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    They’re the latest craze, spotted out and about at restaurants, bars, clubs, businesses – just about any place. And their popularity continues to grow due to their convenience, affordability and most of all, health advantages.

    Electronic cigarettes – also known as E-cigs – are now the new “style” for smokers. Whether their goal is to quit smoking or to reduce their tobacco intake, more and more people are vapor smoking.

    “Electronic cigarettes are generally safer than a traditional cigarette in that you’re not getting the tar and carbon monoxide that get from smoking, from inhaling,” said Sharon Davis, RN, MSN, CTTS (certified tobacco treatment specialist) at Anderson Regional Medical Center, South Campus.

    “Most of them are made by the tobacco companies. So many of them, especially the less expensive ones, still have nicotine in them, and that’s the physically addicting component of smoking. With a lot of the E-cigarettes, you will reduce the amount of nicotine that goes into you, depending on which brand you use. You can titrate (or taper) down on some of them; on others it well tell you on the package that it’s equivalent to a pack and a half or two packs of cigarettes,” Davis said. “The more expensive e-cigarettes are pure water vapor and don’t use nicotine.”

    In 2004, a Chinese company started making a refillable “cigarette” with a battery and an electronic chip in it. Designed to look like a cigarette – right down to the glowing tip – when the smoker puffs on the E-cig, the system delivers a mist of liquid, flavorings, and nicotine that looks something like smoke. The smoker inhales it like cigarette smoke, and the nicotine is absorbed into the lungs.

    E-cigs have gained popularity over traditional cigarettes for their many advantages, the four most popular being:

    • Health. One of the principal reasons people are switching to e-cigs is to liberate themselves from the harmful emissions that combustion cigarettes produce. E-cigarettes contain no tar and they do not release poisonous carbon monoxide as regular cigarettes do, making them safer to consume and harmless to others in the vicinity. Instead they emit a non-toxic vapor into the air which dissipates quickly, giving you the feel of actual smoking without the harmful byproducts.

     • Convenience. Each year, more laws are being passed restricting or even prohibiting smoking in public areas. Depending on the state, these laws can apply to hospitals, airplanes, restaurants and even bars. These laws are designed to protect the general public from the very real dangers of second-hand smoke. With E-cigs, however, you can smoke wherever you like as they require no fire or combustion and thus give off no harmful emissions.

    • Affordability. Cigarettes can be very expensive, but with E-cigs you’ll spend less than half of what you normally pay for traditional cigarettes.

     • Smoking Cessation Aid. E-Cigs have also become very popular for those looking to quit smoking entirely. While the cartridges in e-cigarettes do release a measured amount of nicotine into the system, they are free from the other chemicals which make cigarettes such an enormous health hazard. They are ideal for when you get that strong urge to smoke and may keep you from buying an entire pack of cigarettes — an act which can stop your recovery from smoking in its tracks.

    As for the E-cigarette’s use as a smoking cessation aid, Davis cautions that while the electronic devices can be a substitute for smoking traditional cigarettes, they do not help break the hand-to-mouth habit aspect of smoking.

    “And that makes it very easy to pick a traditional cigarette back up,” she said.

Other ways to ‘kick butts’

    One way to conquer the hand-to-mouth habit is through smoking cessation programs.

     Anderson South is one of 15 satellite sites of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s ACT (Alcohol and Controlled Substances) Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education and Research in Jackson. Created with funding from The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi and funded through the Mississippi State Legislature and Mississippi State Department of Health, this project offers intensive assistance for overcoming tobacco addiction. The program includes an initial visit, six treatment sessions, medications and follow-up appointments – all at no cost to participants.

    According to Davis, who is Anderson South’s certified tobacco treatment specialist, 80 percent of the program’s participants use the smoking cessation medicine Chantix.

    “It works good for most people,” she said. “There are some people who it’s not going to be a good thing for. We closely monitor the side affects.”

    The most common side affects include gastrointestinal problems and bad dreams.

    “You have to eat first before you take the pill, not take it on an empty stomach because it can case tremendous nausea, vomiting and stomach upset,” she said. “Most people have dreams with it; most of the time they say they are vivid and bizarre. Although rare, some people have nightmarish dreams and can’t use Chantix.”

    In addition to medication, the six-week program includes a weekly 90-minute class with an educational focus. Different aspects of smoking are discussed, such as stress management and problem-solving techniques, as well as lifestyle changes. Participants receive work books, as well as incentives at each class.

    “We talk about different aspects of quitting; it’s a lot of self-awareness,” Davis said. “A lot of times this addiction is done out of habit, and you’re not really paying attention to when it’s happening. So they have to start recognizing every time they put a cigarette in their mouth.”

    Also at the weekly meets, participants blow into a carbon monoxide monitor, which often works as a motivator to smokers.

    “Anyone who smokes has residual carbon monoxide from inhaling the smoke. You’ll see that number decrease when you’re cutting back and quitting smoking. And once they hit zero, they are like, ‘Yay!'”

    Because there is a 7-8 pound weight gain associated with quitting smoking, participants are weighed at each session. Also, blood pressure and pulse are monitored.

    Davis said the classes start out as educational, but evolve into more of a support group.

    “Everyone shares how their week went – what worked for them, what didn’t, what was a really bad trigger for them and other issues and concerns,” she said.

    After graduation, participants are followed up for three months by the satellite program; the ACT Center continue the follow-up for up to a year.

    “Just to see if they need extra support or if they’ve relapsed. This is a tough addition … We’ve had recovering alcoholics and drug addicts who say that this is the worst addiction to try to get off of. There have been several repeaters in the smoking cessation program, which is fine. It’s tough to do this.” Davis said.

    The ACT Center program is offered at Anderson South five times a year; morning and evening classes are available. The satellite program is also available to businesses and groups at their site.

    For more information, call Davis at (601) 484-3374.

Patches,

gum, Quitline

    Nicotine replacement therapies such as patches, lozenges and gum have been helping people quit smoking for decades. Like smoking cessation programs, these methods allow smokers to taper off the nicotine.

    Patches start off with 21 milligrams of nicotine, the equivalence of a pack a day smoker – which makes it ineffective to those who smoke more than that amount. The patch provides a 24-hour steady supply of nicotine, therefore smoking is not recommended.

    “When you smoke and you’re wearing the patch, you get a boost of nicotine that can increase blood pressure and pulse, and has been implicated in heart attacks and strokes,” Davis said. “We also advise women to not put the patch on the breast area because the concentrated nicotine can, in some people, if there is one cancer cell, it can possibly potentiate it or make it grow.”

    After several weeks on the 21 milligram dose, the user tapers down to a 14 milligram, then 7 milligram patch. The patch is used for a 12-week period.

    “Ideally, that is. It really depends on the person,” Davis said. “For someone who has been smoking a long time, like 40 or 50 years, it may take longer.”

    Lozenges and gums are used when there is an urge to smoke.

    “With the gum, you chew it until the juice starts flowing and then you park it like it’s chewing tobacco. You don’t keep chewing it. That’s where a lot of people get sick because you get that nicotine in your stomach,” Davis said.

    Lozenges are sucked, not bitten like candy.

    “If you bite it, you will get a rush of nicotine,” she said. “You just suck on it whenever you get an urge to smoke, like a cough drop.”

    The Mississippi Tobacco Quitline –1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) –

provides free telephone-based tobacco treatment to Mississippi residents interested in quitting. Nicotine replacement therapies are available to eligible participants. The Tobacco Quitline operates Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, from 8 a.m.- 7 p.m.; and Saturday, from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

    • Additional information on E-cigarettes was provided by www.e-cigs.net