How Do Electronic Smokeless Cigarettes Work?

The average electronic cigarette is composed of five functional components:

* The shaped container, typically electronic cigarette or electronic cigar
* The Light-Emitting Diode (LED) light cover
* The battery which also houses the circuitry
* The atomizer or heating element
* The cartridge or mouthpiece

When the smokeless cigarette user inhales, airflow is created and detected by the sensor, which activates the heating element that vaporizes a nicotine solution, which is stored in the mouthpiece.  The vapor is what the e-smoker inhales.

Not all smokeless cigarette brands contain the LED but typically when the user inhales, the LED, which simulates the glow of the actual burning, is activated to display use.

The Mouthpiece – a small plastic cup, which is affixed to the end of the smokeless cigarette or electronic cigar tube.  The mouthpiece contains an absorbent material that is moistened with the flavored liquid solution.  The mouthpiece is also called the cartridge and needs to be refilled or replaced with the flavored substance.

The Heating Element – The component that vaporizes the liquid in the mouthpiece so that it can be inhaled.  This component is often called the atomizer.

Battery and Electronics – Most electronic smoking products use a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which powers the heating element.  The battery life is determined by the battery type, size, frequency of use and operating environment.  Batteries are accompanied by a battery charger.  These battery chargers can be a wall outlet, a car attachment or a USB.

Electronic smoking products require an airflow sensor and some electronic circuits, such as a limed cutoff mechanism that prevents overheating.  An LED activation device is also needed.

The Nicotine Solution – Liquid nicotine solutions for smokeless cigarettes are available in a variety of different flavors and nicotine concentrations.  The strength or concentration of various nicotine solutions fall into the mid and low dose ranges and are a matter of choice by the user.  Each smokeless cigarette solution has its distinctly unique formula.

These solution ranges are comparable to a light or ultra-light concentration.  There are also solutions available that contain little or no nicotine as well as more intense solutions.  Some flavor options strive to duplicate conventional cigarette brand tastes and appearances.  However, popular flavors include strawberry, orange, mint, vanilla, caramel, coffee and tobacco.

Electronic smokeless cigarettes are once again changing the way society perceives smoking.  E-cigarettes pose a happy solution to the traditional smoking habit giving all the allure of smoking without imposing health risks on either the smoker or nearby persons.

What Are Electronic Smokeless Cigarettes?

Electronic smoking products come in several forms and resemble cigarettes, cigars and pipes.  One of the most popular smokeless cigarettes is the “pen” or “Hollywood” style, but each manufacturer has its own distinct style.  Some look like traditional cigarettes or cigars while other e-smoking products feature a new-age look.

Electronic cigars and electronic cigarettes work the same way.  Both are battery powered.  The battery powers the heating system that vaporizes the propylene glycol/nicotine solution, which the user inhales.  The solution is flavored and concentrated according to the selection of the smokeless cigarette.  Meanwhile, the end result is a sensation similar to the sensation accompanying conventional cigarettes but without tobacco, without actual combustion and without hundreds of harmful chemicals.

Most smokeless cigarettes are reusable products with replaceable and refillable parts. Recently, disposable smokeless cigarettes have been developed.  However, the smokeless cigarette user does not need an ashtray or need to dispose of a filter or cigarette butt.

The act of using an electronic cigarette is known as “vaping.”  Smokeless cigarette users term traditional tobacco cigarettes as “analogs.”

The FDA & E-Cigarettes

Sometimes it is what the FDA does not know that can hurt you.  Such is the case with electronic cigarettes and the industry’s ongoing dispute with the FDA.  In a July announcement, the FDA expressed its concerns over e-cigarettes but took no action to ban the products.

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the FDA’s deputy commissioner issued the following statement: “Public health experts, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society, have expressed concerns about the safety of these products and the risk that electronic cigarettes may increase nicotine addiction among young people and ultimately lead kids to try conventional cigarettes.”

Most electronic smokeless cigarettes are marketed similarly to the nicotine patch but with the ability to provide the oral fixation that accompanies smoking.  Electronic cigarette manufacturers state that there are “no ingredients in our cigarettes that can cause cancer.”  Thus far, the FDA does not oppose this contention, but does fear that certain mint and chocolate flavored e-cigarettes may encourage young persons to start smoking.  However, many health experts contend that e-cigs present a good alternative to tobacco smoking.

Electronic cigarettes have gained popularity in the UK, Switzerland, Brazil and the U.S. where smokeless cigarettes have been imported since 2007.  Industry representatives have sued the FDA to perform due diligence and testing on electronic cigarette products.

Electronic cigarettes run on a battery.  The user inhales as if using a regular cigarette.  When inhaled, a battery warms the nicotine liquid, which is stored in a plastic filter.  The combination of heat and the liquid creates the vapor of smoke.

Nicotine does not cause cancer.  The carcinogens emitted in the smoking of tobacco products are cancer causing.  According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco smoking causes 90% of the lung cancer fatalities in the U.S.

As smoking cessation expert Dr. Steven Schroeder of the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center said; “If it is a choice between smoking tobacco products or a nicotine replacement, of course keep taking the replacement.  It is a heck of a lot healthier than tobacco smoking.”

While expressing concern about the intangibles of electronic cigarette smoking, both the World Health Organization and the FDA have not rules out the possibility that smokeless cigarettes may be a good alternative for tobacco smoking.  Meanwhile, consumers continue to purchase thousands of electronic cigarettes on a daily basis, as online sales remain extremely strong for the safer e-cigarette alternative.