smoking in various parts of the world had been a topical issue leading to its ban in some public places in many parts of the world.

Not until recently, the Lagos State House of Assembly proposed the Non-Tobacco Smoking Bill, which seeks a total ban on smoking in public places.

The Bill, however, did not get the nod of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, led By Mr. Anthony Ibafor, representative of hotel and club owners and tobacco distributors, who argued that the Bill would lead to unemployment, if tobacco smoking was totally banned. Reacting to the proposed bill, the Head of Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco of Nigeria (BATN), Mr. Sola Dosumu, expressed the company's support for the passage of a balanced and evidence-based Bill for the industry. He also stated that it was in the interest of stakeholders to ensure the passage of a balanced, workable and evidence-based Bill, adding that it would help to reduce the impact of tobacco on public health in the country. Dosumu went further to say that BATN had always supported appropriate regulation for the industry in Nigeria and had co-operated and collaborated with government agencies towards ensuring that existing regulations were enforced. On the other hand, Representative of Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance and other CSOs, Nurudeen Ogbara, sought for total ban of tobacco smoking in the public.

Today, GATS report has lent credence to Dosumu's views as a cardinal factor of modern life, which is the adoption of constitutions by nations of the world and one of the reasons for adopting same is to put in proper perspective ways and manners of peaceful co-existence among the citizens of the particular country. One basic inclusion in such constitution is human rights and freedom of choice. Even though those rights are enshrined in the constitution, the authors are mindful of the need to restrict the exercise of those rights to persons of certain age and above. One of such rights is the universal adult suffrage, which empowers adults of 18 years old and above the right to vote in an election so long as the person is of sound of mind. This is premised on the thought that at 18, and barring any mental deficiency, the person is capable of making an informed and reasonable judgment. The same is the issue of alcoholic beverage and tobacco consumption in many countries, Nigeria inclusive. If the report of the survey is right that "Nigeria has a relatively low rate of tobacco smoking compared to other countries, then we must safe guard this by having the appropriate laws that is suited to our local context in place and not simply copy one that will cause more problem in the country. Given Nigeria's peculiarity, coupled with the physiological make up of the human mind to crave that which is shrouded in mystery, the chances that over flogging the issue, as some anti-tobacco campaigners are clamouring for are high. In order not to regress in the tobacco use roll back campaign, anti-tobacco use advocates and the government in particular should thread softly, Mr. Tomiwa Alegusi, a tobacco distributor, said.

The reality of the modern world is that stringent laws inexplicably grow interests in the particular habit that it seeks to discourage. The more the law around a practice gets stringent, the more the curiosity around it grows, leading to increased indulgence in the act. We should be mindful of this in formulating more stringent anti-tobacco legislation. While the push for public health must be sought, we should, however, avoid sensationalism for the sake of advocacy. It is also pertinent to do a reality check on the anti-tobacco measures and laws that several countries have adopted over the years with a view to ascertain if they are achieving results or not. Arguably, countries that have adopted harsh regulations as anti-tobacco laws are feeling the effect of increased tobacco smuggling leading to astronomical rise in the sales and purchase of illegal products and funding of criminal groups. Among such countries are Ireland, Canada and South Africa. On the other hand, countries that have adopted moderate laws which are well balanced and applicable and enforceable locally have little incidence of smuggling, examples are Ghana and Russia.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201307290456.html

