Although there is some controversy regarding the health benefits of electronic cigarettes, there are unquestionably social and cosmetic benefits when smoking e-cigarettes. Cigarette smoke is associated with health risks to smokers and to non-smokers from second-hand smoke, is becoming even more expensive and costly due to taxes, and smoking has been banned in many public places. Tobacco smoke also has an unpleasant odor that clings to clothing, causes an unsightly yellow film in car interiors and on surfaces in homes, stains teeth due to tar, and has thousands of carcinogens. On the other hand, electronic cigarettes eliminate many of these annoying disadvantages and actually offer consumers huge health benefits and more.
E-Cigarettes in Public Places
Most states have bans prohibiting cigarette smoking in restaurants, nightclubs, bars, offices, airports, and government buildings. These bans require that smokers step outside to smoke, and some states are even considering bans on outdoor smoking. The benefit of electronic cigarettes is that they are legal to use in areas where cigarette smoking is banned. Since electronic cigarettes do not produce smoke or unpleasant odors and instead give off water vapor with no smell, smokers are free to get their nicotine fix almost anywhere.
Smoke Less
Though electronic cigarettes can not be marketed as a smoking cessation device, meaning e-cigarette manufacturers can not tell you that electronic cigarettes will help you stop smoking, the fact is that when smoking an electronic cigarette, you may not feel obligated to smoke the entire cigarette just to avoid having it go to waste. Electronic cigarettes allow you to take a few puffs to satisfy your craving for nicotine, and then stop, without the guilt of wasting money or throwing away half a cigarette.
Save Money
Electronic cigarettes are actually much cheaper than smoking regular cigarettes, especially given the recent tax increases on packs of cigarettes, making some brands $6 to $10 per pack depending on where you live. One electronic cigarette cartridge is equivalent to 1 or 1.5 packs of cigarettes, and on average, cost about $2-$3 per liquid cartridge, a savings of at least $4 per pack of cigarettes. Comparatively, electronic cigarettes are cheap in the long run, a huge benefit of electronic cigarettes. Most tobacco smokers can save a significant amount of money by switching to electronic cigarettes, not to mention the cheaper health insurance and life insurance costs associated with non-smokers. In almost every way, electronic cigarettes are the cheapest way to get your intake of nicotine.
No Yellow Teeth or Fingers
The tar and toxins contained in tobacco smoke create a yellow film on the teeth of smokers and leave yellow stains on their fingers. Because electronic cigarettes do not contain tar, the teeth of e-cigarette users do not become discolored. Also among the benefits of electronic cigarettes is that unlike tobacco, e-cigarettes do not cause the bad breath associated with smoking. Unlike tobacco smoke, e-cig vapors do not leave a film of tar on car interiors and windows or on surfaces in homes that can be difficult to clean and create an unpleasant odor. E-cigarettes limit pollutants by releasing only water vapor and are the green, environmentally friendly alternative to smoking cigarettes.
No More Burn Holes
Most tobacco smokers have had hot ashes fall on clothing, creating a scorched spot or burn hole. Cigarettes can fall out of ash trays and burn furniture and carpets. Electronic cigarettes do not generate enough heat to burn fabric, hair, or skin; heat is generated only when the smoker is actively puffing on the device. Saving clothing and furniture from damage should be counted among the benefits of electronic cigarettes as well as a safety precaution, because most smokers know too well how expensive such damage can be.
Electronic Cigarette Safety
In addition to burning at temperatures high enough to ignite surrounding substances, tobacco cigarettes must be lit with cigarette lighters or matches. Every year, thousands of fires are attributed to careless disposal of lit cigarettes or inappropriate use of matches or lighters. The safety of electronic cigarettes eliminates the fire risk posed by tobacco cigarettes and paraphernalia because they do not use combustion in their nicotine delivery system. E-cigarettes are powered by rechargeable batteries.
No Toxins or Tar
Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 57 of which are known carcinogens. Although electronic cigarettes do not claim to offer health benefits because of limited medical testing and trials, their vapors contain, in most cases, about seven chemicals, none of which have been identified as carcinogens. E-cigarettes do contain nicotine but the primary benefit of electronic cigarettes for those who already smoke, however, is lower exposure to dangerous, possibly cancer causing, chemicals and toxins.
Can Electronic Cigarettes Be Used to Quit Smoking?
Electronic cigarettes are not marketed as smoking cessation devices, but many smokers have used them to cut down on their nicotine dependence by decreasing the dosage of nicotine in the cartridges over a period of time. Many of the drugs and devices used by smokers to quit use progressively lower doses of nicotine in a gum or patch form. Many smokers also claim they completely stop smoking cigarettes after trying e-cigarettes, a better, healthier alternative that will still provide your required nicotine intake.
Benefits of electronic cigarettes may include more control over nicotine dosage, since the percentage of nicotine varies widely in tobacco cigarettes, while e-cig users can determine which nicotine cartridges, liquids, flavors, and nicotine concentrations they want to buy for their electronic cigarette.
Benefits of Electronic Cigarettes
The benefits of electronic cigarettes include the convenience to smoke nearly anywhere, the lack of yellowing tar or toxins in the vapor, and significant savings over tobacco cigarettes, especially since cheap electronic cigarettes are very easy to find. There are no long-term studies on the use of electronic cigarettes, so health benefits for smokers have not been proven at this time, but the safety and health benefits of electronic cigarettes have long been touted by the e-cig community.