Weighing The Side Effects And The Benefits Of The Electronic Cigarette

Are the benefits of e-cigarettes worth the risks? (Pictured: Old 3-Piece Model Electronic Cigarette.)

If someone told you that a combination of taking an occasional aspirin, throat lozenge and piece of gum could potentially save your life, would you do it?

Around the internet there are many claims about the electronic cigarette and its inability to be passed by the FDA without its safety and side effects being questioned. It has been said that the electronic cigarette can cause headaches, sore throat, and bad aftertaste. All three of these symptoms would be easily treatable with some aspirin, a throat lozenge, and a piece of gum respectively (and it should be noted that these “side-effects” are typical only among those already sensitive to nicotine).

The first thing that I do when I get prescribed a medication by my doctor is read the side effects. I don’t remember ever being given something that didn’t have at least 10 possible symptoms that ‘might occur’. More often than not, I don’t experience more than 1 or 2 of the symptoms. By the time my bottle is empty, I’m feeling up to par, and the medication has done its job – to make me feel better with as little side effects as possible.

Even some foods come with a price to pay. Some of us are lactose intolerant despite our love for milk, ice cream and other dairy products. Dairy is often unavoidable – and with a love of milk products, who would want to give them up completely? There are pills available to treat the condition, but they don’t work for everyone. An often more effective solution is to buy lactose free dairy products. It’s the same as drinking regular milk and eating regular ice cream, only without the ingredients that are so damaging to our stomachs.

The same idea is behind the electronic cigarette. It’s essentially the same as smoking a regular cigarette, only without many of the poisonous carcinogens that are damaging to our lungs and often deadly to us and others by their second hand smoke inhalation.

As far as I know, there is no ‘wonder pill’, medication, or therapy that doesn’t come with its share of side effects. When you have a bacterial infection, your doctor often prescribes an antibiotic – which can save your life – but many of them come with a risk of diarrhea or excessive urination. When in severe pain, you may be prescribed pain medications – which can alleviate the pain – but come with a risk of drowsiness, dizziness, or insomnia.

The electronic cigarette may in fact come with a risk of some side effects like a sore throat, headache, dry mouth and bad after-taste. In the scheme of things, this seems like a small price to pay to finally be able to successfully quit smoking and to be able to avoid the dangerous risk of lung cancer to ourselves and others.