Man pushed shop assistant to take tobacco

A 23-year-old man who pushed past a shop attendant to steal tobacco was sentenced to home detention this week. Ngamataora Tai Mana Hira Makitae, unemployed, appeared in the Invercargill District Court before Judge Kevin Phillips yesterday for sentence for robbing a person of several pouches of tobacco on March 10. He was sentenced to seven months' home detention and ordered to pay $346.30 reparation. Judge Phillips said Makitae and a group of friends went in and out of the Tay St Night 'n Day store asking to buy tobacco just before 1am on March 10. Makitae went in and asked for three packets of tobacco but left when a member of the public came into the shop. He waited outside and came back in and moved behind the counter, where there was a confrontation between him and the 56-year-old female shop assistant, Judge Phillips said. Makitae pushed past her, took nine pouches of tobacco and fled, he said. The shop assistant contacted police and when spoken to Makitae said he was not the mastermind behind the robbery. Crown lawyer Riki Donnelly accepted the level of violence was at the lower end of the scale. Assault Shane Antony Manuel, 21, farmer, was remanded on bail to August 27 for sentence for assaulting a female and breaching a protection order on July 1. An 18-year-old man, who has interim name suppression, was remanded on bail to August 7 for sentence for assaulting a female on March 23. Assaults child A man, who has interim name suppression, was remanded on bail to August 6 for sentence for assaulting a child and behaving in a threatening manner on July 1. The court was told the man pushed a child in the ribs causing bruising. the man told police he had "just lost it." Breach Eugene Nicholas Wikitera was remanded on bail to August 28 for compliance for breaching community work on June 8. Michael George Mulligan, 27, was sentenced to 60 hours' community work for breaching community work on June 20. Driving Jessie Whatuira was sentenced to 50 hours' community work for driving while suspended. Judge Phillips found special reasons not to disqualify Whatuira from driving. Angelina Simeon Heita, 19, was remanded on bail to August 13 for sentence for driving while disqualified and with a breath alcohol level of 350mcg (under 20) on July 18. Karl James Schutt, 25, mill hand, of Riverton, was sentenced to four months' community detention, 100 hours' community work and disqualified for one year and one month for driving while disqualified at Riverton on June 5.

Cameron loses the plot over tobacco and alcohol reforms

It matters not a jot that Silverspoon Cameron says it was his decision alone, and not pressure from lobbyists, to abandon plain packaging for tobacco. The simple truth is that the prime minister has taken leave of his senses on this, as well as now not having a 45p per unit minimum price for alcohol. So topsy-turvy, in fact, that Silverspoon has completely undermined his lip-service to improving health. But the public aren't daft. They know that the easy cash cows for any government are upping taxes on cigarettes and booze. Would they really want to lose billions by sobering up and de-toxing the nation, even though the equivalent is handed out in wasted foreign aid? Meanwhile, commercial lobbying remains unscrupulously big business, as does party fund-raising (e.g. donor dinners at Downing Street). At present, 80% of commercial pressure groups are unregulated. Deep down, the government doesn't wish to offend its paymasters. Hence a token attempt to compile a register, produced from a hat the day before MPs took off for the summer break, and now destined for a rushed and unprepared second reading on September 3, the day parliament reconvenes Meanwhile, locally, better health would be served by limiting the number of deregulated empty buses zooming around town, especially in the wake of the latest abundantly obvious medical survey from Denmark, noting that traffic fumes raise lung cancer risk. Good riddance to the Liverpool Care Pathway It is a medically calculated way of dying, which to its eternal shame, was emblazoned with the name of our city. The Liverpool Care Pathway – sounds like a nice walk in the woods – allows supposedly dying patients to be starved of food and drink until they really do expire. The procedure is meant to require consent, but one report claims that more than 2,500 families were unaware that their loved ones had been assigned to the LCP by medics. Altogether, more than 130,000 patients a year are affected, giving a 25% chance that we will meet our end in this way. But there is a difference between being terminally ill and actually dying. The case is quoted of a cancer patient who had suffered a heart attack being put on the LCP and having all tubes and drips removed. But once his horrified relatives insisted he was nourished and treated, he lived for another month. We have been lessened, not ennobled, by trying to manage death to order. And once directives are sidelined, the subject stalks us by another less palliative name – euthanasia. So good news that the LCP is to go. But why should that take up to 12 months? A tomb with a view – and a £1m price-tag Richard III never enjoyed a good press. But now the quintessential English baddie, unearthed in a Leicester car park, is to be buried in what the city's Dean, David Monteith, describes as a “wonderful space” in the cathedral. And at as wonderful price – a whacking £1m. Surely money better spent on a soup kitchen for the poor. Ulster still shows its tribal underbelly The loyalist rioting in Belfast following the banning of a controversial Orange march was unforgivable, and evidence of just how entrenched this tribal approach to public life in Northern Ireland remains. Police faced a barrage of petrol bombs, fireworks, bottles, sticks and stones. Thirty-two officers were injured, including two from the record 1,000 drafted in from England, Wales and Scotland. In total, 4,000 police were needed to cope with security. Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson is right in insisting that any 'overflow' activity to our own city streets during Irish-inspired marches of any political colour, will not be tolerated. It only takes one to spoil things for everyone else As is so often the case, it only takes a single person to spoil enjoyment for everyone else. One of the benefits of the lovely weather was a coach trip to Ullswater, followed by a lake sail, plus a drive over Kirkstone Pass to Ambleside. All perfect, apart from the constant decibel-shattering nattering of an individual passenger, who was meant to be talking to his companion, but ended up driving everyone else on board to distraction. In flat-vowelled nasal Manc tones, he gave everyone the benefit of his supposed knowledge of geography and traffic flow. In the end, we were all left sucking through our teeth to prevent an uprising. Drivers and couriers should be equipped (and prepared) to deal with such incidents. Otherwise it just detracts from future custom. Alan Whicker: many impersonators, few equals The death of Alan Whicker is an enormous loss to broadcasting and television in particular. He had many impersonators but very few equals. Not least was the attractiveness of his voice: an intelligent, pleasantly modulating, tone – not to be confused with some of the eccentric excesses of his latter-day colleagues. Nobody mention the whimpering and whining of Robert Peston. Ever heard of contraception? The disgruntled faces of Gavin and Maggie Flisher, gaping out of newspaper pages with their six children in an attempt to drum up sympathy for being forced to live in a one-bedroom flat by their local council, had the opposite effect. The mother was described as “super-fertile” - the sort of language normally reserved for auctions of farm stock. But a simpler solution comes to mind. It's called contraception. Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/lifestyle/lifestyle-opinion/joe-riley-cameron-loses-plot-5170333

