E-Cigarettes R Us Australia

No matter how many years you have smoked, it is a great idea to quit. Quitting smoking will improve your health, greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer or heart disease, and extend your life. Remember that you are never too old to quit. The following tips are the ten best tips for quitting smoking. If you apply all of them, you will greatly improve your chances of giving up for good. You have nothing to lose, but so much to gain.

Tip 1: Find the method that works best for you. There is no such thing as a technique of quitting that works for everybody. For some people, it is the “cold turkey” approach where you simply stop smoking. Other people find that a gradual reduction in the number of cigarettes that they smoke in a day is the best method. Some people are successful with the aid of one or more of the many products that can be purchased on the market, such as electronic cigarettes or nicotine patches. Do what you think is best for you and don’t be afraid to try a number of different techniques.

Tip 2: Set yourself a date on which you will quit. Try to make this date sooner rather than later. Commit yourself to this date and work towards it. Make all of the necessary preparations before the big day. If you feel very confident, make today the day that you quit smoking.

Tip 3: Tell your family, friends and work colleagues that you plan to quit. Ask them to help you. One way that they can help you is by not smoking around you or offering you cigarettes. Quitting with your partner or a close friend will increase your chances of successfully quitting. Build a support network among family, friends and work colleagues.

Tip 4: Throw away any cigarettes, lighters, matches, ashtrays and other smoking related items. Do not merely put them away – throw them in the bin where they belong. Air out your home. Wash your clothes. Clean your car. Do everything you can to get rid of the smell of smoke.

Tip 5: Consider the various nicotine replacement therapies and other associated products on the market. There is a wide array of electronic cigarettes, nicotine patches, chewing gums, inhalers and prescription drugs that have helped people to quit smoking. Talk to your general practitioner or health professional about what is available and what they recommend.

Tip 6: Be aware that there are situations in which you will be tempted to have a cigarette such as parties and other social gatherings. Plan ahead for these situations. It is a good idea to avoid these situations in the early stages of the quitting process. Alternatively, sit in a non-smoking section if one is available. If there are things that trigger your smoking, such as coffee, alcohol or telephone conversations, make small changes that break the habit. Try drinking your coffee with the other hand or while standing up. Carry something around that you can use to keep your hands busy.

Tip 7: Think about all of the reasons that you want to quit smoking and about all of the positive benefits of quitting. Write this down on a piece of paper and carry it around with you all of the time. Keep it next to your bed at night. Let it serve you as a constant reminder of why quitting smoking is one of the best things that you can do in your life.

Tip 8: Learn how to deal with cravings. There are a number of things you can do when you have the urge to have a smoke. One of the best methods is to have a drink of water. Another method is to close your eyes, breathe deeply and concentrate on something else. The trick is to do something: go for a walk, call a friend, eat a piece of fruit, brush your teeth. Anything other than lighting a cigarette. Remember that most cravings pass after a few minutes.

Tip 9: If you drink a lot of coffee or if coffee is one of the triggers for your smoking, it is a good idea to cut down on the amount of coffee that you drink. Remember that caffeine is a stimulant and it will make you jittery. If you smoke when you drink alcohol, it is a good idea to avoid alcohol while you are quitting.

Tip 10: Give the friendly and helpful people at the National Tobacco Campaign’s Quitline a call on 137 848. They can help you deal with any issues that you might have.

A recent study conducted by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health found that electronic cigarettes are nearly twice as effective as other nicotine replacements therapies such as gums, lozenges, patches and puffers at helping people stop smoking.

The electronic cigarette, which is also known as the e cigarette, electric cigarette or e cig, is a battery operated device that looks like a normal tobacco cigarette and produces a vapour that is inhaled and exhaled in the same way as tobacco smoke. Rather than containing dried tobacco leaves, it contains a liquid usually composed of vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol.

The study found that 31 per cent of respondents reported that they had successfully stopped smoking for a six month period with the aid of the e cigarette. This is significantly greater than the abstinence rate for traditional nicotine replacement therapy products that most people are familiar with such as gums, lozenges, patches and puffers which have a success rate of between 12 and 18 per cent.

On the potential health benefits of electronic cigarettes, one of the authors of the study, Dr Michael Siegel, said that “this study suggests that electronic cigarettes are helping thousands of ex-smokers remain off cigarettes”, but added that more research was necessary: “they [e cigarettes] are worthy of further study using more rigorous research designs.”

