The FDA has recently taken aim at Electronic Cigarettes by releasing a report stating they are wildly unhealthy. The full report has not been made available to the public but already the results have been shrouded in controversy. Some argue the smoking alternatives can’t possibly be worse than the FDA approved drug Chantix which has already proven itself to be a dangerous substance (people have become suicidal, over-aggressive, severely depressed, etc).

Concerns are beginning to rise that perhaps the FDA is not conducting these tests on electronic cigarettes with the health of the general public in mind. Why is the FDA measuring the safety of these unapproved NRTs to regular health standards instead of contrasting it to the dangers posed by smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes?

One chemical the FDA’s tests pulled out of an electronic cigarette replacement cartridge was Diethylene Glycol. I did some digging on this instead of buying directly into the FDA’s press release. The Health New Zealand study did not test for the substance. This is likely due to the fact they were testing against known carcinogens found in tobacco and the manufacturer ingredient list. Adverse effects of Diethylene Glycol, as reported by its MSDS, are lesions and other forms of damage to the liver and kidneys.

Reading further along the MSDS, I found the first aid section. In it, it advises you what to do in case of inhalation of the substance – remove yourself to fresh air, away from the source. Seeking information about the carcinogenic properties of Diethylene Glycol brought me to the toxicological information. The MSDS stated no carcinogenic suspicion now or in the future. For a human to ingest a toxic amount of DG, they would be hammering down 855.925g before being fatal. That is assuming the dose required to kill half the lab rats at 12.565g/kg could be extended to humans.

Is Diethylene Glycol the main ingredient in antifreeze? The EPA has this to say about antifreeze variations: “Antifreeze typically contains ethylene glycol as its active ingredient, but some manufacturers market propylene glycol-based antifreeze, which is less toxic to humans and pets. The acute, or short-term, toxicity of propylene glycol, especially in humans, is substantially lower than that of ethylene glycol.”

Regardless of which active ingredient the spent antifreeze contains, heavy metals contaminate the antifreeze during service. When contaminated, particularly with lead, used antifreeze can be considered hazardous and should be reused, recycled, or disposed of properly. Ethylene Glycol is the main ingredient in antifreeze. While straight antifreeze is toxic, the main hazard is from used antifreeze, which has absorbed heavy metals.

The other stab the FDA took in their findings as at the presence of nitrosamines (carcinogens) in the electronic cigarette fluid. The type of tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) found are actually naturally occurring in nicotine produced from tobacco leaves. The presence of TSNAs then increases with the strength of nicotine in the cartridges, according to the Health New Zealand study. On average, the cartridges contain 3.928 parts per billion (also noted as Ng or ppb).

The highest amount of TSNAs expected to be found in any “high-strength” nicotine cartridge refill for an e-cig is on average 8.183ppb. The FDA neglected to mention that Nicorette Gum, a long-standing NRT that is FDA approved, also contains about 8ppb. If we want to see why this amount is insignificant, we can compare it to unburned tobacco cigarettes which average approximately 1,230Ng.

The FDA remained silent on equally yoking their findings, which begs the question of their integrity in their studies. Are they seeking to protect the public health, or prevent an unapproved NRT from taking shares from the pharmeceutics and Big Tobacco which they have just gained control over?

Smoking is bad for your health; you can get cancer, and die from it. You’ve heard it all before, but still you can’t seem to quit smoking cigarettes. Maybe you just haven’t tried hard enough, or often enough to succeed.

Talking to smokers before and learning of the different ways to quit smoking cigarettes. The most people who smoke seem to choose quitting cold turkey. Where they simply throw away all the different smoking items in their home and stop one day.

Another way to quit smoking cigarettes is to try hypnosis or even acupuncture. This way you will not have those side effects from any prescription medicines that may have been given to you by the doctor. There are different studies that do show some positive results from this way of quitting.

Or you can clean out your home and stop smoking cold turkey. Of course with this option as well as the others you may see some weight gain. But you can always make sure that you have a bunch of healthy foods in the house that you can eat when you get those cravings.