Perv who broke into NYC jail abused one inmate, gave cigarettes to others: cops

Alleged brazen jail-obsessed fiend Matthew Matagrano used a gold shield to get into the Manhattan Detention Center, schmooze with prisoners and attack an inmate — pinning him against a pillar, grabbing his testicles and threatening him, according to a criminal complaint. Matthew Matagarno used a fake badge to get into the Manhattan Detention Center, NYPD cops say, where he allegedly abused one inmate and told him, 'Don’t f--- with me. I will hurt you,' according to court records. The deranged perv who allegedly flashed a phony badge to glide past security at a New York City jail is facing a new rap for groping and strip-searching an inmate in the same visit, the Daily News has learned. Brazen jail-obsessed fiend Matthew Matagrano was already facing charges for using a gold shield to get into the Manhattan Detention Center on Feb. 27, spending 7 1/2 hours in the lockup schmoozing with inmates and doling out cigarettes. But now investigators say he also attacked an inmate on the same joyride — pinning him against a pillar, grabbing his testicles and threatening him, according to a new criminal complaint. “Don’t f--- with me. I will hurt you,” Matagrano, 37, told the victim, court records said. The 5-foot-8, 340-pound nut ordered his victim into a cell and forced the man to strip and be searched, the complaint says. The inmate later filed a complaint, leading to the additional charge of burglary as a sexually motivated felony against Matagrano on July 8. He was previously indicted for burglary, possession of a forged instrument, criminal impersonation and promoting prison contraband stemming from the same stunt at the lower Manhattan jail, also known as the Tombs. New York officials say that for at least a week, former inmate Matthew Matagrano used phony credentials to get into multiple city lockups, including Rikers Island, picturerd, and the Manhattan Detention Center, where he mingled with inmates for hours. He was essentially “pretending to be an investigator from the Intelligence Unit,” the complaint said. The Matagrano incident remains a black eye for the Department of Correction. On the date of his alleged visit to the jail, Matagrano parked in a reserved spot using a bogus placard and flashed a badge. It is unclear where he got the placard or why he was admitted with a fake badge. A gold badge from a group called Civil Advocates of New York was found on Matagrano when he was arrested. It is unclear if Civil Advocates of New York is a legitimate group. The group’s online mission statement says it “strives to be the secure and trusted safe place that our clients can turn to for personalized Advocacy/Training services when are (sic) clients are in their greatest need of a friend.” After he was caught, Matagrano admitted he sneaked into jails — and only had nice things to say about correction workers. “They give me food. They made me feel important,” he said. Matagrano is a sex offender who sodomized a teenage boy in 1996 and has done stints in state prison for that and other felonies, records show. The Department of Correction did not respond to a request for comment. Matagrano is being held without bail. Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/perv-broke-nyc-jail-abused-inmate-cops-article-1.1398570

Poor Diet, Tobacco Use and Lack of Physical Activity Taking Toll on Nation's Health

