Imagine if you travelled to a far off country. On the main highway you see horse drawn carriages, chariots and stagecoaches jostling for space with sleek Mercedes Benzes, BMWs and Toyotas. You would be very amazed. Then you would start trying to find answers for this anomaly. Perhaps you would inquire whether there was a law limiting the number of motor cars on the street. If you found out that there was no such law you might think those using horses were poor. Imagine if you asked a citizen of this country: “How much does a new motor car cost?” Imagine if he answered “50,000 Credits”. Then imagine if you asked him “how much is a new horse drawn chariot?” and he answered “50,000 Credits”. You would probably scratch your head and wonder why some opted to go by horse and others by the internal combustion engine. Imagine if you entered an electronics store in this same country and saw three TVs for sale. One is a 24 inched black and white with no remote control. The second is a colour TV, also 24 inches, with a remote control but is very bulky because it uses a cathode ray tube. The third TV is an LED flat screen modern TV with a remote. Now, imagine if you asked the store manager how much the black and white TV was and he answered “400 credits”. “Okay how much is the cathode ray colour TV?” you ask and he replies “400 credits-the same as the monochrome analogue”. Imagine you asked for the price of the LED TV and he replied “400 Credits too. They are all 400 credits!” Many a psychologist and psychiatrist would like to examine the citizens of this country. As outlandish as this story sounds something similar is happening in our world right now. Walk into any store and you will see tobacco-in-paper rolled cigarettes being sold side by side with electronic cigarettes!  The electronic cigarette was invented in the 1960s and should have displaced the traditional cancer causing paper cigarettes. Why this has not happened boggles the brain. Electronic cigarettes are much safer than traditional cigarettes. They deliver nicotine to the smoker without the combustion of tobacco leaves and tar etc. Nicotine is what makes smokers enjoy smoking and is relatively harmless. What makes smoking regular cigarettes so dangerous is the tar and other things BURNT when a cigarette is lit. E cigarettes involve no burning. A liquid containing nicotine is converted to vapour-hence the term vaping. Most unbiased and independent studies and experiments have shown that if E cigarettes have any dangers at all, they are way below those of traditional paper smoking.

I hereby call on all responsible governments of the world to abolish and criminalize [via legislation] the manufacture, distribution, marketing and sale of traditional paper cigarettes. Cigarette manufacturing companies who refuse to switch over to vape manufacture should be shut down. They no longer have any excuse to poison and kill our youths and adults.

The advantages of vaping/Electronic cigarettes over paper cigarettes are legion:

1. Very little to no risk of lung, mouth or throat cancer
2. No other health risks to any appreciable level based on studies carried out so far
3. No ash produced so no need for ash trays, or the need to regularly flick ash
4. No characteristic tobacco burning smell which lingers on clothes, teeth and causes bad breath
5. Disposable E cigarettes exist for those without access to electric mains supply
6. Second hand smoke danger very limited in e cigarettes compared to traditional paper cigarettes.
7. Less environmental pollution/littering. There are no e cigarette butts to be expelled.
8. E cigarettes don’t need to be put out during breaks of smoking
9. No need for lighters or matches
10. More resistant to bad weather [rain] i.e. it is easier to vape in the rain than smoke in the rain
11. Less bulky than a pack of paper cigarettes
12. More resistant to physical rupture i.e. less easily crushed
13. Might be easier to keep out of reach of children [when not charging]
14. Less fire hazard. If a paper cigarette smoker falls asleep and the cigarette drops it could cause a fire. If a vaper falls asleep and the vape pen drops no fires can be caused.
15. It is a well-known fact that sadists torture people with lit cigarettes. A vape pen cannot be used for this kind of torture
16. Vaping is cheaper in developed countries -in the United Kingdom paper cigarettes cost more than twice electronic cigarettes
17. Let the products speak for themselves. On a pack of paper cigarettes the following warning is often printed: THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HEALTH WARNS THAT SMOKERS ARE LIABLE TO DIE YOUNG. On the pack of a vape pen the following warning appeared: THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS THE VERY ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE NICOTINE. The worst you have to fear from an e cigarette is to become addicted-similar to how you could get addicted to coffee or chocolate or chewing gum. The worst you have to fear from a paper cigarette is the loss of your very life!! The choice is clear!!!!

“Research so far shows that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking. There is no good evidence that vaping causes cancer”- Cancer Research, UK.

References

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pwj6BuS8Ds
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEVwniV1vxc
3. Research supports vaping as at least 95% less harmful than smoking. February 05, 2020 21:48 ET https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/02/06/1980703/0/en/Research-supports-vaping-as-at-least-95-less-harmful-than-smoking.html 29 September 2022
4. Vaping substantially less harmful than smoking, largest review of its kind finds https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/vaping-substantially-less-harmful-than-smoking-largest-review-of-its-kind-finds
5. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/smoking-and-cancer/is-vaping-harmful
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8. Mudhar O. Vaping: should we be worried? Br Dent J. 2022 Jan;232(1):5-6. doi: 10.1038/s41415-022-3839-0. PMID: 35031724.
9. Kanniah G, Kumar S, Prasad S. E-cigarettes and vaping - a panacea or a bane to smoking in current times? Australas Psychiatry. 2021 Feb;29(1):7-9. doi: 10.1177/1039856220950095. Epub 2020 Aug 24. PMID: 32838540.
10. Manigrasso M, Protano C, Vitali M, Avino P. Passive Vaping from Sub-Ohm Electronic Cigarette Devices. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 4;18(21):11606. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111606. PMID: 34770123; PMCID: PMC8583564.
11. Mendelsohn C, Hall W, Borland R. Could vaping help lower smoking rates in Australia? Drug Alcohol Rev. 2020 May;39(4):415-418. doi: 10.1111/dar.13039. Epub 2020 Jan 27. PMID: 31989698.
12. Liu A. E-Cigarettes: The Truth About Vaping. Pediatr Ann. 2020 Sep 1;49(9):e365-e368. doi: 10.3928/19382359-20200822-02. PMID: 32929509.
13. Edwards R, Hoek J, Waa A. E-cigarettes, vaping and a Smokefree Aotearoa: where to next? N Z Med J. 2020 Jun 26;133(1517):14-17. PMID: 32595217.