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e-Cigarettes

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E-cigarettes sparked a couple years ago and have reached a fervent smolder recently. These electronic devices don’t burn tobacco, so smoke is absent. You’re “vaping” (inhaling vapor), and there’s no smell. Perhaps that’s better for the folks around you, but e-cigarettes are still exceptionally unhealthy for you. From sciencenews.org:

Electronic cigarettes, marketed as safer than regular cigarettes, deliver a cocktail of toxic chemicals including carcinogens into the lungs, new studies show. Using e-cigarettes may even make bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics, according to one study.

The liquid in these e-cigarettes is typically a mixture of nicotine, propylene glycol (yay) and flavorings. Nicotine, whether inhaled through a traditional cigarette or an electronic one, is addictive and toxic. From the CDC:

The number of calls to poison centers involving e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine rose from one per month in September 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014… Poisoning from conventional cigarettes is generally due to young children eating them. Poisoning related to e-cigarettes involves the liquid containing nicotine used in the devices and can occur in three ways: by ingestion, inhalation or absorption through the skin or eyes.

Subbing out a lit tip for a shiny LED doesn’t change the fact that you’re still sucking a toxic drug into your body.

 

The nicotine is not my only objection, however. Those flavorings are insidious. I’m fully aware that my kids will experiment. It’s an understandable part of the coming of age process. I certainly did.

I was thirteen years old, the room was spinning, and I smelled like smoke. My best friend Jeremy and I had recently returned from Cy’s Chicken Fry, where we had devoured wings, fries and cokes and played endless games of 720, the best skateboarding video game ever. Cy’s also had a cigarette machine. We weren’t allowed to buy them, but my boy and I were slick. The second the dude who worked the register went into the kitchen, we pounced on the Camel Wides. Not knowing when our next opportunity to smoke would come, we figured we’d better chain smoke our packs in the alley on our walk back home.

I puked a lot that day.

My older son turns 15 today, and my younger chap will be 13 in a month. They won’t be sneaking a pack of cigarettes from a vending machine. From marketwatch.com:

The number of middle and high-school students who have tried so-called “e-cigarettes” has tripled in the past three years, and is doubling the number of youth who say they will begin smoking regular cigarettes too, according to a new survey.

It’s sickening that somebody is marketing directly to my boys and doing so cleverly:

Earlier this year, a group of 11 Democratic members of Congress released a report that said e-cigarette flavors such as “Cherry Crush,” “Chocolate Treat” and “Peachy Keen” appeal to minors and should also be restricted. “E-cigarette makers are starting to prey on kids, just like the big tobacco companies,” said Henry J. Waxman, a Democrat from California.

Chocolate treat? This is simply unfair. The best I could hope for was menthol. Technology is so cool. Selling e-cigarette liquid flavored like banana splits or Skittles or marketing it with cartoon characters is similar to what the big tobacco companies were sued for in 1999. E-cigarettes are simply the latest wolf in wolf’s clothing.

I’ve talked to my men about this in the past, and I’ll continue to do so going forward. Ultimately, they’ll make their own decisions. Some will be good decisions; inevitably, they’ll also make poor ones. I just hope at the end of the day, my marketing is better than the snakes pushing the “Cherry Crush.” I believe it will be.

Happy branding,

Kap

  • JD

    They are also the dorkiest looking things ever — my view from a self-acknowledging dork. The whole appeal to cigarettes was the “guy on the horse” look. These are everything other than that. If my kids ever dare enter my house with one of those devices, I will send my kids to a liquor store to buy a “real” pack of cigarettes, and make them inhale 13 at the same time — you are a far more lenient father than me.

    • Gabe Kapler

      Appreciate the feedback, JD.

  • Char

    Maybe it was because my mother smoked and I hated it, but I can’t understand why anyone would try smoking in the first place. It’s not just unhealthy in the extreme, but smelly, ugly and expensive. When I was 13 I was desperately trying to get my mother to quit (to the point that she tried to hide it from me - LOL Mom I can smell it!); I can’t even imagine trying smoking myself. Blech.

    Preach, Gabe. The manufacturers are evil. Calling them snakes is an insult to snakes.

    • Gabe Kapler

      Glad you’re with me, Char.

  • Julie

    As a former smoker (off and on starting in my teens), I have to chime in… This December will mark 3 years since I quit smoking for good. I was actually able to quit with the use of e-cigarettes. I gradually tapered down the nicotine levels (they make cartridges with varying levels of nicotine), until I was only using the zero nicotine e-cigs. I continue to use my e-cig occasionally when the mood strikes. I feel that if it weren’t for the availability of e-cigs, when the mood struck, I might be tempted to smoke a real (carcinogenic, nicotine-filled) cigarette. That would eventually lead to physical cravings and eventually, a pack a day again… They’re not supposed to be marketed as a smoking-cessation aid, but for a lot of people, that is how they’re used.

    P.S. Cherry Crush is delicious! 😉

    • Gabe Kapler

      Nice to have this alternate perspective, Julie.

  • James

    Kap, reading the part about how you were sick the rest of the day got me thinking again about something I have never understood: Why do people smoke. I get when your a kid and want to do something a little rebelious. I did this too and tried smoking and had the same reaction you did. I thought it sucked. Why is it that some of us choose to continue to do it though? I am asking everyone’s thoughts because I have children now and want to be able to steer them away from something that I know they will inevitably try at some point. Some people grow out of it, but their mother never did and I don’t want them to follow the same path.

    • Gabe Kapler

      This is a great question to explore. Thank you for posing it, James.

