Cigarettes Without Smoke, or Regulation

The New York Times ^ | June 2, 2009 | KATIE ZEZIMA

[Eric Blair 2084]

During 34 years of smoking, Carolyn Smeaton has tried countless ways to reduce her three-pack-a-day habit, including a nicotine patch, nicotine gum and a prescription drug. But stop-smoking aids always failed her.

Then, having watched a TV infomercial at her home here, Ms. Smeaton tried an electronic cigarette, which claimed to be a less dangerous way to feed her addiction. The battery-powered device she bought online delivered an odorless dose of nicotine and flavoring without cigarette tar or additives, and produced a vapor mist nearly identical in appearance to tobacco smoke.

“I feel like this could save my life,” said Ms. Smeaton, 47, who has cut her tobacco smoking to a pack and a half daily, supplemented by her e-cigarette.

That electronic cigarettes are unapproved by the government and virtually unstudied has not deterred thousands of smokers from flocking to mall kiosks and the Internet to buy them. And because they produce no smoke, they can be used in workplaces, restaurants and airports. One distributor is aptly named Smoking Everywhere.

The reaction of medical authorities and antismoking groups has ranged from calls for testing to skepticism to outright hostility. Opponents say the safety claims are more rumor than anything else, since the components of e-cigarettes have never been tested for safety.

[Eric Blair 2084]

So let's see, a "cigarette" with no carcinogens and no smoke....who could have a problem with that?

Let's make a list:

1. Anti-smoking zealots and social engineers who are aghast that their plan to turn anyone with a stick that delivers nicotine in their mouth into a leper might be ending.

2. Governments who desperately need the tax revenue and MSA payments to plug gaping budget holes caused by tax and spend liberal policies.

3. Their partners in crime the Tobacco companies.

4. Big pharmaceutical interests who would see the demand for their lame nicotine replacement products vanish.

5. Any yenta in a supermarket who would faint at the site of what looks like smoke coming out of a fellow shoppers mouth.

6. Grant junkies in academia who didn't receive their hundreds of millions in government cheese courtesy of taxpayers to study whether inhaling steam is good or bad.

Anybody else have a problem with this? Did I miss someone?

[KSCITYBOY]

btt

[Fiddlstix]

Nope. You covered it well. I think you got ‘em all.

[brytlea]

I detest cigarette smoking, it has got to be among the stupidest habits ever. However, as long as I don’t have to breath their smoke, I don’t care what they do.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Big Brother, Nanny State, Grant Junkie, Bogus Study, Junk Science, Social Engineering, Egalitarian, Central Planning, Sheeple Control, Food Cop, Smoke Nazi, Socialism, Collectivism

This is an extremely low volume ping list. 6 per week max. To be added to or deleted from this ping list, please click one of the following:

Eric, you are a genius add me to your ping list or Eric, you are a jackass, take me off this ping list

To request that I stop using these gay html colors and fonts, please send me a private message below.

____________________________________________________________________

Constitution of the Left Wing Nanny State of Liberals:

Picture courtesy of unixfox. All rights reserved. Copyright MMVII. Any use of the pictures descriptions or accounts of this ping without the express written consent of unixfox, Eric Blair, or Major League Baseball is strictly prohibited. Some restrictions apply. Ping not available in all states. For erections lasting longer than four hours, call the Guiness Book of World Records. Use only as directed.

Preamble:

We the People Sheeple of the United States Nanny State, in Order to form a more perfect Union Socialist Utopia, establish Justice Socially engineer a country of non smoking, physically fit, seat belt and helmet wearing teetotalers, ensure domestic Tranquility Smoking bans in bars, limits on unhealthy food and social drinking, provide for the common defense Universal Healthcare, promote the general Welfare health of the population whether they like it or not, in order to save above mentioned Universal Healthcare entitlement program from bankruptcy, and secure the Blessings of Liberty Dependency to ourselves progressive liberals and our Posterity Hitler Youth who we brainwash through public school education, do ordain decree and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Nanny State of Liberals.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Jesus loves you. Everyone else finds you annoying.

[brytlea]

Wow, amazing that you speak for everyone else!

[alarm rider]

LOL, true.

Heh.