One possible explanation for the greater success of the electronic cigarette over traditional nicotine replacement therapies might be the link between the physical simulation of smoking associated with e cigarettes. Dr Siegel elaborated on this: “While it is well-recognized that nicotine plays a role in smoking addiction, little attention has been given to the behavioral aspects of the addiction”. Furthermore, he said that “these devices simulate the smoking experience, which appears to make them effective as a smoking cessation tool.”

Dr Siegel is a professor and lecturer in the Department of Community Health Services at Boston University. He has authored numerous academic books and articles and is recognised as an expert in the field of tobacco control. He has served as an expert witness in a number of major tobacco litigation cases in the United States.

Founded in 1976, the Boston University School of Public Health states that its mission is to “improve the health of local, national and international populations, particularly the disadvantaged, underserved and vulnerable, through excellence and innovation in education, research and service.”

While almost everybody knows that cigarette smoke contains chemicals that are bad for a person’s health, very few people actually know what these chemicals are and what they do to the human body.

The smoke from tobacco cigarettes contains approximately 5000 identified chemicals and has been described as a “toxic and carcinogenic mixture” [1]. The relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer was established as long ago as 1950 [2, 3], and in the United States smoking contributes to more than 90% of all deaths from lung cancer in men and to about 80% of all deaths from lung cancer in women [4, 5]. Although lung cancer is the fifth most common form of cancer in Australia – after prostate, colorectal, breast and melanoma – it is the most common cause of cancer death, accounting for almost 20% of all cancer deaths [6]. Cigarette smoking is also causally related to cancer of the larynx, oesophagus, oral cavity, pancreas, renal pelvis and urinary bladder, and it is linked to cancer of the cervix [4, 5, 7]. A report by the United States Surgeon General in 1989 found that cigarette smoking was responsible for 81.8% of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 21.5% of deaths from coronary heart disease and 18.0% of deaths from stroke [4].

The finding that cigarette smoke caused a number of cancers led to intensive research in to its chemical composition and to the identification of the toxic and carcinogenic agents in it. One result of this was the gradual identification of smoke constituents. In 1959, it was reported that about 600 compounds had been found in cigarette smoke [8], a figure that increased to 1000 in 1968 [9]. In 1988, one researcher listed 3794 cigarette smoke constituents [10], and in 1996 it was reported that a whopping 4800 compounds had been identified in tobacco smoke [11].

The first carcinogenic compound in cigarette smoke – benzopyrene – was identified in 1954 [12]. Subsequent research brought this figure to 69 by the year 2000 [13]. All 69 of these chemicals are carcinogenic to animals, while 11 of them are proven carcinogens in humans: arsenic, benzene, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, ethylene oxide, nickel, polonium-210, vinyl chloride, 2-naphthylamine and 4-aminobiphenyl [13]. It should be remembered that the lack of scientific evidence that many of the 69 chemicals cause cancer in people does not mean that they do not; it only means that there is insufficient scientific evidence. The fact that they are carcinogenic to laboratory animals is alarming and warrants concern.

Many people would be shocked to learn what some of the 11 proven human carcinogens are commonly used for. Arsenic, for example, is used as a wood preservative and insecticide. Benzene, which is derived from crude oil, is commonly used in the manufacture of industrial chemicals and as a petrol additive. Cadmium is used in car batteries. Most of the others are commonly used in the manufacture of industrial chemicals and products.

The tobacco cigarette has been described as “probably the most significant source of toxic chemical exposure and chemically mediated disease in humans” [1]. Not only does it cause numerous cancers as discussed above, but it also causes various cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. The World Heath Organization estimates that approximately 5.4 million premature deaths each year can be attributed to cigarette smoking [14], a figure that will rise to an estimated 10 million by 2025 [15]. This is a horrendous loss of human life, especially given that it is entirely preventable.