While we're living longer, poor diet, tobacco use and inadequate physical activity are negatively impacting our health. These are some of the findings of research released this week by the U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators, prompting much discussion and debate. To those of us on the front lines of promoting workplace health this comes as no surprise. This study should only add to the sense of urgency that we as a nation must have in solving this crisis. There is a direct link between the health of the U.S. workforce and the overall well being of the U.S. economy. Currently, greater than 50 percent of Americans live with one or more chronic disease. With this rising burden of chronic disease comes rising costs within the health care system, and increased premiums at a cost to employers. Compounding this, employees with chronic disease take more sick days and are less productive on the job. Workplace health is of significant importance to the economic productivity of the nation and critical to reducing the national debt. The U.S. is slipping behind its major Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Countries (OECD) competitors regarding improvements in population health. Specifically, the U.S. falls in the bottom 20 percent of the 34 OECD countries for the following chronic diseases: ischemic heart diseases (rank: 27), lung cancer (28), COPD (32), diabetes (31), cardiopulmonary (31), chronic kidney disease (31), and hypertensive heart disease (27). Poorer health today could translate into lower productivity tomorrow. This is the first major analysis of the health status of the U.S. population in more than 15 years, led by a global collaborative of scientists from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. The study found that while Americans are showing progress in reducing death rates (adjusted for age, across a variety of diseases), we aren't living healthier. Additionally, death rates from illnesses associated with obesity, such as diabetes and kidney disease, as well as neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease, are on the rise. Poor diet, tobacco use and physical inactivity are driving the disease burden. The negative impact on our health care system cannot be understated as people who live longer and unhealthier lives are costly -- not only in terms of health care spend, but the impact on the productivity of our workforce and the ability of U.S. businesses to compete in a global economy. A point made recently in the Bipartisan Policy Center's recent report. None of this is news to The Vitality Institute, a global health think tank focused on reducing chronic disease risk. In fact, we recently released new data indicating a dangerous gap in the chronological age of Americans and their risk adjusted Vitality Age, as calculated based on a variety of factors including those cited in this new report. So now that we so clearly understand the problem, what are we going to do about it? To that end, we've recently assembled The Vitality Institute Commission. We're bringing together prominent thinkers in health and business including: Dr. Rhonda Cornum, with deep expertise from the Department of Defense; Susan Dentzer, with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Ginny Ehrlich, with the Clinton Health Matters Initiative; Jeff Levi, with Trust for America's Health; Ellis Rubinstein, with the New York Academy of Sciences; Dr. Dennis Schmuland, with Microsoft; and Dr. Kevin Volpp, from the University of Pennsylvania. All with the urgent goal of placing the power of evidence-based prevention at the center of health care policies and actions in the U.S. Better evidence, smarter laws and higher levels of innovation we believe could make a difference. There is strength in numbers, and we are working with corporations, associations, federal, state, and local government to identify multi-stakeholder solutions that will address the issues facing our nation's health in bold and transformative ways. For the U.S. to maintain its economic competitiveness, our health policy efforts need to address the risk factors of preventable chronic diseases that disproportionately affect the U.S. population (e.g., physical inactivity, diet, and alcohol and tobacco consumption) by effectively investing resources to ensure that each individual has the opportunity to make beneficial contributions to society and therefore progress the economy. We will soon issue a call for wide participation to harness the myriad of great ideas and actions already making a difference at the community, city or state level to ultimately improve America's health.