[GreyMountainReagan]

When I signed up for this it was advertised as a low volume ping list. As it should be.

Be if we were to really be pinged for every ‘big brother’ post it would be 50 per day. At least. That is how much times have changed.

0bama really is big brother.

You know what big brothers do?

Beat the crap out of you.

[GreyMountainReagan]

I detest cigarette smoking, it has got to be among the stupidest habits ever.

I never have smoked, however I have learned to love the smell of cigarettes.

Smell of Freedom.

[GreyMountainReagan]

Be = But

Sheeeeeeeeesh.

[LaineyDee]

I bought one of these little jewels... and I love it. I whipped it out during an unusually loooooong meeting we had at work and my boss said, “I think those are against the building safety regulations”. My reply was, “Oh really? I’d like to see that in writing.” I’ve never heard another peep. They burn scented candles in the conference room that give most of us a headache and if anything is “against safety regulations”...I’m sure THEY are.

[Drango]

I don’t care what addicts do to their bodies as long as I don’t have to pay for it when they become a burden to society and as long as they don’t proselytize their addiction to kids.

[GreyMountainReagan]

They burn scented candles in the conference room..

Every place I have worked have rules against candles. Candles are unattended, open flames.

[rdax]

A study for one manufacturer

http://www.healthnz.co.nz/RuyanCartridgeReport30-Oct-08.pdf

Summary Aim.

This report aims to assist regulators in initial assessment of the safety of the Ruyan® e-cigarette and its cartridges, and the possible risks and benefits from permitting
its use.

Method.

Health New Zealand Ltd contracted with seven leading government, university and commercial laboratories in New Zealand and Canada to independently perform various tests on the Ruyan cigarette’s nicotine refill cartridge.

Findings.

Ruyan® e-cigarette is designed to be a safe alternative to smoking. The various test results confirm this is the case. It is very safe relative to cigarettes, and also safe in absolute terms on all measurements we have applied.

Using micro-electronics it vaporizes, separately for each puff, very small quantities of nicotine dissolved in propylene glycol, two small well-known molecules with excellent safety profiles, – into a fine aerosol. Each puff contains one third to one half the nicotine in a tobacco cigarette’s puff. The cartridge liquid is tobacco-free and no combustion occurs.

Competency.

The author has authored or co-authored over 30 research papers and reports in national and international scientific medical journals since 1995, on smoking, and latterly on testing of cigarettes and cigarette substitutes.

www.healthnz.co.nz/Publicnsall.htm

Financial disclosure.

This report is funded by Ruyan.

Disclaimer.

Apart from research Health New Zealand derives no financial benefit from Ruyan.

[brytlea]

If that floats your boat, you are welcome to breath it all you want, I’m certainly not stopping you. I have never understood why smoking became such a cause celebre among certain segments of the conservative/libertarian world. The fact that I think it’s stupid and don’t want to breath it myself does not mean I want to make it illegal. You are free to do all sorts of goofy things. Enjoy!

[Eric Blair 2084]

Look, if you're going to keep coming into my office to stalk me, at least answer my question. I'll ask you for the 18th time now, what is your problem?

I'm here to help you and provide a public service for a fee. I am a fully trained psychologist specializing in Nanny State Behavior Syndrome (NSBS). This liberal, left wing, social engineering disease is horrible and can strike anyone at anytime. It can even strike Conservatives who believe in free markets and limited government.

Thankfully, Dr. Feel (a wholly owned subsiduary of Dr. Phil) is here to help you work through your problems.

Please answer the questionaire below, so I know how best to treat you. And please have your insurance card ready for the wallet biopsy. This is a Capitalist country and I don't work for free.

I discriminate against smokers because:

A. The smell of smoke is icky and yucky, it makes my hair and clothes stink and I hate walking into a bar/restaurant where people are smoking. So rather than take advantage of the free market and go somewhere that is voluntarily smoke free, I would rather use the power of the state to impose my personal preference on my fellow citizens.

A1. My __________ (choose one: Dad, Mom, Uncle, Aunt, Grandfather, Grandmother, older sister, brother, babysitter, next door neighbor, mailman) abused me by smoking ________(choose one: Marlboro, Merit, Kool, crack, Camel, Kent, marijuana) in the __________ (choose one: house, car, bar, juvenile detention center) when I was a kid.

