Welcome to my lens about Ecigarette Safety Issues! I'm Joanna Benz, and I'm a nonsmoker -- but my mother is a heavy chain smoker, which is how I became interested in electronic cigarettes.

This new invention is simply amazing! The electronic cigarette removes the 4000 and some toxic elements from smoking, including tar, so that only nicotine remains, which is really not all that bad for the body. The smoker emits a harmless vapor, that resembles cigarette smoke -- but that vapor is not toxic to someone with severe tobacco allergies, like me.

It's better for the planet, too. Did you know that the average smoker emits more pollution than an automobile?

Best of all, I believe electronic cigarettes have a very strong social value. Instead of being isolated and constantly going outside to smoke, a smoker can now light up in the middle of someone's living room, at a store, or even in a restaurant. This means, ultimately, that families get to spend MORE TIME TOGETHER! Wow!

Despite all the positive benefits, electronic cigarettes are still facing some social and legal opposition. And it is true that we need to take some safety precautions, as explained in the following article.

Ecigarettes: 10 Dangers, and How to Overcome Them

The new electronic cigarette (also known as the ecigarette, electric cigarette or ecig) is the safest cigarette around. It uses a liquid nicotine cartridge, which, in many cases, is refillable. Some people are now questioning the safety factor, because of the current opposition from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It's true that there can be some safety concerns with liquid nicotine products, but they pale in comparison to the safety issues we face with traditional cigarettes. Let's take a closer look at the so-called dangers.

PART 1 Ecigarettes: 10 Dangers -- Part 1

1) Electronic cigarettes have not been fully tested.

The FDA says that ecigarettes should not be sold in the United States, because they have not been fully tested. The FDA considers them to be a medical nicotine delivery device, which means that, officially, they are not being compared to regular cigarettes. This is just plain silly.

You should recognize this "danger" as propaganda. Electronic cigarettes have already been extensively tested for toxins in New Zealand. They are already in widespread use in European countries. In fact, they've been around for about four years now. But they have only become popular in America just recently.

There may be some political influence at work here, as well. The big tobacco companies definitely have a stake in selling cigarettes and insuring that people remain addicted to them. Anything that guarantees you can instantly stop smoking (esmoking is not smoking), or lessens addiction, is not in their best interest. Eventually, the big tobacco factions will either suffer financial losses, or will be forced to adapt to the new technology, and this new technology does not guarantee that addiction will continue.

Here's the bottom line. The consumer has a choice between regular cigarettes, which contain 4000 dangerous, known toxins - or electronic cigarettes, which do not contain these toxins. Electronic cigarettes definitely appear to be the lesser evil. They contain only nicotine, harmless food additives, and sometimes water. They do emit vapor, but never provide the deadly tar associated with regular cigarettes.

2) The FDA has also cited minor impurities in some electronic cigarettes. 

This is true. But nobody is comparing the impurities to those in regular cigarettes. And many people are overreacting to the perceived danger here. When electronic cigarettes first came out, minor impurities were sometimes a problem. But the FDA failed to mention that these impurities were no greater than those found in some nicotine patches. This should be seen as a minor, sporadic problem -- which can occur from time to time with ANY nicotine product.

3) Ecigarettes should not be used by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, since nicotine could be transferred to the child.

This one is true. However, this is ALSO true for smoking regular cigarettes, or for using any other type of nicotine product.

If you are pregnant, then you need to weigh the consequences of using regular cigarettes, ecigarettes, or just quitting cold turkey.

PART 2 Ecigarettes: 10 Dangers -- Part 2

4) Most electronic cigarettes contain nicotine, which is addictive.

True. But we are already addicted to nicotine, so we are already in danger.

The main purpose of electronic cigarettes is to provide nicotine, so that people don't have to face unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. And nicotine itself has never been proven harmful to the body, if used in moderation. There are even some foods and some plants, other than tobacco, which naturally contain small amounts of nicotine.

Ecigarettes have another unique benefit. It is very easy to step down your nicotine dosage until you are smoking a zero nicotine formula. At that point, you would be smoking just because you enjoy it, and not because you still have any nicotine addiction.

5) People could overdose on the nicotine.

There is some truth in this, but it is highly unlikely. If you are mixing your own liquid nicotine formula, then you do need to pay attention to dosages, and make sure that your ecigarette cartridges do not contain more than an 18 mg strength of nicotine. This is a wise safety precaution, which most people seem willing to follow. If you purchase a liquid that is a higher strength, say 36 mg, then the mixture should be diluted before you smoke it.

