Electronic Cigarettes versus Big Tobacco - You Don't Want to Miss This

Electronic Cigarettes, or e-cigarettes have stormed the U.S. market in the last few months and have generated a tremendous amount of excitement and confusion. Smokers and loved ones of smokers are excited about the prospect of a potentially safer, healthier and even cheaper alternative to tobacco cigarettes while many are also confused as to their legality and status with regards to U.S. customs and the Federal Drug Administration. 

Electronic cigarettes have actually been around for about 5 years, having been invented by the Runyan corp. in China in 2004. They were designed to take the place of smoking tobacco cigarettes and cigars because, despite global smoking bans, many smokers are just unable to quit altogether. There are other nicotine replacement products on the market, such as gum and patches, but they don't replicate the smoking experience which has been found to be a part of the addictive ritual of smoking. The e-cigarette is a revolutionary device in that it's aim is to both deliver nicotine to user and simulate the experience of smoking a traditional tobacco cigarette. 

The basic idea is simple. E-cigarettes looks like a cigarette, deliver nicotine like a cigarette, and even operates, ie- "puffs", like a cigarette. The genius is in the details however. Electronic cigarettes do NOT have any of the tobacco or other chemical additives of regular cigarettes, there is no flame or smoke, and thus no secondhand smoke. They simply hold battery charged cartridges and emit a water propylene glycol based vapor that is both odorless and harmless. Because these are "smokeless" cigarettes, users are not subject to the widespread smoking bans and are able to smoke e-cigarettes in places like restaurants, bars, airports, workplaces, etc. Add to this the tremendous cost savings over tobacco cigarettes and it looks like we have a real winner here. 

So what about those legality issues? Electronic cigarettes fall into a legal grey area as they have not been officially approved or banned by U.S. officials but they are still being commonly sold in the U.S. There is widespread debate as to whether or not the Federal Drug Administration has jurisdiction over e-cigarettes and there is a bill currently in Congress that promises to further complicate the issue. The Family Smoking Prevention And Tobacco Control Act, passed by the House of Representatives on 04/02/09, and now in the Senate would allow U.S. officials "to review and consider the evidence for additional indications for nicotine replacement products." It wouldn't take much to arrive at an interpretation of this that puts e-cigarettes under the government's control. 

It will be interesting to watch how this plays out, particularly in light of the special interests involved in the electronic cigarettes' success or failure. Another unique thing about ecigarettes is that, unlike big tobacco, which is ruled by a few large corporations, some smaller companies have been able to successfully produce and market these products. It shouldn't come as a shock to learn that Phillip Morris strongly supports the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which would in effect make producting tobacco products more expensive, thus ridding them of small-time competitors, and potentially getting rid of the whole pesky e-cigarette issue. 

One thing is for certain, those who have already discovered electronic cigarettes are watching closely because this is truly a product that has already changed the lives of many smokers who now have no desire to go near a tobacco cigarette or to hand over their hard earned cash to big tobacco. If history is any indication, generally the best products with the most loyal customers are going to win out in the end anyway. Electronic Cigarettes are winning over thousands of smokers on a daily basis because news of a good thing travels fast.