    • Ed H

      Expanding on James from above: Why are people just plain stupid; Why do they choose to eat like crap when healthy food is readily available; why do they get fat and sedentary when enough exercise to keep modestly fit takes very little tile or effort; Why do people smoke when it’s expensive and proven it kills; why do people do any of these and drive the cost of health insurance up for everyone….

      Some of the answer is in some sort of human nature where people feel they can be unaccountable. Call it denial, stubbornness or something else.

      Part of it is the nature of addiction that roots itself early before children and young adults are old enough to make solid judgments. Addictions ruin lives.

      We fail as a society to protect our children. As individuals it tough not to fail since our society allows marketing to our kids and a legal system that is more based on semantics than ethics. As for politicians pandering? That’s part of societies failings that create the wonderful cocktail we call America.

      Trust me, I’m just getting warmed up…..

      • Gabe Kapler

        You are, aren’t you. Feel free to riff to your heart’s content. No character limit (I think, Steph?).

        • http://twitter.com/sstamour Stephanie St Amour (@sstamour)

          No character limit. Riff away.

  • Paul

    I know many smokers- some who have tried as Julie: Using e-cigarettes to quit. I thought
    the nicotine level was higher; That’s how/why they are able to “get by” with fewer smokes.
    (Saving them $$$) But if you can get lower levels, they could be used to quit.

    I was born in 1968. So I’ve been told/hearing that smoking is unhealthy all my life. I swore
    I’d never try them,and I haven’t. (I DID try pot in my teens under peer pressure,but never
    cared for it.) So anyone younger than I am, I can’t understand why they smoke or would
    even try. (In addition to the money wasted!)

    My father started as a kid,and smoked for 27 years. It took 2 heart attacks in his 30’s
    to convince him to quit cold turkey. My mother complained when he came home after
    being at a bar. All the secondhand smoke stinks your clothes, and she could tell later
    when I’d been at a bar or club for the same reason. I became immune to the smell.But
    with the smoking bans now, I notice it when I go to private clubs & go home vs. when I
    go to bars. The odor from the clubs is clearly noticeable!

    • Gabe Kapler

      Good add, Paul. Appreciate it.

  • M.squared

    The fact that that smoking (of any sort) is still legal absolutely eats at me.
    It’s unfortunate that government is too far up the tobacco industries ass to view this for what it is truly worth.
    Someday soon, I would love to see a parent sue the tobacco industry for successfully targeting and addicting their child…. As I am sure the funny little Camel, the ultra cool Marbarllo Man and the sweet Cherry Crush are reeling in plenty of dollars to pay for the treatment and loss of lives.

    • Gabe Kapler

      That’s certainly a strong stance. I value your opinion. Thanks for bringing it.

    • Paul

      Yes, they are legal, but now banned in most public places. The money that gov’t
      makes from the taxes & the lobbyists’ control in Congress are the reasons why!
      (Esp. the Southern states that grow the tobacco!)

      Prohibition never seems to work, and we are trying to legalize pot & other drugs.
      Yet the U.S. gov’t spends so much time & money trying to get Americans to quit
      smoking- while at the same time trying to export our tobacco! Go figure.

      • Gabe Kapler

        Keep the good shit coming. Strong takes are valued ’round here.

  • Amy

    Thank you for this article. E cigs are no good. Period. As for nicotine products, there are so many now on the market marketed to kids. Google snus and tell me what you think. The container looks like a little tin of mints. Easy to hide in a backpack. There are cigarillos that are flavored like grape, strawberry, etc and wrapped in sparkly foil ( hi girls!) As a dental hygienist I’m always aware of what’s out there that impacts oral health. Sadly, the town in which I practice allows the sale of these products as well as a vape store. Uphill battle. Keep up the good work and happy bday to the big one. Best,
    Amy

  • Gabe Kapler

    Nice work, Amy. Thank you.

  • steve

    This is a very interesting read. I am a former smoker and current “vape.” I started smoking at a young age and then i started to chew and for the better part of 12 years i regularly did both. I understand that it still isn’t healthy but i feel 100% better and i smell 100% better and in social and business situations i’m no longer that guy who has to split off and smoke a cigarette and get glares from people passing by. I see where you are coming from with the branding issue but i wonder about the obviously crazy flavors of vodka and other adult beverages and are marketed towards those who do not enjoy the flavor of booze (kids)

    • steve

      i should have proof read that

      • Gabe Kapler

        No judgment, no need to proofread. You make a fair point on the liquor. I’ll let that sink in.

  • Nate

    Thanks Kap. Important to note that this behavior is not “like” the big tobacco companies of years past, it IS the big tobacco companies. Most major ecig brands are owned by or are subsidiaries of major tobacco companies.

    • Gabe Kapler

      Quality note, Nate. Appreciated.

  • http://kbeyazdancer.wordpress.com kbeyazdancer

    First-Happy Birthday to your young man!
    Second-Big shout out for bringing up propylene glycol. This is used extensively in polymer chemistry to make resins and coatings along with being used as an ingredient in some de-icing agents.
    To those trying to quit-I wish you well. Stick with it-the long term benefits are worth it.
    -Kelebek

    • Gabe Kapler

      The scientist emerges. Well done.

  • M.squared

    Kap-
    You are spot on. Strong statements indeed.

    Paul-
    Totally agree. Stuffed pockets was absolutely the sub current of my text. That being said, (and assuming my dream of prohibition is not realistic) legalizing marijuana, (while overlaying a hefty tax to both pot and cigarettes) would be an interesting experimentation in a more efficient utilization of our law enforcement dollars, while putting petty-street-corner-weed-dealers out of business and stimulating revenue (via the tax) to raise an even stronger awareness (amongst our youth) to bluntly advertise the sad truths of these drugs.

    2 man March. See you in Washington Homie.

  • Gabe Kapler

    The mic made a thud.