Today, a wonderful idea was presented by a fellow eSmoker on something that we can all do to help in our campaign of getting the world to know about the positive benefits of the electronic cigarette, proven or not.

We would like to put together a video of 10 second slots of every eSmoker we know answering one simple question:  How has the Electronic Cigarette impacted your life?  Think about it.  Can you sum it up in 10 seconds?  Then we want it!  Couples!  Feel free to do your videos together.  Give yourselves 20 seconds to show your love for the electronic cigarette!

Here is what we would like you to do:

Please speak clearly.  Sound quality is most important.  Start your recording device, sit for a second or two, and then give your ten second answer.  Wait a second or two and then turn off your video recording device.  (This allows for transitions).  When you are done, email your video to us.   That’s it!  That’s all you have to do!

So send in your submissions!  We are ready to get started and as we need to get your voices heard, we are asking that all submissions be submitted no later than May 8th!  That’s a week from this Friday!

What will this be used for?   We are hoping that this video will get enough views that it will make it’s way to those on the Hill and into the media.  We need people to see that the electronic cigarette has impacted a large user base and to take it away from them would be devastating.

So start submitting those videos!  When the 10 minute video is done, we will post it here so you can see!

The debate rages on about electronic cigarettes, but what is this fight really over. Many public health organizations and federal agencies site the fact that nicotine needs approval as a safe and effective quit smoking aid. But why? As an adult, is it not your decision to use nicotine, just as it is to use caffeine? Nicotine has not been shown to cause cancer. Yes it is addictive, but so are many other things to many people. If we take public health out of the equation, which is exactly what you do when you remove the tobacco, then what is the real issue here? Enter the nicotine prohibitionists.

The same health organizations that claim it is all about public health believe all nicotine products should be a smoking cessation aid. If a certain product is shown to get people to quit smoking, then great, but it is still unclear as to why a nicotine product needs to have this intended use. Can’t I use nicotine because I like it? Can’t I drink coffee because I like it? Can’t I drink beer because I like it? When we start controlling the reason a product is on the market under the umbrella of public health aren’t we attempting to control behavior? To deal with stress, which is a public health concern, am I not able to choose my outlet?

Regulation is important. Kids shouldn’t drink coffee, or beer, or use nicotine gum (which is funny because what is more “kid” then chewing gum?). Regulation is also important to make sure products are not mislabeled and that manufacturing processes follow certain health and safety guidelines.

But regulation to make sure nicotine helps people quit smoking is like trying to make sure all guns are able to protect their owners. They may do just that, or they may be used for fun at the range. Or they may be used to hunt. Or they may be used to collect. People have different wants and needs. Provided the product follows the marketing, labeling, and safety regulations what does it matter why someone uses it. I’ll tell you why: Because when there are no more smokers, it will be much easier to eliminate nicotine altogether. Next up: Caffeine.

Choice can be controversial to say the least. It is however the basis of an enlightened society. The right to choose what you want to be when you grow up. The right to choose your partner. The right to choose your own clothes, what you eat, what you drink, and how you live. A choice made that effects others in a direct and negative way needs to be examined. This is the case with smoking in public. This is a choice that may have direct negative effects on those around you.

So let’s examine this from the perspective of esmoking. Smoking an electronic cigarette, or vaping or e-smoking as it is sometimes known, produces a vapor that is inhaled and exhaled. The ingredients in the actual liquid to be vaporized includes propylene glycol, water, flavoring, and sometimes nicotine. Some formulas also include lemon juice, vinegar, and citric acid. Studies are being done as we speak as to what the composition of the actual vapor is, but considering that no combustion is taking place, it is a distinct possibility that the vapor is made up of the same stuff as the ELiquid. Making this assumption, the question arises, who are you effecting when e-smoking? If you believe the second hand “e-smoke” is dangerous, it is likely you are also against fog machines at theme parks, concerts, and theatrical performances. If this is the case, please also consider fighting for a ban on perfume in public.

Here’s another argument: esmoking may be dangerous to the user. True, it may be. More testing will help determine the degree of danger. With that said, tobacco cigarettes are known to be dangerous and they are not banned. Sky Diving can be dangerous, so let’s ban it. Working in a coal mine or on a crab boat is dangerous…..let’s ban it. Is it really the government’s job to protect me from my own choices?

