Help for Tobacco Addicts: Electronic Cigarettes
When I was a kid I used to steal cigarettes from my sisters, and lit cigarette butts I found in the street, so I guess addiction to tobacco was only a matter of time. I inhaled my first cigarette at the age of 12, and still remember when, where, and how it made me feel. For the next 17 years I smoked anywhere from a pack to two packs a day. From Marlboros in Missouri to Mild Sevens in Japan and Sportsmans in Tanzania, I smoked wherever and whenever I could. I even remember smoking on airplanes within the USA, something that no one under the age of 25 could remember.
After a few years of being hooked I got tired of being a servant to addiction and tried to quit. Sometimes I lasted for months, but other times I lasted just a few days before the urge would overwhelm me. I probably tried seriously quitting cigarettes over twenty times, but all ended in failure until one night in Kyoto, Japan. It was a cold night in the western part of the city, and the Wife and I were eating at a noodle joint near where we were staying. She was nagging about smoking, and I finally got tired of hearing about it. “Fine,” I said, stamping out the Mild Seven in my hand, “I quit.”
And I did. It’s been 17 years since I smoked a cigarette.
The reason I mention this little anecdote is because I’ve just tried an electronic cigarette for the first time. It looked like a movie prop, and I put it to my mouth and drew on it. The tip sprang to life with a nice reddish-orange glow, and my mouth filled up with smoke. More surprised than anything I didn’t inhale it and blew it out. It was steam, and it tasted similar to what I recall an ultra light cigarette tasting like. I didn’t light it and the electronic cigarette is completely inert until you suck on it, then it provides you a mouthful of vapor mixed with nicotine and flavor.
Does it taste like a Marlboro? Absolutely not. But if you are a smoker and are simply tired of being ruled by your addiction, an electronic cigarette is a way to help your body heal itself while you try to quit. There is no second hand smoke so it is safe to use indoors, and there are no harmful carcinogens like tar and formaldehyde found in normal cigarettes so your lungs will thank you. Your clothes will not smell of rank smoke, and your car will stop stinking like an ashtray. Would it be better if you quit completely? Yes, but the electronic cigarette is much better than the patch or nicotine gum because it keeps some of the ritual that plays an important part in making smoking psychologically addictive.
If you want to try it, one of the brands offer a free sample. Just pay for shipping and handling.
Man, looking at this post makes me think I should be paid by the electronic cigarette company to write this. But I’m doing it for free, simply because beating cigarettes was a victory that 17 years later I am still proud of. Electronic cigarettes may help people to win their own battles starting today, and as an ex-smoker who has literally walked five miles in a snow storm to buy cigarettes, I’ve been there and understand the importance of allies in the fight.
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