Possible alternative for smoking

[mandru]

Over the last few days there have been a few stories on the news channel I leave on in the background during the day that have centered on a new product called the Safecig.  It's basically a rechargeable lithium ion battery that takes the form of the tobacco portion of a cigarette and a disposable refill cartridge that atomizes the inhalable flavored component of the system that screws onto it which resembles a typical cigarette filter.

Up front I will admit that it would be best if I could quit cold turkey.  I've developed emphysema which I understand is a non curable fact of life for me but quitting smoking would for the most part limit the progression of the disease and possibly even reverse some of the limitations I am experiencing from it but I have failed quite miserably at quitting several times.  :-[

Several years ago as the electric cigarettes began to appear on the market they caught my eye.  I looked in to them but they were all pretty much for people who wanted to look like they were smoking (a perfume flavored non-nicotine steam vapor) as a fashion statement.  Really not what I was hoping for and over the years not much had changed as I continued to follow the market.

The Safecig a non-tobacco product on the other hand looks promising as it eliminates tar from the equation.  The refill cartridges have the option of three intensity levels of (unburned from what I can make out) tobacco flavor as well as a few different levels of nicotine release as they are puffed which ranges from a heavy smoker's customary intake (2+ packs a day), A normal smoker's (1 pack a day which covers me) and a couple lower stages for mild, light and even a cartridge that offers the flavor and vapor component with no nicotine delivery.

There has been some discussion on the story including an interview with a doctor who is a regular contributor to the news station on health stories and not related in any way with the company producing Safecig.  That doctor clearly spoke out against the usage of nicotine in any form citing possible links to birth defects (really not a concern for me  ???) and a couple other issues but when pinned down and confronted with the 4000 chemical components present in tobacco smoke as opposed to the Safecig which has nicotine and aside from that 3 other components which have never been linked as a carcinogen or to any other health hazard he grudgingly admitted that this alternative would be a better choice for someone determined to emulate smoking.

My read on that was that he'd said 'I can't say it's healthy but by eliminating the tar it's a hell of a lot safer than smoking'.   :-D

The CEO of Safegig John Cameron (yes, he really is  John Cameron the screenwriter and film producer's younger brother) was in one interview I stopped to watch.  As a heavy smoker, he had tried the product and was so convinced in its effectiveness as a smoking alternative he invested heavily enough in the company that he was offered the position as CEO.  In his interview he had related his efforts to quit smoking which sounded a lot like my failed attempts but once he had tried this product he has never looked back nor been tempted to return to regular cigarettes.

The disposable refill cartridges are available in packs of five and currently cost $12.50 USD.  Each cartridge is about the equivalent of one pack of cigarettes so two cartridge 5 packs ($25.00 USD) roughly replace a carton for which I'm currently paying right around $60.00 USD which sounds good to me too since 90% of the price of that carton is nasty politically charged socialist induced spiteful twist because smokers aren't lining up and marching in straight lines in pursuit of their "do as I say not as I do" healthier lifestyle plan the way they think we should.   :D

I understand that studies have shown that it is supposedly the first two or three draws of a cigarette that actually contribute to quelling the urge for nicotine but if I am going to light a cigarette I typically try to find a time and place where I will smoke that entire cigarette and if I have to put a lit smoke out because something comes up before I can finish it I will most likely at the first opportunity light and smoke another whole cigarette to make up for the one I had to put out which I understand is nuts but it's still what I do.   ::)

The way the Safecig functions is that if you are not drawing a puff it powers down conserving the battery and not burning up the consumable component in the refill cartridge which I find very interesting as I can't tell you how many cigarettes I've wasted by having to set one down to do something and later on returning finding that it has smoked itself.   :(

Because of the different way this behaves I see that there is the possibility of breaking that emotional habit of smoking whole cigarettes with the chance that I may actually be able to shift over towards using less and less as I actually define my need free from the current mind set I've developed through habit.

I'm convinced on trying it and have approached my wife who slowly has warmed to it as I took her to the web page, discussed the issues (in more detail than I've mentioned here) and answered her concerns and questions.  It looks like I'll be placing my order for a set up kit within the next couple days.   :)

[Art Blade]

I heard about that thing. I heard a story where in court someone pulled out that thing and started to inhale, causing a tumult that earned him a conversation with the judge to whom he explained that it wasn't "smoking." After a more in-depth explanation, the judge (a smoker) is said to have exclaimed that he wanted one of those for himself. I also heard that this device is allowed in planes (because it is not "smoking").