This is obviously a complicated issue on many levels, but when you break it down to the lowest common denominator, it is about choice, freedom, and personal liberty. God bless America and while He (or She) is at it, please also bless the righteous with common sense.

Write your Senators and other public officials to tell them about your experience with the electronic cigarette. It may help those voting on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act aka The Waxman Tobacco Bill (NYTimes Article Here, TheHill.com Article Here) to be informed voters. It is still unclear whether or not the Waxman Bill will effect the electronic cigarette, but either way, a Bill that lumps other nicotine products in the same category as burning tobacco is of little help to smokers or those with who care about someone who smokes.

Through our participation in the formation of an Electronic Cigarette Association, it has become very apparent that the FDA is taking a firmer stance on the electronic cigarette. If you are an e-smoker or know someone who has benefited from the electronic cigarette, we strongly encourage you to send a certified letter to your Senators expressing your opinions about electronic smoking technology. You can find the contact information for your Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. We also encourage you to contact one or more members of the Senate Health Committee:

Democrats by Rank
Edward Kennedy (MA)
Christopher Dodd (CT)
Tom Harkin (IA)
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD)
Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Patty Murray (WA)
Jack Reed (RI)
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA)
Kay Hagan (NC)
Jeff Merkley (OR)

Republicans by Rank
Michael B. Enzi (WY)
Judd Gregg (NH)
Lamar Alexander (TN)
Richard Burr (NC)
Johnny Isakson (GA)
John McCain (AZ)
Orrin G. Hatch (UT)
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Tom Coburn, M.D. (OK)
Pat Roberts (KS)

We here at Instead believe American’s have the right to choose an alternative to a known killer.

So.  Today has been a frustrating day!  We have been researching the jurisdiction of the electronic cigarettes and it is anything but straightforward.  It is actually becoming quite painful.  Have you ever picked a scab just to pick it?  This is one of those cases.

With all of this talk regarding the FDA needing to provide approval over the electronic cigarette, many new and interesting things have arisen.  First, it seems evidently clear that people are not understanding exactly what an electronic cigarette is.  And not what it is as in, it’s a battery and an atomizer which is a vaporizer which are completely legal, but that the electronic cigarette is a vaporizer that can vaporize liquids that do not contain nicotine.

In several conversations, one with an elected official, one with a news reporter, and one with a customs agent, all were shocked to hear that the electronic cigarette does not magically fill itself up and that there are solutions that offer no nicotine.  Classifying the electronic cigarette as a drug delivering device seems like just deciding that all chewing gum is a drug because one kind of gum has nicotine in it.

Well, this frustration led to some further research about nicotine itself.  We have found it extremely interesting that when searching the FDA website, we cannot, in fact, find ANY reference to them actually having control over nicotine.  When you search Nicotine, they send you to On March 21, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lacks the authority to regulate tobacco. Therefore, FDA no longer maintains its Children and Tobacco Website.!

In 1994, the then Director of the FDA, Dr. David Kessler, issued a statement arguing that the manipulation of nicotine makes cigarettes pharmaceuticals.  It was at this point, that the FDA decided it was time to take control of the tobacco industry.  In 1997, a judge ruled in favor of the FDA.  That was then appealed and taken to the Supreme Court, where it was stated that the FDA has clearly stated throughout the past that it had no desire to control tobacco and that ruling overturned the earlier courts decision.  This brings us to where we are now.

Nicotine is not necessarily controlled by the FDA.  It does seem to have control when said company wants to make a health claim.  For instance, NicoWater.  Everyone remembers this as the water that could help you satisfy your nicotine cravings.  Now, it is important to note that they did attempt to go homeopathic, but unfortunately, the nicotine prohibitionists decided to take action, so the lobbying against NicoWater began.  Upon this outside influence, the FDA acted by claiming that NicoWater didn’t file paperwork properly and removed their approval.

The other fatal flaw in this scenario was putting NicoWater in the same cooler as regular water.  It did contain nicotine, no matter how small and diluted, and any smoker can agree, it should probably not be in the reach of children.  (But neither should caffeine, but that is another battle!)

