May 5, 2009
Paula Smith has been smoking for about 20 years and last month she decided to quit, this time for good.
Paula has developed asthma and she knows if she quits, her health problems will go away.
Paula has been on the nicotine patch for about a month, but she's still having trouble quitting.
So she gave the electronic cigarette a try.
It’s battery powered and activates when the user inhales.
A heating element vaporizes a nicotine solution stored in the mouthpiece.
The smoker inhales the vapor and a little light bulb simulates the lit end.
There are lots of brands, styles, flavors, and nicotine levels to choose from.
But, electronic cigarettes are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
They’re also not considered legitimate smoking cessation devices by the World Health Organization, but distributors say they're safer than real cigarettes.
Smoking cessation expert Jennifer Rodriguez disagrees.
"We don't know how it could be safer,” she said, “There is a vaporized delivery system that we aren't really sure what's in it, we don't know what chemicals are in it."
Rodriguez says electronic cigarettes don’t help smokers get out of the physical habit either.
"It may reinforce going back to smoking regular cigarettes,” she said, “And for someone who has never smoked it may be a gateway for smoking a real cigarette."
Despite those concerns, Paula wants to give the electronic cigarette a try, since she just can't seem to kick those last four to five cigarettes a day.
But when she wants to reach for a smoke, will it be a quick fix?
It took Paula about ten minutes to put the electronic cigarette together before she could start puffing on it.
That could be one drawback.
Distributors say it gives the physical sensation of real inhaled tobacco smoke.
But for an addicted smoker, is that really the case?
“It tastes like someone sprayed an air freshener and I had my mouth open,” Paula said, “It definitely has a chemical taste.”
Paula tried the electronic cigarette for a few days.
Find out what happens when she lights up inside a restaurant in Part Two of this story on Wednesday.
