E-cigarettes: What You Should Know

E-cigarettes go by many names; electronic cigarettes, personal vaporizer, PVs, or electronic nicotine delivery system. Doesn't matter the name, they are all essentially the same thing, a battery operated device used to inhale nicotine. Here's what you should know about these relatively new devices.

• Most e-cigarettes have nicotine, just like regular cigarettes and other tobacco products. Nicotine is very addictive and once you start, it is very hard to stop.
• The chemicals in e-cigarettes may harm your health. Tests show some e-cigarette liquids have toxins and some of these toxins are known to cause cancer.
• Nicotine poisoning is a risk. Pure nicotine is a poison that can kill. There are no rules for safety labels or childproofing on e-cigarettes or the liquid refill packs. This puts children and pets at risk.
• The health effects are not known. E-cigarettes are very new, no one really knows how harmful they are. Long-term studies on the health effects have not been done. There is no proof that the vapor is safe for the person smoking, or for those who breathe the secondhand vapor.
• E-cigarettes can keep you hooked on tobacco. People who sell e-cigarettes claim they can help a person stop smoking, but there is no proof this is true. In fact, some studies suggest they may keep smokers hooked. They may also cause people who have quit smoking to start again.
• E-cigarettes make it easier for kids and first-timers to try smoking. E-cigarettes come in many flavors. Some of the flavors - such as grape, strawberry, and fruit punch - look like they are made to attract kids.Even though they have sweet flavors they still contain nicotine. Once a person gets hooked on the nicotine in an e-cigarette, they may try other tobacco products too.
• E-cigarettes are covered by the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act. Anywhere you can't smoke a traditional cigarette, you also cannot smoke an e-cigarette.

If you would like to quit visit www.waytoquit.org. If Select Health is your insurance provider you can also visit www.quitnow.net/program. If you complete a smoking cessation course you can earn 2 hours of vacation. See the activity menu for details.