E-cigarettes: helpful or harmful?

Are e-cigarettes good or bad for you?  This is a matter of current debate.  Some claim that electronic cigarettes are less harmful to the body than smoking ("the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States"), and some point out the dangers.  Many of the articles that pop up in a PubMed search point out that research is needed -- hardly any studies have been done.


A point to keep in mind: they are not regulated by the FDA (which is collecting Adverse Events Reports), and there is no way to know what chemicals are in them, and what those chemicals might do to the human body.  E-cigarettes are a new phenomenon, and long-term health effects are not known, so using e-cigarettes is like participating in an experiment.

One thing is for sure, the use of electronic cigarettes is growing rapidly.  As regulators catch up with the technology, and time passes, we will learn more about the dangers and benefits of vaping.

Thinking About Quitting Smoking? You're Not Alone, and We Have Resources to Help

In a report released January 16, the Centers for Disease Control noted that the rate of smoking has now reached a historic low — just 18 percent of the population smoked cigarettes in 2012, dropping below 20 percent level, where smoking rates had hovered for several years. In the report, the CDC credits the decline to increased cigarette taxes and to aggressive nationwide anti-smoking campaigns. The report comes 50 years after the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking in 1964, when cartoon characters still appeared in TV ads for cigarettes and 42 percent of the population smoked.

Though great strides have been made over the last 50 years, the CDC report notes that more than 42 million Americans still smoke cigarettes. If you’re one of those people and you’re looking to quit, there are several resources available to help you. Online, there’s the American Lung Association, which has a whole section of its website dedicated to smoking cessation. So does the American Heart Association. The National Cancer Institute has a page dedicated to where you can go to get help when you decide to quit (or to help someone you know quit smoking). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also has a website devoted to helping people stop smoking.

St. Louis Public Library also has some great books, CDs, and DVDs related to quitting smoking. Here are just a handful of those available in our catalog:

• The Smoke-free Smoke Break: Stop Smoking Now with Mindfulness and Acceptance by Pavel G. Somov and Marla J. Somova
• The Easiest Way to Stop Smoking: Finding the Way That Works Best for You by Heath Dingwell
• Kicking Butts: Quit Smoking and Take  Charge of Your Health by the American Cancer Society
• Simple Principles to Quit Smoking by Alex A. Lluch
• While You Quit: A Smoker's Guide to Reducing the Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke by Theodore Fenske
• Stop Smoking: Beautiful Music and Subliminal Affirmations to Support Your Success (CD) by Steven Halpern