WHO reveals how tobacco control measures are improving health worldwide

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2013 shows more people worldwide are benefiting from tobacco control measures. The report, released today, said that 2.3 billion people living in 92 countries (a third of the world’s population) are now covered by at least one measure protecting them against tobacco’s effects. This figure has more than doubled in the past five years. But tobacco use continues to be the leading global cause of preventable death, killing approximately six million people and causing more than half a trillion dollars of economic damage annually. In 2008, WHO identified six evidence-based tobacco control measures that are the most effective for reducing tobacco use. Known as “MPOWer”, the measures correspond to one or more of the demand reduction provisions included in the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: • Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, • Protect people from tobacco smoke, • Offer help to quit tobacco use, • Warn people about the dangers of tobacco, • Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and • Raise taxes on tobacco. • The report says three billion people now live in regions with national anti-tobacco campaigns and, as a result, hundreds of millions of people are less likely to start smoking. Professor of Health Policy at Curtin University Mike Daube said the report’s findings are positive, despite the harsh realities of tobacco’s impact worldwide. “We are making global progress in tobacco control – more countries banning tobacco advertising, implementing non-smoking provisions, mandating health warnings and running public education programs – but the grim reality is that around the world each year people are still smoking six trillion cigarettes, leading to six million deaths,” he said “The power of the tobacco industry remains immense. It continues to oppose and delay action in developed countries and to promote its products ruthlessly in developing countries,” he noted. “The catastrophic news is that more than 60 years after we learned unequivocally about the dangers of smoking, this remains our largest preventable cause of death and disease and action by most governments is slow, limited and resisted by the tobacco industry at every step.” Associate Professor Billie Bonevski, a research fellow for the Cancer Institute NSW and a research academic in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, referred to the report’s finding that low- and middle-income countries are a target for the tobacco industry and said more needs to be done to stem their power in these places. “Resources should be directed to these countries to ensure they are equipped with the workforce and legislative power to counter the tobacco industry’s efforts. Tobacco control efforts need to reach the whole of the population, especially people who find it difficult to stop smoking,” she said. “Even in developed countries, we’re seeing a concentration of smoking amongst socially disadvantaged and vulnerable sub-groups of the population. Bans on tobacco advertising and promotion alone are unlikely to help highly addicted smokers to quit. Evidence-based nicotine dependence treatments need to be easily accessible for these smokers.” Professor Daube said that while Australia was doing well, the battle is far from over. “It is encouraging that Australia is a world leader in tobacco control – but we cannot afford to be complacent: we must continue to show other countries that we can win our battles against Big Tobacco.”

Two new cigarettes win FDA clearance

Lorillard Inc., the largest U.S. maker of menthol cigarettes, has won the first two clearances to market new tobacco products among 500 requests, under authority given in 2009 to U.S. health regulators. The Food and Drug Administration cleared two of Lorillard’s Gold Box cigarettes for sale in the United States. The rulings benefiting the company from Greensboro, N.C., are the first handed down by the agency since lawmakers gave it the power to determine which current tobacco products can remain on the market and which new ones can be introduced. The FDA cleared the cigarettes through a “substantially equivalent” determination that makes a judgment as to whether products have the same characteristics as existing ones or raise new public health questions. The agency denied four other requests for the determination, it said last week in a statement. “It is important to emphasize that an SE decision does not mean that the agency considers a product to be safe,” wrote Mitch Zeller, head of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a blog post on the agency’s website. “We are proud to be the first company in the industry to receive authorization to begin marketing these new products in the U.S. through the FDA’s substantial equivalence pathway,” Murray Kessler, Lorillard’s chairman and chief executive officer, wrote in an email. The agency “carried out its evaluation process in a deliberate manner reflecting sound science,” he said. The FDA couldn’t reveal which substantially equivalent requests they denied for legal reasons, Jennifer Haliski, an agency spokeswoman, said in an email. The new products cleared were Newport Non-Menthol Gold Box 100s and Newport Non-Menthol Gold Box, according to Zeller’s blog. “While today’s development is a positive step, there is still work to be done,” Bonnie Herzog, an analyst at Wells Fargo in New York, said Tuesday in a note to clients. The lack of FDA substantial equivalence rulings “has been an overhang,” she said. Congress granted the FDA authority over tobacco products in 2009 and the new regime has created a backlog of requests at the agency. As of earlier this month, there were 500 requests to approve products not currently sold and 3,500 for products already in stores, Zeller said in a June 6 interview. “Today’s decisions are just the first of many forthcoming product review actions to be issued,” Zeller said in the agency’s statement.

