Quit Smoking Without the Cravings

According to the World Health Organization, as of the year 2000, approximately 1.2 billion people in the world smoke tobacco. The WHO has also reported that an estimated 100 million people died because of tobacco, just in the 20th century alone. Anyone living in a developed country knows very well there is significant health risks associated with smoking tobacco, and most of them make some sort of effort to quit at least once during their lives. Yet, like any physical or mental addiction, it is hard. There are the withdrawal symptoms, the habit itself, the social inclusion aspect to let go of, but the cravings are probably the hardest to ignore.

Smoking a cigarette isn't just about the tobacco; there are in fact almost 600 chemical additives in cigarettes. It all starts with a tobacco leaf, which is dried and shredded. Then it is mixed with a particular combination of chemicals, rolled into cigarettes and sold. The chemical concoction is heavily engineered as it must be just the right balance to achieve pyrolysis. Pyrolysis occurs when the fuel (tobacco in the cigarette) is heated in a chamber (cigarette tube) that lacks oxygen. The first product of pyrolysis is smoke and within that smoke is the chief result of the process: tar.

Now, because the tobacco has been soaked in its chemicals the smoke caused by pyrolysis contains active substances the smoker inhales into their lungs. The active chemical gases meet the alveoli in the lungs and produce certain phenomena such as an increased heart rate, speedier reaction time and so on; when the alveoli run out of chemicals, they being to shrink. The tar that came into the lungs with the smoke is already all over the alveoli, but now it begins to harden in and around the shrinking alveoli. Each time the smoker takes a breath, smokes a cigarette, or becomes out of breath, the alveoli have to work harder and harder until they become completely gummed up or dead. In essence, it is not necessarily the tobacco that kills a smoker; it is the tar and the carcinogenic additives.

So what about the nicotine? Nicotine is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in all species of the nightshade family of plants, including the tobacco plant. According to the American Heart Association, nicotine is one of the hardest addictions to recover from. Perhaps that difficulty is linked with social factors, perhaps not, but the fact remains it is not easy to kick nicotine. To make matters worse, according to Tobacco Control (an international health journal focused on tobacco control) the nicotine content in cigarettes has increased by an average of 1.6% annually since 1998 in all major markets. Not only is smoking toxic, it is harder to quit!

The key is in breaking the link between cigarettes and nicotine. Get rid of the chemically laced tobacco and pyrolysis causing tar in favor of keeping the nicotine. Now, it is important to understand nicotine is not wholly safe. It is certainly much less damaging than tar, but there are risks. There are positive uses as well. Research shows nicotine may be useful as an antipsychotic agent, a breast cancer preventative in women with the BRCA gene, and preeclampsia in pregnant women. That doesn't mean anyone who thinks they may develop breast cancer or is pregnant with high blood pressure should go light up - that would be highly inadvisable. What it does mean is when nicotine is separated from tobacco; it is not such an evil substance if used moderately.

In 2003 a Chinese pharmacist by the name of Hon Lik came up with an electronic cigarette. From the outside it looked like a plastic cigarette, but the components actually included a cartridge, an atomizer and a power supply. The cartridge holds a very small reservoir of oily liquid (e-liquid) which is heated by the atomizer and turned into vapor. The user inhales the vapor just as they would do so with an 'analog' cigarette. The vapor is condensation containing whatever is in the e-liquid, and all e-liquids are made from a combination of water and glycerol. Glycerol is a colorless, odorless water soluble liquid with extremely low toxicity. It is most commonly used in soap making, but for the purposes of e-liquid it holds the flavorings (such as vanilla, tobacco, menthol, cola etc.).

E-liquids containing nicotine are widely available for those trying to kick analog cigarettes. However, be very aware of the concentration of nicotine. It is pure un-diluted nicotine and thus will deliver a more direct hit than a regular cigarette. Since there is no pyrolysis taking place with an electronic cigarette, there is no tar being produced. That combined with the purity of the nicotine in the vapor means the user should not puff away on an e-cigarette the same way they would on a tobacco cigarette. Take note of concentrations in e-liquids as they compare to tobacco cigarettes, then choose a concentration that is one step down from what is regularly used.

Quitting smoking without the cravings really is possible, especially with the use of electronic cigarettes. Best of all, since there is no smoke, vaping (slang for using an e-cigarette) can be done everywhere that smoking cannot. The only caveat is if using a nicotine solution; keep the vapor away from children and young adults. Even non-smokers use e-cigarettes just for fun but without a nicotine solution. There are hundreds of e-liquid flavors, from banana to pina colada, Marlboro to Cuban cigar, there is something for everyone.