1. E-cigarettes are as bad as cigarettes
It is the worst of all. In America alone, there are 36 million smokers, and the global number has reached the billion mark. These people do not deserve to be lied to about a product that could save their lives. Burning tobacco produces smoke, which is full of cancer-causing chemicals, not to mention carbon monoxide, which is the main cause of cardiovascular disease.
It is true that we cannot say that e-cigarettes are completely safe, but it is safe to say that they are not even close to smoking in terms of health risks.
"There is no scientific dispute that e-cigarette smoking is much safer than smoking," says Dr. Michael Siegel, Professor of Public Health Sciences at Boston University, who has 25 years of experience in the field of smoking-related harms and the fight against them.
2. Water vapour is full of formaldehyde and other scary chemicals
We all inhale and eat various chemicals every day, but most of them have no particular effect on us. There is no doubt that the water vapour generated by this cigarette contains many scary-looking chemicals, but they are present in very minimal concentrations. Everything we inhale, eat and drink contains chemicals that can be dangerous in higher doses. Fortunately, we do not consume them in such quantities.
The Royal College of Physicians agrees. After a series of tests they carried out on these cigarettes, they concluded that the levels of various toxic substances inhaled from normal use of these cigarettes are well below the dangerous levels. So, fortunately for us, the really significant long-term harm to our bodies is very small.
3. Smoking e cigarettes leads to popcorn lungs
Some e liquids may contain diacetyl or acetylpropionyl. These butter flavouring ingredients have been known to lead to a condition known as popcorn lung syndrome (bronchiolitis obliterans) in workers at some flavouring companies for almost two decades.
In fact, no such syndrome has ever been diagnosed in any cigarette user. Furthermore, no smokers have ever been diagnosed with such a syndrome - the diacetyl levels in cigarettes are, by the way, 100 to 750 times higher than the diacetyl levels in these cigarettes.
4. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin
This statement can depend on many things. There is already much debate about whether "addictive" is even the word to describe a substance that does not actually cause long-term harm to most people. More specifically, smoking itself is truly addictive. When we inhale the smoke, it immediately releases nicotine into the vagus and the brain, creating a sensation that our brain wants to relive over and over again. Tobacco smoke also contains other components, such as ammonia, which constantly encourages the smoker to smoke another cigarette. So it is clear that nicotine is not the only ingredient that makes smoking truly addictive.
Other products containing nicotine may not be as addictive in terms of the amount of nicotine they deliver to the body. Products that try to replace nicotine, such as gum and patches, can sometimes be as addictive as smoking. It cannot therefore be claimed that e-cigarette smoking is more addictive than any of the products mentioned above.
5. Appliances often explode
After failing to prove serious health problems, the term "exploding devices" is increasingly being used among the detractors of these cigarettes.
In fact, there have been very few examples of e-cigarettes exploding. Most have been the result of user tampering, such as improper battery management. Most of these accidents could have been avoided if the user had taken a lesson in battery and battery safety beforehand and not kept the battery in his trouser pocket with the key ring.
In the case of cigarettes, we know that they have caused huge amounts of damage on more than one occasion, and in other cases death, think of the discarded lit butt that caused a forest fire, or smoking in bed at home, which in many cases ended tragically.
6. E cigarette smoking is just a gateway to cigarette smoking
The claim that e-cigarettes will encourage teenagers to smoke cigarettes is over-repeated, not to mention unsupported. The studies that make this claim are in many cases false or not well founded. In most cases, however, they overlook a well-known characteristic called general susceptibility.
According to this kind of predisposition, teens who try e-cigarettes are more likely to try, switch to smoking, marijuana or alcoholism.
"If we look at society as a whole, it seems that e-cigarettes are more likely to help people quit cigarettes than to get them to start smoking," concludes Clive Bates, one of the most respected advocates for sensible e-cigarette regulation and an expert on tobacco harm reduction strategy. He's right. E-cigarettes are not responsible for all children not smoking, but they certainly don't cause a higher rate of cigarette addiction either.
7. Using different flavours is a marketing ploy to lure children
These types of flavours are actually only sold by companies that do not advertise their products to the public, and they are not even available where under-18s can (legally) get them. A little research shows that most teenagers who use e-cigarettes prefer nicotine-free liquids.
Now the question can be asked: Who is the very smart businessman who would build a business out of the illegal sale of unadvertised, non-addictive products, just to focus more on younger customers?
Here's an interesting fact: Adults like sweet, fruity, dessert flavours just as much as kids. Furthermore, ex-smokers claim that it is these flavours that allow them to effectively deviate from the familiar flavours of tobacco. I don't know of any e-cigs who don't like the childish flavours. I don't know any adult - e-cig or not - who doesn't like sweets, fruit or cakes.