References
[1] Talhout R, Schulz T, Floreck E, van Benthem J, Wester P & Opperhuizen A (2011) Hazardous compounds in tobacco smoke, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 8, Issue 2, 613-628.
[2] Wynder E L & Graham E A (1950) Tobacco smoking as a possible etiologic factor in bronchiogenic carcinoma: A study of six hundred and eighty-four proven cases, Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 143, Issue 4, 329-336.
[3] Doll R & Hill A B (1950) Smoking and carcinoma of the lung: Preliminary report, British Medical Journal, Volume 2, Issue 4682, 739-748.
[4] United States Department of Health and Human Services (1989) Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Washington DC.
[5] Shopland D R (1995) “Effect of smoking on the incidence and mortality of lung cancer” in Johnson B E & Johnson D H (editors) (1995) Lung Cancer, John W & Sons, New York, 1-14.
[6] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Cancer Australia & Australasian Association of Cancer Registries (2008) Cancer Survival and Prevalence in Australia: Cancers Diagnosed from 1982 to 2004, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra.
[7] Greenless R T, Hill-Harmon M B, Murray T & Thun M (2001) Cancer statistics 2001, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Volume 51, Issue 1, 15-36.
[8] Johnstone R A W & Plimmer J R (1959) The chemical constituents of tobacco and tobacco smoke, Chemical Reviews, Volume 59, Issue 5, 885-936.
[9] Stedman R L (1968) The chemical composition of tobacco and tobacco smoke, Chemical Reviews, Volume 68, Issue 2, 153-207.
[10] Roberts D L (1988) Natural tobacco flavor, Recent Advances in Tobacco Science, Volume 14, 49-81.
[11] Green C R & Rodgman A (1996) The tobacco chemists’ research conference: A half-century of advances in analytical methodology of tobacco and its products, Recent Advances in Tobacco Science, Volume 22, 131-304.
[12] Cooper R L, Lindsay A J & Waller R E (1954) The presence of 3,4-benzopyrene in cigarette smoke, Chemical Industry, Volume 46, 1418.
[13] Hoffmann D, Hoffmann I & El-Bayoumy K (2001) The less harmful cigarette: A controversial issue, Chemical Research in Toxicology, Volume 14, Number 7, 767-790.
[14] World Health Organization (2008) World Health Organization Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic: The MPOWER Package, World Health Organization, Geneva.
[15] Hatsukami D K, Stead L F & Gupta P C (2008) Tobacco addiction, Lancet, Volume 371, 2027-2038.

Although electronic cigarettes have been around for almost a decade, they have only recently started to gain widespread public attention, partly as a result of their use by a number of well known celebrities.

One of the first on-screen appearances of an actor with an e-cigarette was that of Katherine Heigl on The Late Show with David Letterman on 27 September 2010. Heigl brought her electric cigarette with her on to the show and explained that she was using it to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes after trying a number of other methods: “I’ve tried everything. I did the patches. I did the gum. I did the Chantix twice.” Intrigued, Letterman asked to have a puff of the device and described it as “remarkable”. When asked if she was concerned that she might become addicted to it, Heigl replied that she was “totally addicted”, but that “it is not bad for you, so it’s a fun addiction”. Given the popularity of the show and the fact that most of the interview was devoted to a discussion of the electronic cigarette, this brought the product to the attention of millions of people in the United States and around the world.

Only a few months after Heigl’s appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, the e-cigarette appeared on-screen once again when it featured in the movie The Tourist which was released in the United States on 10 December 2010. Johnny Depp starred in the lead role, playing an American community college teacher who puffed an electric cigarette on a train. Although the movie was far from a hit, it nonetheless served to popularise the electronic cigarette.

At both the 2010 and 2011 Grammy Awards, e-cigarettes also made an appearance, albeit a less noticeable one. Attendees at the 2010 awards were given gift bags which contained the device, while the finalists at the 2011 awards received a crystal-encrusted electric cigarette. This was probably the handiwork of an astute businessperson with contacts in Hollywood who saw the huge marketing potential for their product if a movie star used it in public.

Indeed, not a small number of well-known actors and celebrities have been seen using the electronic cigarette in their private lives as an aid to quitting smoking. The most famous include Kevin Connolly, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Kate Moss, Dennis Quaid, Charlie Sheen and Britney Spears. Lesser known figures include Danny Bonaduce, Trace Cyrus, Kevin Federline, Corey Feldman, Carrie Fisher, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Petty, Eric Roberts and Ryan Seacrest.

Using actors and other celebrities to market products has a long history. Some of the marketing techniques employed include cross promotion, product placement and the supply of free products to entertainment industry members in the hope that they will use them in public. These were some of the most popular tools used by the tobacco industry in its heyday when it had few constraints on the way it could market its product, times which have well and truly passed in Australia, the United States and most Western countries. It seems that e-cigarette companies are employing these same tactics to market their product.