I know that smoking is a habit, a mental thing. I had quit smoking abruptly once (together with my then-girlfriend) and kept it up for a couple of months. However, when she resumed smoking, living together with her, I gave in and resumed smoking, too.

I am already preparing for another attempt to quit smoking and I know that this time I won't tie it to anything or anyone so I won't fall back because of losing the anchor. It will be for myself and by then I won't use any excuse to find a replacement. I'll play a mind game with myself and this time win.

[mandru]

Good luck with that Art, I do hope that you are able to kick it.  :-X

For me listening to the rattle in my lungs steadily increase over the last few years as I'm trying to get to sleep that keeps me from relaxing and having dreams of suffocating if I happen to get rolled over flat on my back in my sleep has pushed me to the point I really need to do something.   ;)

[fragger]

Good luck, both of you :) :-X

I think the key component to any quit plan is the desire to quit. If you make up your mind that you want to and are going to kick the habit, then you've already won half the battle.

I know I should quit too, for the benefit of my wallet as much as for my body, but I don't really want to enough, at least not yet. I know it's illogical to keep putting it off with some vague reasoning along the lines of "I know when it'll be time to quit" (i.e. when I can't breathe properly any more), but the fact is I do enjoy smoking, and having just started a somewhat stressful new job a few weeks ago I feel it's not quite the right time to add the exasperation of addiction withdrawal to my already straining mental mixmaster. Maybe in a month of two when I'm hopefully more comfortable in this new position I may be more amenable to the idea of quitting.

I haven't seen or heard anything about Safecig here as yet, but will keep my eyes and ears open for it, it does sound like an intriguing possibility. Thanks for posting the info about it, mandru :) 

[Art Blade]

Oh, I should have said it earlier, "good luck, mandru" :) :-X

And to you, fragger.  :) :-X

[mandru]

Thanks Art.  ;D

You're welcome fragger I know what you mean about wanting to quit.  I too have enjoyed smoking way too much.

[mmosu]

Good on all of you guys, I think you have the right attitudes  :-X

I heard awhile back that the success rate for cold-turkey is something like 6%, and it's got just as much, if not more, to do with mental addiction as actual physical addiction.  One of my patients showed me a Safecig about a month ago.  She demonstrated it for me at my request and I thought it was pretty cool - hers glowed blue on the tip while being drawn so that the user doesn't get hassled for using it.  She basically said it was the only thing she had tried that satisfied both the actual nicotine craving and the physical habit of having something cig-like in her hand.  Very cool imho, our clinic is big on tobacco cessation so things like this jump out at me when I see them.  I'm not a smoker and have never been, so I would never pretend to understand what it is you guys go through when trying to quit.  All I will say is good luck, your improved quality of life and sudden extra disposable income will be their own rewards!  :)

[Art Blade]

 :)

[mandru]

Thanks for that info mmosu.  :-X

With any unknown product I'm always a bit leery of product testimonials posted on their web site.  It's far too easy for nine tenths of the comments on a site to be constructed hype to sell their product and the other one tenth so heavily screened for positive comments only that they may as well be fabricated.   ;)

Your encounter with a person using the Safecig who is satisfied with the product is promising news for me.   :)

[PZ]

There are several neurotransmitters in the autonomic part of the nervous system - one is called acetyl choline, and the discovery of its function was based on experimental chemicals applied to the neurotransmitter receptors located on the nerve cells or neurons.  One of the receptor types is called muscarinic because of the mushroom toxin muscarine that was used in its discovery.  The other is called the nicotinic receptor, and I think you can probably guess what chemical was used to discover that receptor.

Nicotine mimics the effect of the body's natural neurotransmitter, acetyl choline, and because ACh is integral in the function of most of the body processes, when nicotine is applied to the nervous system, you are artificially stimulating various parts of your neural circuitry.

Nicotine addiction is just like any other addiction in the sense that the process is physiological even more than just habit.  Of course, it affects all people differently, so some find it easy to "kick the habit" while others will find it very difficult.

My hats off to you fellow trying to kick nicotine - it is sometimes (often) exceedingly difficult to change your body's physiology back to a nicotine-free state.

[Art Blade]

nice explanation, thanks  :) :-X

[fragger]

More good info from mmosu and PZ to chew over, thanks guys :)

[mandru]

PZ that is very interesting information on the physical mechanics of how nicotine works.   :-X

During my recent oral surgery I was researching why a series of different prescription pain pills I've received were non-effective.  There was no difference whether I took them or not.   ????