Other substances in the home can be just as dangerous as nicotine. For example, you could encounter a legal overdose from one of your prescription drugs; from certain herbs or vitamins (like Vitamin A); or from drinking liquor, if you really drank in excess.

6) Liquid nicotine can be dangerous if spilled on the skin.

True. You should be careful not to spill the liquid on your skin. But if you do spill nicotine liquid, you can simply wipe it off your skin quickly, and then wash the area with soap and water. You wouldn't want to ignore this precaution, because nicotine can be absorbed through the skin very quickly, and you could actually suffer a lethal overdose.

Although this sounds dangerous, people don't seem to be having any real problems related to spilling. They either use an eyedropper to dispense liquid nicotine, or they buy it in a dropper type bottle that dispenses one drop at a time.

And we all face many possible dangers like this in the home every day. Cleaning solvents and glues can be misused. Even certain foods can be fatal if not used properly. So, again, this is not a good argument for government intervention.

PART 3 Ecigarettes: 10 Dangers -- Part 3

7) Authorities are leery about people controlling their own   nicotine dosages, and mixing their own nicotine formulas.

This is a valid concern, but let's put this in perspective. It doesn't seem any more dangerous than rolling your own tobacco cigarettes, controlling your own prescription medicines, or preparing your own herbal remedies.

Electronic cigarette products are currently being sold in America, and we do not need our government to police this new industry. But if they must eventually do so, then they should at least make ecigarette products available by prescription.

8) Some of the sweet candy nicotine flavors might attract children to smoking.

This could possibly hold some validity in the future, but it does not seem to be the case, so far.

Still, we all need to take the responsible route here: to educate our children about the dangers of smoking, to avoid glorifying the act of smoking in any way, and to relay the truth that nicotine is a drug and that smoking nicotine represents a drug addiction.

9) Nicotine could be lethal, if a child should drink it.

This is very true. It could also be lethal if an adult should drink it. Caution is strongly advised, and you must keep liquid nicotine products away from children. This should not present a major problem for most people, especially if you take care to only purchase liquid nicotine products that have the child proof caps on them.

While we should definitely be careful, most of us already use numerous products in our daily lives that can be similarly poisonous -- liquid bleach, for example.

PART 4 Ecigarettes: 10 Dangers -- Part 4 

10) Electronic cigarettes can sometimes emit faint odors, which can irritate people with chemical sensitivities.

Okay, this is a valid concern. But this would be highly unusual, since electronic cigarettes do not actually "burn" anything. They do not emit actual smoke, only a harmless vapor that dissipates in seconds. Most people cannot even detect any odor from ecigarettes on your clothes.

There is a chance that you might need to avoid using a specific liquid nicotine flavoring if someone in your household has an allergy to something in it, like peanuts or menthol. This is a rare occurrence, but a few people can be highly sensitive to such things, even if they are only present in microscopic amounts.

Summary

To summarize, you should always follow the necessary precautions in order to use liquid nicotine products safely. Just treat them with the same caution and care that you would use for your prescription drugs, and weigh the dangers against the very real benefits you are getting.

The biggest advantage that electonic cigarettes offer is the chance to step down your nicotine intake or eventually eliminate your nicotine addiction for good. Even if you NEVER reduce your nicotine intake, at least you won't be ingesting the 4000 other poisons that you used to calmly accept when you smoked regular cigarettes. Those substances include things like tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cyanide, and formaldehyde. It's no wonder regular cigarettes have proven extremely dangerous to your lungs, your arteries and your heart.

Think of the ecigarette as a health cigarette. You are putting more oxygen into your body, and keeping the air clean for your fellow citizens. And don't forget that you are completely eliminating secondhand smoke for your children and pets -- smoke that was just as deadly for them as if they were smoking those regular cigarettes directly.

There's another incredible advantage for elderly folks, too. Since ecigarettes do not have any real flame, they cannot start fires when someone falls asleep smoking. And they present no danger around oxygen tanks.

As you can see from this article, there are some definite safety precautions required in order to use electronic cigarettes safely. The new electronic cigarette may have a few minor drawbacks, but it is still the safest cigarette around, and definitely a blessing for millions of people who want to kick their smoking addiction

By Joanna Benz Editor, safest-cigarette.com http://www.safest-cigarette.com/