Recently, electronic cigarette, e-cigarette is one of the methods used by those who want to quit smoking. Aside from quitting smoking, the harms of this method, which is widely used, especially by young people, are also frequently discussed. We pursued those who were curious about the e-cigarette that many countries and health organizations started a war on.
In terms of both design and nicotine release, the e-cigarette was marketed for the first time in 2004 as a smoking cessation method in China and spread rapidly throughout the world. The e-cigarette, which dates back to 1963, has an electric-powered mechanism that heats and evaporates the flavored solution in the cartridge. In the solution vapor of e-cigarettes, which are similar in appearance to conventional cigarettes; very small particles that can penetrate the lungs, flavoring volatile substances, diethylene glycol, formaldehyde, nitrosamines, cancer-causing chemicals, and heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead. The nicotine solution in e-cigarettes can range from 0 mg / mL to 36 mg / mL.
Electronic cigarettes are sold in the market with 8 thousand different flavors, while fruity and sugary flavors can ease nicotine addiction in children is a very high concern. E-cigarettes, which are commonly used with normal cigarettes, are spreading three times faster in adolescents than adults in a US study. In addition, e-cigarette use among young people living in the USA increased by 78 percent in 2018 compared to the previous years. Electronic cigarettes are most widely accepted in North America and Europe.
In the UK, e-cigarette use increased by 75 percent in 2018 compared to the previous years, in a study conducted in Germany in 2016, 13.5 percent of men, 7.6 percent of women use electronic cigarettes.
E-cigarette adversely affects smoking cessation campaigns
E-cigarettes, which seem more innocent than normal cigarettes, are frequently referred to those who want to quit. It is promoted that the solution contained in the cartridge contains less toxic substances than the chemical harmful substances in cigarette and is becoming more and more common. Many people prefer e-cigarettes, which do not yet have enough research on the addiction rate. It is preferred not only because they ease smoking cessation, but because they are less likely to be addictive and as satisfying as cigarettes.
Turkey entered the market in 2007 and quickly spread through media and direct sales methods. The Ministry of Health tried to limit the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes, and tried to explain that its reliability in nicotine replacement therapy used in smoking cessation has not been proven yet.
Dr. Mert Çınar states that there is not much research on the health hazards due to the new e-cigarette but it is addictive since it contains nicotine. The research show that e-cigarette contains all chemical substances that a normal cigarette contain apart from carbon monoxide. In addition, e-cigarette smoking-related reminder behavior continues to be very similar to the habit of smoking. Besides, explosion of the electronic cigarette device can also cause injuries.
E-cigarettes have been proven to have negative effects on health in the short term, although long-term research has not yet been conducted on health effects due to lack of long-term use. TÜSAD Working Group and a group of academics carried out a study on e-cigarette, one of the e-cigarette toxic substances, propylene glycol can irritate the eyes and other mucous membranes and is a substance that is prohibited in many areas of use. Propylene glycol is converted to glycogen oxide, which is defined as carcinogen by the International Cancer Research Center after heating and evaporation processes. Irritation of mouth and throat mucosa, cough, nausea and vomiting are among the most common side effects of e-cigarette use. Diseases such as pneumonia, heart failure, hypotension are also identified as its life-threatening effects.
Smoking ends in the mind…
With its more than 150 centers around the world where 20 million people have quit smoking since the 80s, Allen Carr method has similar findings with e-cigarette. Allen Carr, who smoked five packs of cigarettes a day for 33 years and tried all the known ways to quit, wrote the followings his book “Stop Smoking Now”: electronic cigarettes, nicotine patches, nicotine gum, and smoking cessation drugs, in fact, continue to think and even strengthen the idea of smoking behaviors. According to Carr, smoking begins completely in the mind and ends only in the mind. The electronic cigarette also supports the mind's illusion about smoking.
United Kingdom is not against e-cigarette
Approaches to e-cigarettes also differ among countries. UK physicians and health policy makers see electronic cigarettes as a treatment product. UK also states that e-cigarettes are less harmful than classical cigarettes, that there are no carcinogens, and that they suppress the urge to smoke and can be a method for those who cannot quit. On the other hand, Germany is one of the countries that argue that electronic cigarettes trigger the continuation of the habit of those who want to quit classic cigarettes.
The frequency of e-cigarette use in Turkey where it is illegal has not yet been investigated. However, the Ministry of Health pointed out that e-cigarette is not an effective method to quit smoking based on its research and published reports about the adverse effects of e-cigarette.