E-Cigarettes Still Have Health Hazards

It’s been seven years since electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) hit the U.S. market and the number of smokers using them has steadily increased. Today, one out of five smokers -- an estimated 9 million Americans -- smoke e-cigarettes either exclusively or in addition to the light-it-with-a-match variety. E-cigarettes have a similar look and feel to the real thing, minus the actual tobacco and smoke. It’s a mechanical version of a cigarette -- the tip even lights up to mimic burning ash -- with a battery that heats up a cartridge of liquid nicotine solution to create vapor you can inhale for a nicotine fix. Problem is, e-cigarettes aren’t actually a healthy alternative to smoking. Unlike other nicotine products like cigarettes, chewing tobacco and dip snuff, e-cigarettes don’t carry any health warnings, but that doesn’t mean they are less harmful (which 70 percent of smokers believe). Because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) isn’t yet regulating the product, manufacturers don’t have to disclose what chemicals are used in the nicotine solutions or potential health risks. “Because there are so few well-designed studies on e-cigarettes, there are a lot of unknowns about their use and safety,” says Cheryl Healton, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Legacy, a nonprofit anti-tobacco organization in Washington, D.C. Before you decide to light up virtually, here’s a look at what we know about e-cigarettes: They may cause cancer. Just because you’re not ‘puffing’ on a real cigarette doesn’t mean you’re no longer at risk for cancer. A 2009 analysis discovered antifreeze and other carcinogens and toxic chemicals in e-cigarette nicotine solutions. And eliminating secondhand smoke may be a myth, too: A 2012 study on indoor air found that e-cigarette vapors release carcinogens and toxins like nicotine and formaldehyde into the air. They are not approved as smoking cessation tools. There’s no scientific evidence that e-cigarettes will help people stop smoking, which is why the FDA and the World Health Organization view them as tobacco alternatives, not smoking cessation tools. Boston psychiatrist Keith Ablow, M.D., disagrees. “I’ve seen two-pack-a-day smokers quit after a week or two with e-cigarettes,” says Ablow, who is currently studying how e-cigarettes help many smokers kick the habit. E-cigarette cartridges have varying nicotine levels so users can gradually reduce exposure and curb nicotine cravings, says Ablow. The actual device may satisfy a behavioral need to simulate the act of smoking. They may entice kids to smoke. E-cigarettes, which come in yummy, kid-friendly flavors like bubblegum and cola, aren’t subjected to age verification laws. Only five states -- California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Utah -- prohibit selling them to minors. They may get former smokers addicted again. Former smokers beware; this is not a case of have your cake and eat it, too. E-cigarettes will get you hooked again – they still deliver highly-addictive nicotine, which is what made you a slave to smoking in the first place. Even so-called nicotine-free cartridges aren’t a safe alternative because studies have detected low levels of nicotine in them. “Picking up these devices is like playing with fire,” says Healton. “If you’ve managed to quit, stay quit.” And don’t rely on e-cigarettes to help you quit smoking. If you want to quit (or know someone who does) visit SmokeFree.gov for information about programs that are scientifically proven to work.

Tobacco ban triggers high demand, hoarding fears

While the ban on gutka and pan masala is being implemented in full force, other issues such as blackmarketing and alternative addictive substances have become a cause for concern for enforcement agencies and the Health Department. Among the biggest fears is the possible hoarding of the illegal pan masala and its sale in the black market at high prices. Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authorities seized around 250 kilograms of illegal pan masala from a house in a residential area in Ayanavaram. According to officials, the estimated value of the stock is around Rs 1 lakh. The price would have been much higher, had it found its way to the black market. “We are taking all possible measures to ensure that there is no hoarding. Four teams have been formed in the city, for the North, South, East and Western parts, to check the illegal storage of pan masala and gutka. In this first phase, we are seizing and destroying the illegal products and serving notices on the shops and the persons concerned. In the coming days, the offenders will face stiff penalties,” says a senior official with the Food Safety and Standards Department. Health experts say that as per previous experience in other areas, a ban on addictive substances often leads to high demand. “Immediately after a ban on an addictive substance, there is usually a surge in the demand. This is especially true in the case of chewable tobacco, since the addiction is almost twice as that of cigarettes. The demand can take the form of an increase in black marketing. But, if we are able to direct these consumers to tobacco cessation units, it would be a great step forward in bringing down the addiction rates,” says Prasanna Kannan, WHO Consultant, State Tobacco Control Unit. Kannan adds that though there is a short-term increase in demand, in the long run the demand is bound to reduce in the lack of availability and the high prices of black market products. Another concern here is that people who have been used to the chewable tobacco addiction might take to other alternatives. “Due to sudden unavailability of pan masala and gutka, consumers may take to alternative tobacco products like cigarettes. As such it is important that those who have weaned away from the chewable tobacco are given help so that they do not fall into the trap of another tobacco product,” Kannan adds. The State Tobacco Control Unit has strengthened its training and awareness programmes. Pan vendors hope that their tobacco customers will revert to non-tobacco products like sweet pan. “After the ban, our daily sales has gone down by 50 percent. The customers who take to tobacco-based pan or gutka are not satisfied with anything else and roam around from one shop to the other in search of it. Hopefully these people will take to alternatives like sweet paan, otherwise it will be difficult to run the business,” says a vendor in Vepery.