The worst part for many smokers seems to be getting past those cravings. Nicotine is a drug and it does make you addicted to it. So you will need to fight in order to quit smoking cigarettes.

In closing, though it is a hard habit to stop, you can succeed. Many will succeed in quitting smoking each day of the year. Finding the right foods to stop your cravings that will not add on weight is also important. People who have smoked for years can quit, so can you, think positive and keep trying.

Sure, we all know about lung cancer and bronchitis. But did you know that cigarette smoking is the number one contributor to heart attacks as well? Did you also know that many types of cancers are also thought to be caused by the harmful effects of cigarette smoking, including liver cancer, bladder cancer, cancer of the larynx, cancer of the throat, cancer of the mouth and tongue, esophageal cancer, cancer of the large intestine, and even cancer of the bloodstream?

Cigarettes are not just rolled tobacco,as many people innocently think. The tobacco industry purposely adds ingredients in order to increase tobaccos addictiveness. There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, many of them toxic. The ingredients in cigarettes affect everything from the internal functioning of organs to the efficiency of the body’s immune system. The effects of cigarette smoking are destructive and widespread, covering your entire body from head to toe.

Setting aside your own personal health, have you ever thought about the effects of cigarette smoking on your pocketbook? Someone who smokes a pack a day will wind up spending over $700 every year on cigarettes. Thats an entire months rent, two months worth of groceries, three or four car payments, or the cost of a very nice flat-screen television. Not to mention how that money could grow in a nice savings account!

The effects of cigarette smoking also reach out to those around you as well. Those who are exposed to second-hand smoke inhale about 15% the amount of nicotine as those who are active smokers, so for every ten cigarettes you have around your children, they may as well have smoked one a half cigarettes themselves. Even pets have been found to suffer from increased health problems due to their owners smoking! Many have respiratory diseases and cancers, all a part of the effects of cigarette smoking.

So if you smoke, its time to quit. Its time to think about how bad this habit really is, how it really touches your life and the lives of those around you. There are absolutely no health benefits, there is no upside, there is nothing positive about the effects of cigarette smoking.

Taking drugs is dangerous and is analagous with cigaratte smoking.  If you want to quit the habit, you’re going to need more than just treatment. It needs immense will power to stop this habit, and if you don’t manage to put in all you have, it’s impossible to quit. Therefore, determination is the keyword if you want to quit smoking, because no matter how many treatments you try, it will get you nowhere without the determination to go the whole way to quit.

A treatment regime designed to help stop smoking will cover the medical aspects of your addiction. The emotional side of the treatment has to be handled by you. In the last point, it is important to have a determined approach towards the entire process of stopping smoking. You need to rationalize that the sooner you can stop smoking, the sooner  you will get your life back on track.

The emotional treatment has various approaches. Like alcoholism, smoking is also termed a “family disease”, which means it affects not only you, but your entire family. Think of your wife, your children and other family and friends the next you decide to smoke. These people are receiving your second hand smoke. Life will certainly change for the better if you can quit the habit forever, and you have to do it if you want to lead a better life, and care for your loved ones.

You can try one of the several remedies offered to quit smoking. Some of these are anti smoking gums, laser treatments, patch treatments or even shots. Of all these treatments, the shot is the most expensive, and also the most effective. A shot numbs the nicotine receptors in your brain, thereby preventing your brain from recognizing nicotine. As a result, your brain does not crave for cigarettes, for it ceases to know what it is.

Along with the medical treatments you receive, also try to think about what led you to develop the habit of smoking. Most people take to smoking in order to get away from stress. Maybe the stress wore off, but your habit stayed on. It’s important to contemplate on the initial reasons, because this will help you to stay away from any other addictions in the future, no matter how much stress you encounter. This introspection will increase your inner capacity to deal with stress, and not just succumb to smoking once again.

Stopping smoking is easier said than done as it takes effort and will power to succeed, but with a little help, it can be achieved. Before you begin treatment, do consult a professional doctor who will be able to guide you through the entire process.

Do Quit Smoking Aids Really Work?

The happy news for anyone in this situation is that most quit smoking aids, even those available over the counter at your local pharmacy, seem to have good results for those who use them. They are usually very affordable and easy to use, and have few side effects.

