Ecig News

When Phil Harris, captain of the Cornelia Marie and star of the Discovery Channel’s “The Deadliest Catch,” died on January 29, 2010, of a massive stroke at age 53. Doctors attributed it to his 40-year, three pack a day smoking habit. Son Josh, who has always planned to follow in his father’s footsteps as a fishing boat captain, says that his father’s untimely death was a wake-up call. “Our Dad’s death has really opened my brother’s and my eyes about wellness,” Josh said. “I don’t want anybody to have to go through the terrible time our family just went through. It’s the most horrible thing ever.”

A smoker himself, Josh started looking for alternatives to smoked tobacco when he was introduced to inLife’s electronic cigarette. Josh says he was impressed by inLife’s design and performance, especially compared to other products on the market. Both Josh and his brother Jake used their inLife e-cigs during the Discovery Channel show “After the Catch,” where they discussed their father’s life and death.

Today Josh is a spokesperson for inLife and has launched a “GOTeNICOTINE.com Stop Smoking Campaign” to promote electronic cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoked tobacco.

Primevapor.com introduces their new Primax Electronic Cigarette System, a two-part device that the company says produces more vapor and more flavor. The Primax system uses U.S.-manufactured, vegetable-based compounds to flavor their liquid nicotine.

When users draw on the Primax, like they would a traditional cigarette, they get a hit of atomized nicotine along with unique flavorings and a large amount of vapor. The company says it provides the most realistic smoking-like experience, but with no combustion and no carcinogens. Users can “vape” a Primax Electronic Cigarette almost anywhere, indoors or out.

Jon Skovronski, one of Primevapor.com’s founders and the head of product development, says that the Primax is simply to use. “You simply screw a disposable flavor cartridge to the end of the battery and you’re ready to go. Skovronski is also proud of his company’s flavors. Morning Blend combines flavors of tobacco, coffee, and chocolate. There’s a complex interplay between the powerful flavors of tobacco and coffee. “We add a touch of honey to provide just enough sweetness without becoming overbearing,” he says. “Morning Blend provides a tremendous amount of flavor but manages to keep it smooth and creamy.”

Any electronic cigarette users who have the KR808D batteries can use the Primax cartridge, so even users of other devices can try the new flavors.

Spokane, Wash.-based electronic cigarette manufacturer Smart Smoke says they’ve had 5,000 new customers in the last year, which they estimate has kept more than 10 million cigarettes from being smoked. The company says that the environmental impact is just one of the reasons that e-cigs are preferable to smoked tobacco.

Research on the negative health effects of cigarette smoking is conclusive. And with cigarette butts as the most common piece of litter, making up 1.7 billion pounds of non-biodegradable trash worldwide, the environmental impact of smoking is huge, too. The average cigarette filter takes up to 25 years to biodegrade. Cigarettes also contribute to deforestation. E-cigarette advocates estimate tobacco growing or curing is responsible for one in every eight trees that are cut down in the world.

Smart Smoke president Josh Jameson says, “Our products contain no tobacco, so there is no burning or combustion contributing to carbon emissions. And of course there is no secondhand smoke.” E-cigarettes involve no farming, so there is no deforestation or use of pesticides. “That’s significant,” says Jameson, “because growing tobacco requires the use of more pesticides per acre than any other crop.” Another benefit of smokeless e-cigs is the reduced risk of house fires. Cigarettes are the cause of 25% of fire-related deaths.

Electronic cigarettes, like those sold by Smart Smoke, give users the sensation of smoking, while they are actually inhaling vaporized nicotine and flavors. E-cigs don’t expose users or others to the carcinogens found in smoked tobacco.

For seven years David Goerlitz was the handsome face of Winston cigarettes. The pitchman starred in 42 commercials, and the company went from #4 to #2 in sales during his time in front of the camera. But in 1988, Goerlitz took a stand against the tobacco industry and earned accolades from numerous public health groups. Now, he’s baffled as to why those same groups won’t endorse electronic cigarettes, which supporters say are a safe alternative to smoked tobacco and an effective tool to help smokers quit.

When Goerlitz joined “The Great American Smokeout” in November 1988, many were surprised to see the rugged Winston Man speak out against his former employers. He’d come to see the damage that cigarette advertising could do, and his anti-smoking efforts earned him recognition from the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. He’s traveled around the world speaking to more than 5 million young people urging them not to start smoking. Goerlitz now believes that electronic cigarettes are a crucial tool to help Americans quit smoking, and he’s teamed up with InLife to bring awareness to an issue he feels is not receiving coverage by the media.

Neither the FDA nor any recognized health advocacy group has endorsed e-cigarettes, something that Goerlitz finds “horrifying,” since e-cigarettes deliver nicotine without the tar, carcinogens, and 6,000 other chemicals that are found in cigarettes. InLife estimates that more than 800,000 Americans have tried e-cigarettes. Former model and actor Goerlitz says, “The electronic cigarette contains only 13 ingredients, all of which have been generally recognized as safe by the FDA and have been in the U.S. food supply for generations.”

Supporters of e-cigarettes point to 16 studies (outlined at truthaboutecigs.com/studies.php) that they say have not found any toxins or carcinogens in levels that are known to harm humans. However, the majority of these studied have been performed or commissioned by e-cigarette manufacturers. An FDA study, however, has confirmed that in some respects, e-cigs are up to 1,400 times safer than smoked tobacco.

A South African governmental study of 349 smokers shows that e-cigarettes are an effective smoking cessation aid. At the end of the two-month study, 45 percent of the participants had quit smoking. Six percent had quit by the end of the first two weeks, and more than half of the participants reported that they had more energy and felt that they looked better.

Medical professionals who participated in the study expressed overwhelming support of electronic cigarettes for smokers who are trying to quit. “An e-cigarette is the most effective treatment method on the market for quitting tobacco smoking,” says Dr. Clifford Hulley. Despite what supporters feels is overwhelming evidence, the FDA has not endorsed e-cigs as an official smoking cessation method. Martin Veller, the head vascular surgeon at the University of Witwatersrand has seen results in his own family. “My wife smoked traditional cigarettes heavily until the moment she replaced them with Green Smoke electronic cigarettes.” He advises his patients to consider e-cigs for their nicotine addiction instead.

Pretoria doctor Kishore Deva quit smoking himself using electronic cigarettes. He estimates that ten to fifteen puffs are the equivalent of the nicotine delivered in one tobacco cigarette, and advises that it is not nicotine that is responsible for the health risks associated with traditional cigarettes.

Another study performed by Health New Zealand in early 2009 determined that electronic cigarettes are not only safe as compared to smoked tobacco, but they are also safe in absolute terms. Head of research Dr. Murray Laugeson explains, “An electronic cigarette vaporizes 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.”