The one thing that gave me the any sort of benefit in the way of dealing with the pain was smoking but I thought that effect was solely attributable to smoking's ability to take my mind off of what I was going through for a few moments at least.

Being curious about it and the fact that I was already on the web sites examining the pain meds I'd expanded my search into how nicotine behaved.  One article I came across had spent a considerable amount of page space discussing how nicotine has the unusual property of being both a stimulant and a sedative depending entirely on how the smoker approaches their consumption.

Rapid puffs as if a smoker is gearing up for something - pumps them up.

Long slow leisurely draws with a slow release of the inhaled smoke - calms the smoker.

It's not just a state of mind in the user (well maybe a little  :-D ) but has been medically documented in the laboratory by the marked differences of blood chemistry under controlled testing.  It's an oddity and is probably the root behind observations I've heard that smoking cessation (for some) is tougher to kick than heroine.



I've was able to place my order for the Safecig system two nights ago and yesterday I received an email confirmation that the product has been shipped.  I've got my fingers crossed and we'll see how this goes.

[Art Blade]

In a recent film, The Tourist, Johnny Depp uses such a device and it is shown a couple of times  :)

[PZ]

...  It's an oddity and is probably the root behind observations I've heard that smoking cessation (for some) is tougher to kick than heroine.

Interesting you should mention that.  Nicotine is second only to heroin in addictive potential.

Best of luck with the Safecig system, mandru  :-X

[mandru]

Heh heh, thanks PZ.  :)

[fragger]

Please keep us posted, mandru :)

Re: nicotine versus heroin addiction and which is stronger, I agree that for some nicotine is the tougher substance to kick. I say this because I knew and eventually became very good friends with an ex-junkie who managed to get off smack yet couldn't muster the willpower to quit smoking.

[Art Blade]

I reckon that it always boils down to the same old thing: "if you really want something.." Same with overweight. How many people do you know that are overweight (it's almost never even a physiological addiction as in chemical/drug-induced) who claim to want to lose weight, attempt to lose weight for whatever short amount of time just to go back to self-inflating food consumption. I lost 14kg during like two months and 20+kg total during a period of say seven months. I wanted it and still want it and I am still on my low "target" weight. More than a year now since I started and maintained that  ;)

[mmosu]

Wow Art! That's an impressive amount of weight, congrats!  :-X

I knew and eventually became very good friends with an ex-junkie who managed to get off smack yet couldn't muster the willpower to quit smoking.

I've heard similar stories too.  In instances like this though, there are even more factors at play.  People who are addicted to hardcore narcotics, while getting clean, will often develop a "crutch addiction" that they use to nurse the psycological symptoms they are experiencing (for instance, the paralyzing anxiety caused by undertaking such a dramatic life change).  Sometimes they lean on it so hard and for so long that it ends up being more powerful than the addiction that they are trying to rehab from.  It seems natural to think that for many, this crutch would be nicotine, for all the reasons mandru already talked about.  And if you had to choose between being addicted to heroine or nicotine - well, I know what I would pick  :(

[mandru]

Big congrats on holding that target weight Art.  :-X

I see mmosu slipped in under me while I was editing this.  I agree and thanks for the comments mmosu.

Please keep us posted, mandru :)

Re: nicotine versus heroin addiction and which is stronger, I agree that for some nicotine is the tougher substance to kick. I say this because I knew and eventually became very good friends with an ex-junkie who managed to get off smack yet couldn't muster the willpower to quit smoking.

There is a social component of smoking that isn't quite as prominent in heroine.  It's a lot more socially acceptable for several smokers to get together and light one than it is for several junkies to whip out their rigs in a public setting and start tapping out veins to set up their next fix.

But that is slowly turning upside down here where I live with smoking being banned from school grounds, public areas and city parks while more and more of a blind eye is being cast on the junkies openly sleeping around park grounds and leaving their used needles scattered around in the grass to the point that no decent family with any sense of awareness can use them.

What's it coming to?  Throw the smokers out because a child may see them smoke and become curious about it and yet the possibility of AIDS infection or the increased crime risk from sheltering that element in plain sight.

Stop the world I want to get off!   ???

[Art Blade]

The simplest thing is to legalise it and raise taxes on it. That's what they do with alcohol and nicotine. Perhaps even make it so that only the state has the exclusive right to grow ingredients, process them and sell the final clean product.  :-D

[PZ]

... Same with overweight. How many people do you know that are overweight (it's almost never even a physiological addiction as in chemical/drug-induced) who claim to want to lose weight, attempt to lose weight for whatever short amount of time just to go back to self-inflating food consumption...