Back to nicotine.  So, in our travels, we were also introduced to a brilliant piece of writing by David Sweaner, Senior Council for the Non-Smokers Rights Association, who wrote a fabulous essay on Alternative Nicotine Delivery as a Harm-Reduction Strategy.  Simply brilliant.  This piece was presented at the American Society of Addiction Medicine Conference in 1995 & 1996 and The Health Education Authority Seminar on Alternative Delivery Systems, in 1996.  Although a wee bit ahead of his time, it is fitting we should find it now, considering the Waxman Bill is getting ready to grace the Senate with it’s presence and may have unexpected implications.

Basically, what Sweaner’s essay says is that the cigarette industry has had years of a monopoly.  By doing this, tobacco has been turned into a death carrier and impounded upon by the evils of addiction based profiteers.  What we need to do is strip away these additives and look at nicotine for what it really is.  And what it really is, is an addictive substance with far fewer health risks than it’s carrier.

By doing this, we can begin to stop demonizing nicotine users, as we certainly do not demonize coffee drinkers (even though caffeine falls into the same family as cocaine and amphetamines).  We need to focus on cleaner ways of allowing people to use nicotine, without the touch of the pharmaceutical industry and the completely laxidasical haphazardnous of the tobacco industry.  There needs to be a medium where nicotine users have an option that is viable for them.  This medium, while needing some regulation, needs to be open for the free market so that small businesses and new ideas can be pushed out into the market.  They need to focus on tobacco harm reduction which in turn, might actually get people un-addicted to nicotine.  Holy Shocker!  Some logic from a non-smoking crowd!

Basically:  The quit or die method, should simply die.

So here we are in 2009 at the Waxman Bill.  The Waxman Bill may have implications for Nicotine and the FDA.  It will tell any new product emerging into the market, sure you can play but if you don’t have a maximum of $100,000,000.00 to play ball, then don’t come a knocking.  To users it says:  Do you enjoy nicotine?  Well great!  Come on over to the pharmaceutical counter and lets see what we have for ya!  Here’s some Chantix.  It might not get you to quit smoking, but if you fall into the category of some of the users, you will commit suicide and then all of your problems will be solved.

Op!  If you commit suicide your insurance won’t cover your death?  But hey, and you have to digg deep for this one, a study was done by the Royal London School of Medicine that found the typical patches, gum etc over help to only one in five people and those people only manage to stay off of the cigarettes. Shhh… We found that one on the FDA’s own website!

Or better yet, reside yourself to an early death and go the other route.  That’s right!  Smoke Tobacco.  The proven recipe of our founding fathers altered and changed.  Made more delicious and deadly.  Made just to our liking.  At least someone is getting their tax dollar revenue before you die.  It is far safer than some propylene glycol, flavorings and nicotine.  Tobacco cigarettes have been scientifically proven to kill whereas the electronic cigarette seems to be getting a hard time before the results are even in.

It all sounds scary and guess what?  It is!  It is a sad day when an alternative to smoking hits the world, like the electronic cigarette, and even one good doctor is quoted as saying “you are probably getting more nicotine than you would be getting in a cigarette simply because filter cigarettes tend to dilute the nicotine that is being inhaled and in this one you get the pure effects”. I especially like the “probably”.

So for those of you who are interested, there is no bleak end to the electronic cigarette future.  There are currently active suppliers participating in the formation of an Electronic Cigarette Association.  The first meeting will take place April 11th & 12th in Chicago.  Here, the group will determine acceptable trade practices and a goal for to betterment of the industry and it’s consumers.  This isn’t an unregulated group of shady back alley dealers.  This is a group of ex-tobacco smokers who think that the electronic cigarette is exactly what it is, an alternative to tobacco.  A better (in my opinion) way to intake nicotine, which is a completely legal substance for adults.  The electronic cigarette is not a smoking cessation device.

We are going to fight this every step of the way because well, it is ridiculous that the peacock is taking over the zoo.  Sure the road is going to be bumpy.  And hopefully, the Senate will take note from their fellow Congressmen who smoke e-cigs and ensure tobacco smokers have rights and options.

Happy E-Smoking!