World Won't Wait for E-Cigarettes, Spice

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The e-cigarette, a new craze that is so strange it's almost comical, is sweeping the world and taking a lot of life-long smokers with it. It's essentially a vaporizer that "vapes" a nicotine-containing liquid called "juice". It gives the user the fix of nicotine without the harmful and carcinogenic side effects that burning brings.

For those wondering whether they could give up the real thing for an electronic alternative, the article linked above claims that many smokers have been able to make a total switch within days.

And apparently it's not as terrible as it sounds. One convert glows that using e-cigarettes means "no more raw-feeling lungs, coughing and out of breath conditions, no more stench in the house and cars and on clothes." He goes on to say that "I hold no illusions that e-cigarettes are all good, since they continue an addiction to nicotine. But that addiction comes without the additional baggage real cigarettes have."

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Sounds great, doesn't it? Smokers can eliminate most of the nasty side effects while still getting their daily dose of nicotine. But of course now that it's popular, the authorities are clamping down on a product which they assert hasn't undergone the necessary safety testing. Which, of course, is true. But the world isn't going to wait for bloated government agencies to slowly test and certify new products which meet a real demand. The customers have spoken — they want e-cigs and they want them now, consequences be damned.

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This is very reminiscent of the furor over "Spice" that caught the airwaves a few months ago. The legal marijuana alternative (also known as "K2") has likewise been attacked by various government agencies and consumer safety groups for being untested and possibly unsafe. Which, again, is possible. But legions of potheads aren't waiting, they're spicing it up right now with product bought at their local headshop.

In a way, one could argue that Spice and e-cigarettes are being tested, on a scale much larger than any research lab could organize — albeit without controls, standards, or measurable results. But the message from the users is clear: better alternatives exist, and they're not going to wait for them to be certified or approved.