I guess my primary fear over any additional laws over e-cigarettes is that it becomes a slippery slope of one politician trying to stumble over the next to put in the next piece of legislation to protect people from themselves, often under the rationalization that it’s “for the children.” A hundred years ago is when the big push for regulating cigarette sales to minors in the US started. Then cigarette advertisements were severely curtailed. Now cigarettes are banned in most public areas with many private areas being banned too (and there are pushes to prevent smoking in some private homes, apartments, cars, etc).

The cigarette manufacturers have had the money to fight a lot of this, but e-cigarette manufacturers don’t have that kind of money, and I fear that they could get legislated/regulated out of existence if users (and others who are educated about the products) don’t keep a good eye on what is happening and make a stand. Because we don’t want e-cigarettes to be subject to all the same kinds of laws as regular cigarettes. The fact that we can use them pretty much anywhere is a big reason why people transition to e-cigs and often successfully stop smoking. I think we need to do what we can to keep people from panicking and putting e-cigs under all the same rules as cigarettes. That’s just going to prevent more people from successfully making the switch.

Banning the sale to minors is a small thing, and one that most (all?) e-cig retailers already do voluntarily. I just hope it doesn’t lead to further regulation of e-cigs that could give them as much of a stigma as regular cigarettes pretty much solely under the rationalization that they look very much like the real thing and can deliver nicotine. We’ve got to be careful.

Modern studies tend to point toward nicotine not being terribly addictive, but more the act of smoking, the anticipation of smoking, the social aspect, certain activities associated with it (often drinking) are more addicting than the nicotine itself. In other words nicotine cravings are more of a psychological desire than a physical dependence. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100713144920.htm

Analogue cigarettes have the MAOIs that aid in addiction to cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes do not. E-cigarettes have harmless ingredients. The most dangerous component of an e-cigarette is the nicotine itself, which is not nearly as addictive as once thought, is not a carcinogen, and is only toxic in relatively high amounts. A bottle of 24mg (extra-high nicotine concentration) e-cigarette fluid will not deliver nearly as much nicotine as the highest-concentration nicotine patches. The strongest patch I know of contains 114mg of nicotine and relases 21mg into the bloodstream daily. The average cigarette contains 0.5mg of nicotine and by inhaling the smoke, the smoker takes into their body about 10% of that nicotine. So for example a 15 a day smoker would absorb 7.5mg of nicotine. And yet patches still have the same failure rate for helping quit smoking as quitting without assistance. http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/kswb-study-finds-nicotine-patchesgum-ineffective-20120109,0,755451.story

The benefit of electronic cigarettes is that they replicate the smoking habit, but without any of the dangerous additives of analogue cigarettes. This allows smokers to retain all the psychological benefits and physical actions of their smoking habit without polluting their body with tar and the other crud that comes with smoking regular cigarettes. It would seem that this would allow smokers to ease off of their regular cigarette habit and replace it with the much cleaner, healthier habit of using an electronic cigarette.

As for children, electronic cigarettes really aren’t all that appealing. By far, the most popular flavored cigarettes on the market are menthols. It has been that way for a very long time. Even amongst young smokers. Taking flavored cigarettes off the market did virtually nothing to decrease the smoking rate for younger people. So the flavors offered by e-cigarettes aren’t really a factor here. The Tobacco Act banned all flavored cigarettes except for menthol. This had the effect of banning less than .01% of cigarettes in the domestic cigarette market while the cigarettes that were exempted make up about 50% of the American youth cigarette market and more than 25% of the adult market.

Second, analogue cigarettes have a certain amount of prestige amongst the younger population. For them it is proof that they are “cool,” they are doing something illicit, something their parents and society don’t want them doing. Electronic cigarettes don’t have that aspect. An e-cigarette doesn’t have so much of a stigma, it isn’t “cool,” and it just doesn’t have the impact of being prestigious amongst younger people. Not like regular cigarettes. So e-cigarettes just aren’t as desirable to the younger population.

Finally, there is a high cost associated the initial purchase of an e-cigarette. My first purchase of an electronic cigarette cost me over $200. Now there are simpler packages that cost around $80, and there are disposable e-cigarettes available for around $20. A pack of 20 analogue cigarettes costs less than $8 in most places. This is a much more accessible price for younger people. Additionally, it is much more likely for a young person to “bum” an analogue cigarette from some one, steal a pack of cigarettes, purchase cigarettes with a fake ID, etc than for that same young person to get ahold of an electronic cigarette. While the e-cig is more affordable over time than keeping up a heavy smoking habit, the initial cost makes it undesirable to young people.

Long story short, I see electronic cigarettes as a great way to assist existing smokers in reducing or eliminating their cigarette habit. As for the youth, there are much cheaper, easier ways for them to get ahold of nicotine than by trying to con their way into getting an e-cigarette. Moreover, e-cigarettes just aren’t that desirable to the youth. It doesn’t hit on either the “cool” factor or the “rebellious” factor that drive them towards regular cigarettes.

I am not in business for e-cig or any similar companies, just an extraordinarily happy customer who has been smoke-free for several years now due to e-cigarettes. I have spent a good deal of time researching both regular and electronic cigarettes, and I’m convinced that e-cigarettes are a great product that can help existing smokers kick their bad habit. It worked for me and all of my friends who have given it a try. I also don’t believe they have the capacity to cause addiction in non-smokers. I certainly wouldn’t recommend them to non-smokers, but based on the available evidence, nicotine by itself is not terribly addictive. I honestly don’t see e-cigarettes as a danger to anyone, youth or otherwise. I see the regulations being proposed by Mr. Nonini and others as an attempt to create an image of being “tough on smoking” while not really making any impact. Additionally, these kinds of regulations aren’t really enforceable without a major effort for a small (if any) reward.

On a separate point, you mention that people get addicted to other chemicals within the cig that are not just nicotine. While there may be some truth to that, I think studies have shown that nicotine is the primary issue in addiction to paper cigarettes.

It is disingenuous and downright dishonest to claim that the unlimited availability of flavors is somehow “an enticement to get children to start smoking.” Flavored cigarettes (except, of course, for the ONLY flavor that is actually used by underage smokers and sold by Big Tobacco: menthol) are already banned, and there is absolutely no reason to suspect that flavored smoke-free tobacco products are going to cause non-smokers to choose ashtray-flavored cigarettes. Are children the only ones who like Cherry, Vanilla, or Peppermint? Are alcohol and condom manufacturers marketing to children when they offer products in these flavors??

I completely agree that e-cigarettes should not be marketed to non-smokers and sales to children should be outlawed.. That’s why they’re called “e-cigarettes” in the first place: Non-smokers aren’t interested in anything with the word “cigarette” in the name, but smokers obviously are.

Currently, just about every other electronic cigarette company is using a cotton absorbent material, soaked in eliquid, inside of their cartridges. The eTank system eliminates the need for the cotton absorbent material and allows the atomizer to make direct contact with the nicotine liquid. This is a huge improvement and makes for a ton of vapor.

If your just getting started with electronic cigarettes, the eTank system is the key. You must have this. Don’t settle for less.