Did You Know That Nicotine Is Addictive?

Posted: 7/26/2015

Trigger

The American Chemical Society thought it was important to tell people in a recent news release E-cigarettes may be as addictive as traditional ones "Free-base and Protonated Nicotine in Electronic Cigarette Liquids and Aerosols" Chemical Research in Toxicology. It reads e.g. “But because e-cig liquid also contains nicotine and emits carcinogens, ... One team now reports in the ACS journal Chemical Research in Toxicology that much of the nicotine in e-cigarettes is the addictive form of the compound. … Out of three forms, scientists believe “free-base” nicotine is the only one that gets absorbed by the body, making it the most addictive kind. … The researchers tested commercial samples of liquids made for the devices and found that, by and large, the nicotine was in the most addictive form. They also determined that the concentration of nicotine varied and often didn’t match the concentrations the labels claimed.”.

Here is the link to the above mentioned scientific paper “Free-Base and Protonated Nicotine in Electronic Cigarette Liquids and Aerosols” (subscription required)

Notes

1. The ACS news article appears to be a hit piece making insinuations not worthy of a scientific society
2. The article does not explain what the three forms of Nicotine are, but all of them appear addictive
3. The article uses the term “free base” nicotine, which does not appears to be a proper scientific term and further it appears to be mentioned in conjunction with tobacco smoke
4. The other, rather unsubstantiated claim by ACS is that e-cigs “emit carcinogens” (insinuating like traditional tobacco smoke)
5. Even if it is in the most addictive form, perhaps this is how customers like it and want it. :-)
6. Finally, ACS claims that the concentration of Nicotine does not match the one listed in label. Well, this can be easily fixed and may have happened accidentally or is this another insinuation? How did the manufacturers respond to these claims by ACS?

Nicotine Prohibition

Posted: 10/19/2014

Irrational & Shrill

The irrational discussions about the new e-cigarettes or vaporizers to inhale nicotine suggest that the fear of nicotine addiction is clouding the mind even of many so called highly educated experts.

Nicotine Addiction

How bad is actually a nicotine addiction to an adult? How unhealthy is it? Unfortunately, I do not have the time to investigate this further, but my hunch is that if nicotine is used in moderation then the health risks are negligible.

What are the benefits of nicotine consumption? From what I have read there are some benefits to certain people.

It Is Neither Tobacco Nor Smoking

There is a deliberate and constantly repeated confusion going on in public discussion between tobacco, smoking and these new forms of nicotine consumption. Latter has nothing to do with tobacco or smoking other than being a means of consuming nicotine.

Calls to ban these new forms of nicotine consumption in public spaces are to be rejected. Why don’t we ban coffee drinking in public?

Nicotine And Minors

This is, most likely, the only sticking point in this public discussion! Probably, we can all agree that Nicotine should not be sold to minors.

It is foremost the responsibility of parents to keep their children away from things like Nicotine. It is not necessarily a government responsibility.

Why Prohibition?

I suspect that similar motivations that brought the infamous U.S. alcohol prohibition about are operating in this case too.

FDA Wants To Regulate Vapor! Stay Away FDA!

Trigger

FDA wants to expand its authority and regulate e-cigarettes!

Here is the official announcement from the FDA released 4/24/2014. The proposed rules are available for  a 75 day public comment period. I hope many smokers will tell the FDA to mind their own business and leave consumers alone.

Excerpts From The Official Announcement

“"This proposed rule is the latest step in our efforts to make the next generation tobacco-free," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Consistent with currently regulated tobacco products, under the proposed rule, makers of newly deemed tobacco products would, among other requirements:

Register with the FDA and report product and ingredient listings;

Only market new tobacco products after FDA review;

Only make direct and implied claims of reduced risk if the FDA confirms that scientific evidence supports the claim and that marketing the product will benefit public health as a whole; and

Not distribute free samples.

In addition, under the proposed rule, the following provisions would apply to newly “deemed” tobacco products:

Minimum age and identification restrictions to prevent sales to underage youth;

Requirements to include health warnings; and

Prohibition of vending machine sales, unless in a facility that never admits youth.

“Tobacco remains the leading cause of death and disease in this country. This is an important moment for consumer protection and a significant proposal that if finalized as written would bring FDA oversight to many new tobacco products,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “Science-based product regulation is a powerful form of consumer protection that can help reduce the public health burden of tobacco use on the American public, including youth.””

(emphasis added)

This is unconstitutional baloney that this big government agency is uttering!

We do not want this oversight by FDA!

This is Soviet style tyranny!

Do these highly paid and highly educated FDA officials confuse tobacco and nicotine! Is this willful fooling of We The People?

We Do Not Need Government Nannies!

We The People should ask the FDA to stay way out of this. Other than to prohibit children from buying this stuff the only other thing for the FDA  to do is to monitor, research, and publish reports on the content of vaporware. Let the consumers decide!

Previous, Related Blog Posts

Here!

Savor Vapor E-Cigarettes

Let’s try it before the ever so bully Big Government in Europe and the U.S. bans it!

As a non-smoker, I kind of like the idea. No smoke, no smell, less carcinogens ...