Cleaner Alternative

SYRACUSE – Imagine a world where a smoker could lit up a cigarette while standing at a bar or sitting down at a fancy restaurant. Or in a movie theater.

That world is already ere for the few who choose to smoke an e-cigarette. Since 2008, e-cigarettes have been imported to the U.S. But until recently, they have gone relatively unnoticed.

An e-cigarette is smoked like a regular cigarette only it is battery operated and releases water vapor into the air instead of smoke.

“I love it,” Sherry Ho, a Syracuse Bartender, said. “I think you get less of a hit. But either way It is so similar to a cigarette it was easy to quit (traditional)”

For long-time smokers, it gives the fix they need without the necessity to step outside to grab a puff. And it’s gaining popularity as a cheaper and safer alternative.

Booming Business

“They have been great,” Kathie Hartnagle, owner at Mallard’s Tobacco in Syracuse, has been selling the e-cigarettes since 2008. “I was getting numerous phone calls asking if I carried them so when a sales rep came in I grabbed it.”

She’s sold about one new starter kit – that cost about $70 – every week. And she said it’s for more than people desperate for a drag.

“It has been doing tremendously for people that are trying to quit cigarettes,” she said. “They have been buying these instead”

But smokers ready to kick the habit shouldn’t get in line quite yet.

“I tried it,” Sue Mulholoand, who chose the patch to kick her habit, said. “I wanted to lose the hand mouth temptation. It’s a habit. There [haven’t been] enough studies done anyway.”

Lawmakers, Doctors, agree

And it’s the lack of studies that have New York lawmakers attempting to ban the devices. And they have the support of doctors and the American Cancer Society.

“If the FDA comes out and says it is a good thing we will be on board with them,” Amy Delia, American Cancer Society Spokesperson, said. “But for now we are using the evidence we have at our fingertips”

For smokers, the evidence isn’t comforting.

“Some of the brands contain nitrosamines, which are one of the leading carcinogens in tobacco smoke,” Dr. Robert Lenox, Pulmonary Disease Specialist at Upstate Medical, said. “And we don’t know about the level of nicotine doses.”

Too low of a nicotine dose and the smoker will need to smoke more. Too high of a dose, and the smoker could die.

“It is very addicting,” Lenox said. “The best advice is don’t start. If you are addicted, this may be an alternative to cigarettes, but there are better alternatives.”