The other day I was changing in the locker room after gym when all of a sudden, a cloud of fruity smelling smoke fogs over my head. The origin of this mysterious smoke turned out to have been coming from a couple of kids puffing an electronic cigarette, or e-cig for short. The common response from young e-cig smokers is usually "Dude, relax! Its just vapor!" Well technically the smoke releasing from an industrial factory is "just vapor," but you don't see people smoking the same chemicals. That ignorant response bugged me, and sparked an interest of research on the product. A commercial for Blu Electronic cigarettes I found surprised me when the the same excuse, that is was "only vapor," was used. The commercial claimed the product to be a "safer alternative" to smoking regular cigarettes. They are safer by the fact that there's no tobacco present, but that also means e-cigs aren't regulated by the FDA. This means that companies like Blu are not required to disclose the contents of whats inside. Most of the vapor is nicotine, and health experts are not sure of the effects of inhaling pure nicotine in large quantities. Electronic cigarettes haven't been around long enough for long term effects of smoking them to be determined.
The commercial's main theme is "freedom," which we as americans cherish. But because of how much of this product remains a mystery, how much freedom should be given? Chicago has seemed to already to be taking the "freedom" into their own hands. Rahm Emanuel stated today that electronic cigarettes will be banned in most indoor public buildings. So sorry locker room smokers, looks like your fun is up.
What do you think about e-cigs? What amount of "freedom" should be given?
Info on E-Cigs: here
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