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a popular choice for quit smoking aids. This may include the patch, gum, spray, or inhaler. These products work by allowing nicotine into your system gradually over a longer period of time, thereby reducing your cravings for a cigarette. The other advantage to these types of quit smoking aids is that, unlike cigarettes which consist of thousands of poisonous and/or carcinogenic chemicals, NRTs contain only nicotine. Additionally, the chemical reaction that happens when one burns cigarettes causes those around a smoker to suffer consequences as well, something that doesnt happen with the patch, gum, inhaler, or spray.

Other quit smoking aids may be available from your doctor and are in pill form. Most are considered mild anti-depressants, and work by calming and relaxing you, thereby decreasing your nervous habit of reaching for a cigarette. Some however have more severe side effects than those products you would get over the counter, and should be used only when under a doctors care.

In the end, trying to go cold turkey may be an option for you, but if youre worried that it just wont work are arent really looking forward to the withdrawal symptoms and the cravings and your family isnt looking forward to them either! then you have a wealth of options when it comes to quit smoking aids

Once you have confronted the fact of your addiction, you have to ask yourself the question: Are a few minutes of self gratification worth putting your life and livelihood at stake? Does this self-indulgence behavior not fade in comparison to the fact that you may be putting the health of those you love and cherish, at terrible risk? Yes, if you don’t already know, the smoke you emit while you indulge yourself (second hand smoke) may be causing severe damage to the heart and lungs, and various other important organs of your children, your spouse, your friends, colleagues, your unborn child, or even the strangers you pass as you walk on the streets.

In addition to this, the effects of tobacco smoke could actually be slowing your body and brain down, by distorting your perception of time. In this way it’s highly likely that you will take double the amount of time your non-smoking colleague takes to complete the same amount of work. Judging from this estimate, he is also sure to get that promotion both of you want in half the amount of time that you take!

If that is not motivation enough to make you try to quit, just consider the sheer monetary losses you are incurring. You could be saving up to 3000 dollars a year if you quit! Was that your spouse in the next room just now, grumbling that the two of you never have enough money left over to take a relaxing trip to the mountains?

After having read through these alarming smoking facts, perhaps you are quietly muttering to yourself now, “I tried, but I just couldn’t”. Yes, we understand the sense of frustration that is experienced by those of you who tried, but were sucked back into the vortex, afraid to face the debilitating withdrawal effects. This is arguably the most difficult aspect of addiction to overcome. Yet if you can grit your teeth and get through that difficult, challenging phase, there are incalculable benefits waiting on the other side:

o Your health is sure to improve, as is your children’s. Think about it: you are protecting your children and their friends from repeated ear, chest, nasal infections, and life-threatening diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease because of second hand smoke

o You will be working faster without the disruptions caused by numerous cigarette breaks. Your performance at work is sure to improve once you look at the computer screen with a mind free from the smoke-induced stupor

o that usually slows you down at work. In no time you will be back in the race for that long-awaited, but never achieved promotion!

o Your relationship with your spouse or partner is sure to improve. Not only will you be more attentive and alert to his or her emotional requirements, you will also improve your physical appearance by degrees. You no longer have to hide the nicotine stains on your teeth and fingernails. And you can speak freely and comfortably without worrying about displeasing your audience with oral malodor, or halitosis that is so common among smokers. So now you have the money, time and the physical confidence to take that long overdue holiday with your significant other!

After considering these vital smoking facts, you are sure to have understood that tobacco smoking, whether you smoke a pipe, a hookah, or a common cigarette, is, as the cigarette boxes perfunctorily say, INJURIOUS TO HEALTH. So the sooner you embark on that journey toward de-addiction, the better for you. Not only will it boost your self-image and infuse yourself with a new-found sense of confidence, it will also endear you to your friends and family. When you quit smoking, you show them that you are a responsible member of the community, who is judicious about not only his own health, but also responsible and accountable for those lives which are woven around his. So take that difficult step, gather all your friends and family members around you enlist their help and support and quit, once and for all. See you on the other side!