Here is what confuses me and I have never heard a straight answer to this from anyone who opposes the e-cigarettes.
The problem with tobacco use is the carcinogenic toxins that is inhaled or ingested from the tobacco itself. The addictive chemical in tobacco is nicotine, but is nicotine in and of itself dangerous to be addicted to?
I don’t wish to be addicted to anything, which is why I also try to pay attention to the amount of caffeine I ingest, but if nicotine is not harmful to people, then why the desperate attempt to keep people from using a non-carcinogenic method of inhaling nicotine?
That's a good question. Nicotine dosage in cigarettes has never been considered toxic, although in very large amounts (well beyond what one gets in cigarettes) it can be toxic
So what's the answer? It seems like some are trying like hell to have it declared as a neuro-toxin, even though historically, it hasn't been known to be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine
Smoking Associated With Lower Parkinson's Disease Risk
They suspect both nicotine and carbon monoxide may impart the protective effect.
They are not saying that nicotine causes lung cancer but that it will speed it up if it occurs.
There’s zero evidence that nicotine itself is harmful (in cigarette-sized doses). That’s why some governments even subsidize nicotine patches, or nicotine inhalers, to get people off tobacco products. An e-cigarette is more like a nicotine inhaler, than it is like a cigarette. Nicotine is actually helpful in some ways — depending on how much is used, it can be either a stimulant or a mild sedative. It also suppresses the appetite — perhaps if more people used e-cigarettes, the obesity rate would drop.
You’d be surpised, or maybe not, by how many people I encounter who think that the nicotine in cigarettes is what causes cancer. I gave up a 25-year habit of unfiltered Camels a year ago by switching to e-cigs.
“is nicotine in and of itself dangerous to be addicted to?”
Nicotine is toxic by itself, but the dosage in cigarettes or e-cigarettes is far too low to cause any acute illness besides nausea. There might very well be long term effects from prolonged usage, but I’m not sure about that.
Indeed. I get it that inhaling smoke from anything is bad for your lungs (DUH!) I also understand that the constant irritation from extended use of other forms of tobacco can cause cancers of the mouth, lip and throat.
But what, other than addiction, is the physiological effect of nicotine?