Anti Smoking Arguments: Think of the Children!

Most people, when they don't understand the basic concept behind something, will come up with very soft arguments or statements engineered to tug at the heartstrings of those who are undecided. There has been a -not very- subtle smear campaign against all tobacco harm reduction products lately. One of the most "compelling" arguements they use is to "think of the children".....this product, with its fruity flavors and "gizmo" appeal, will bring new, young, and impressionable minds into the deadly embrace of smoking tobacco. They usually follow this up with a stated goal that there will be "Not one more generation of Americans addicted to tobacco!!!"

Nothing could be further from the truth, but who will argue against a demonized device given this horror story up front....not many.

But, the argument can be deflated, given the following thoughts:

You say you are afraid that these devices would entice children to the habit of smoking cigarettes...I say, unequivocally that nothing could be farther from the truth. First, the median age for users of this device is 40 years of age, far away from the age that children start smoking.

Second, these children would have to have the initial start up cost of $100-$150. Not impossible, I know, but it would knock a substantial percentage of children from the risk.

Third, there is a long learning curve on these....I have been using my E-Cigarette for 3 months, and still have to fight with the different components.....which are an emerging technology, and prone to equipment failures. This would remove even more children from your risk zone, as they would not be willing to put the time, further money expenditures for failed equipment, and aggravation factors into a new gizmo when they can just go down to the local gas station and buy a pack of tobacco cigarettes for less than $10.00.

Fourth, there is all the regular maintenance on the device, with filling and replacing the stuffing in the nicotine cartridges, cleaning the atomizers, and charging the batteries. Again, what young teen is going to go through all this work when tobacco cigarettes are so much easier to use and obtain?

Fifth, the multitudes of E-Cigarette users in the US have used these as an alternative to tobacco, and will not willingly go back to tobacco for various reasons, taste and general feelings of better well-being immediately coming to my mind. This is not, and should never be considered, a gateway to tobacco, as cigarettes come up lacking in many areas of our enjoyment of this product.

I believe your fears that this is an enticement device to lure children to the dangerous habit of smoking cigarettes are unfounded, and if you give this some thought and research, you will find many positives in this technology, which, even though in its infancy, has been the one device many ex-smokers have used as a cleaner alternative to traditional tobacco.

I have included some links that might be helpful to you in your deliberation of this sensitive issue:

This petition is a collection of many true-life stories of people who have found this technologyhttp://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/keep-life-saving-electronic-cigarettes-available

This is the site of Smokefree Pennsylvania, the director of this organization is Bill Godshall, and an advocate of the E-CigaretteTobaccofree.org