Electronic Cigarettes Controversy

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Introduction
E-Cigarettes or Smokeless Cigarettes as they are popularly known are battery-powered vaporizers which have similar feel to tobacco smoking.. These e-Cigarettes do not contain tobacco, although they do use nicotine from tobacco plants. They do not produce cigarette smoke but rather an aerosol (referred to as vapor). This is primarily the reason why “Vaping” has become a new trend. Oxford Dictionaries announced ‘Vape’ to be their word of the year: its use, they said, had more than doubled over the preceding 12 months.
Some key facts about the E-Cigarette Industry are:
• Till October 2014, Number of people using e-cigarettes were over 2 million
• In 2013, it grown into a $2 billion industry
• The global market for e-cigarettes is …show more content…

And, of course, the advertising cannot be deceptive or misleading as to any health benefits to be derived from the product. However, most of the e-cigarette advertisements make tall claims about the e-cigarettes being safe and they are even offered as ‘smoking cessation alternatives’. This is done even when FDI is yet to allow them to do so.
In all, E-Cigarettes present an ethical dilemma to the society.
On the one hand, e-cigarettes hold the promise to save the lives of many smokers who switch to them; while on the other hand, they present mammoth risks to the society.
• E-Cigarettes may actually fail in getting people to quit smoking and it may even lead to dual usage of cigarettes along with e-cigarettes. It would mean doubled intake of nicotine and will cause more harm to smokers.
• It may lead to increased initiation of nicotine products among youth
• Former smokers may be tempted to switch back to nicotine in the form of e-cigarettes
• They may become a ‘gateway to smoking’. Teenagers may first start by trying e-cigarettes and then they may get addicted to nicotine and move to actual

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