That would be me!  I love food a bit too much to give up any of it though - however, I can rationalize it as this - all foods are composed of molecules, and technically molecules are chemicals so I have a simple chemical addiction.  :-()

[Art Blade]

 ^+-+ :-X

[JRD]

I finnaly took my time to read through this post, so let me share my experience with you guys.

I was a smoker for 15 + years, from my teenage to my early 30`s, so my 20`s were all spent with a pack of red Marlboro on my pockets, even during any trip to the country side or beach or any relaxing, healthy place. I was a heavy smoker, consuming at least one pack per day going for almost two if having a beer or at a party. Me and my wife were like that. We used to "have a last cigarette before going to bed" or first thing in the mornig during coffee. I remember once waking up at night to have a cig and go back to sleep  ???

I used to really enjoy smoking, even rushing to finish a nice meal asap so I could have a cig with coffee afterwards. I remember being on a bar with some friends - at that time smoking wasn`t forbidden in public places as it is today - smoking and surrounded by smokers engulfed by clouds of delicious cigarette smoke... and enjoying it!

I couldn`t stand being with non smokers as they all seemed bothered by my beloved cigarette smoke... the only persons I could share a place to live during college were smokers or one guy who wasn`t a smoker but his parents were heavy smokers so he grew up on a smoking environment. The smell reminded him of his early years... mind you guys, this is one of his oldest memories, the smell of cigarettes  ???

I have a bit of asthma or bronchitis, whichever name you want to call it... nothing strong but I feel it`s hard to breath sometimes so I use an inhaler to clear up the airways if I feel I need it. It happens sometimes that it gets worse so I have to use stroger medication, but it`s rare, thankfully. There were times when I was hardly breathing at all when I was younger and I KNEW it was all because all the cigarettes I`ve smoked before and even when the symptoms of an ashtma attack were evident - but I just wouldn`t left a cig unsmoked, would I? Still, trying to recover, I couldn`t  help but hope to get well soon so I could smoke another cig!  :D

I`ve read and heard all kinds of advice and terror inducing ads showing a guy with lung cancer or rotten teeth and etc... I could laugh at any of those ads as any had the desired effect on me... I just didn`t want to quit, that`s it!!

It all goes to what have been said previously in this thread... if you really want to quit, then you can and you will mandru... just put that idea in your head.

One day I woke up and decided not to smoke... easy like that... I had no life changing or near death experience to push me into taking that decision. I just felt it was wrong what I was doing to myself and wanted to quit. So I did... never again put a cig in my mouth.

The first two weeks were tough. I felt the urge to smoke but since I`d spent one day without smoking I decided to push it for another day, then another, then another, one day at a time untill after two weeks the urge to smoke was nothing but a will... a mild will to smoke. By the end of the first month I only remembered there were such a thing as a cigarette if someone lit one close to me (which happens quite often, I know, specially living with a smoker) and that desire would last for a couple minutes to be replaced by a sensation of self pride for doing the right thing  8)

Things wasn`t so easy as my wife kept smoking... little by little she realized I was better this way and started to quit as well... I managed to convince her not to smoke in the bedroom or kitchen and she started to go to the balcony to smoke. It took her another 2 years to finally quit, time during which I was living with a smoker, smoking the same brand I used to smoke  ??? ... it showed me how stinky a cigarette can be... her hair, her clothes, her breath, OUR home, OUR sofa and even MY clothes as well  :D

It`s been over three years since I quit, going to four and feeling mighty well... I also started to run on a regular basis and now I can run 10k smiling on a nice sunday morning and last race I managed to bring my wife for a 5k walk...  ;)

Food tastes much better, my skin is much better and so are my teeth. I sleep better as I don`t snore anymore (maybe just a bit  ::) ) ... I can enjoy life in a way that seems so much colorful since I quit smoking that I can`t believe I wasted so many years smoking.

The only thing that took for me to change was the strong will to quit... nothing else... cold turkey as you guys said... and for good  ;)

mandru my mate... you can do it as long as you really, really want to, deep down inside, it`s up to you and you alone to take the first step and do it... no nicotine patch, Safecig, black magic s#!t will do it for you if you don`t want to... and I can tell you, mate... IT IS NOT AS HARD AS IT SEEMS

Good luck mandru and you can count on OWG to support you against that poison, mate!  :-X

[Art Blade]

nice, JRD  :) :-X