B. My beloved ___________ (choose one: husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, maid, dog, cat, goldfish, gay lover) died from _________(choose one: cancer, heart disease, emphysema, car crash, train wreck, terrorist attack, sting ray) because of their smoking.

C. I smoked for _____ (years) and now I am ________ (choose one: missing it, sick, dead, born again, enlightened, ashamed of myself, if I can't do it, nobody can) and want to share my experience with others.

D. The Big Tobacco companies are lying scumbags and must pay! (you're not coming down off the mountain with the tablets there)

E. I represent Big Pharmaceutical interests that benefit from the anti-smoking movement because it increases the sales of our Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) products.

F. I am a deeply caring individual in the mold of Mother Theresa and I am speaking out due to my benevolent, philanthropic, altruistic concern about the health of my fellow man.

G. I am a research scientist and grant junky, and if I don't tow the party line my grant money will disappear.

H. I'm just a garden variety Fascist and Totalitarian and get a ______ (choose one: cheap thrill, natural high, erection, orgasm) by imposing my will on other people.

I. I am a retard who believes in bogus studies, junk science, the Easter Bunny and the Toothfairy. I fear that because I walked into a bar on Spring Break in 1987, and was exposed to Second Hand Smoke I now suffer from ______(choose one: AIDS, Herpes, Athletes Foot, Jock Itch, male pattern baldness, or genital warts)

J. I am a disgruntled, prissy and angry employee of a ______(choose one: bar, restaurant, club, casino) who can't leave the job because I am a _______(choose one: slave, indentured servant, sweatshop laborer, illegal immigrant) and had no idea there was smoking going on in the place before I took the job.

K. An elected public serpent, serving as a _____ (choose one: State Assemblywoman, Senator, Freeholder, city councilman, mayor) and I have failed miserably in my job and trying to tackle really tough problems like _____ (choose one: gang violence, income taxes, property taxes, crime, corruption), so I will support a smoking ban based on the talking points and literature that "M" has given me and claim that I have actually accomplished something to help my constituents.

L. A Socialist liberal Democrat who is desperate for Universal Healthcare so the proletariet will continue to keep me in power. But if I don't do something about the "demand side" health care costs caused by such global health menaces as _________ (choose one: Marlboro, Merit, Kool, Big Macs, Whoppers, Chicken McNuggets, Budweiser, Coors, Jack Daniels) my health care entitlement program will go ________ (choose your adjective: broke, belly up, bankrupt, insolvent).

M. A professional anti-tobacco activist who makes $450,000 per year. MY GOAL IS TO REDUCE SMOKING RATES FROM 25% TO BELOW 10%. KICKING THEM OUT OF THEIR FAVORITE BAR AND RESTAURANT IS JUST A SMALL STEP TO COERCE THEM TO QUIT. I DON'T EVEN BELIEVE THE SHS NONSENSE MYSELF! Don't you dare try to ban cigarettes, if you do I will have to go back to my previous job ______(choose one: prostitute, drug dealer, pimp, state assemblyman, mayor) where I won't make nearly as much money and the bank will foreclose on my seaside villa and repo my _______(choose one: Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Hummer, Infiniti, Acura,Jaguar, Volvo, Bentley). I take advantage of the prejudices of categories A-L above to accomplish my goal.

N. I am a Religious Fundamentalist who believes that smoking is strictly forbidden in the ______(choose one: Qu'ran, Bible, Torah, Old Testament, New Testament, David Wells' autobiography "Perfect I'm Not", Hustler Magazine)

O. I don't fit any of the above categories, I just like to argue with people.

[Eric Blair 2084]

All of the no smoking laws were written to define smoking as the lighting of tobacco products.

There is no tobacco and no flame. They don’t have a leg to stand on if you light this up in public.

You might have to sit in Municipal Court for 5 hours to prove your case which is punishment enough...but you would win.

[rdax]

Go here for more info:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

I’ve been smoking them for a month now and I love ‘em.

[LaineyDee]

We light them in memory of any patients who have passed the week before.. (Hospice) and don’t mind the candles if they’re unscented. I just resent the double-standard. The e-cig is no more dangerous than a penlight.