To Smoke or Not To Smoke

In my reading of the best entertainment website in all the land, Examiner.com, I found a link to this product that baffled me. A product I had no idea even existed: The Electronic Cigarette. Yeah, you read that correctly. Basically what it is a stick that looks and feels like a cigarette. When one inhales, a red LED light illuminates on the end to make it seem like you’re smoking a real cigarette. Smoke will flow into your mouth as well, but the catch here is that it doesn’t actually contain nicotine. The goal of this is to help people stop smoking. Apparently, this cigarette is allowed to be smoked indoors because there is no such thing as second hand smoke when there is no nicotine involved. This product is supposed to be similar to the patch or gum to help people stop smoking. If I saw someone smoking this indoors, I would still kick them out because this product has done everything to make itself look real.

I am a little on the fence about this one. As someone who doesn’t smoke, this seems ridiculous. If you want to stop smoking, stop smoking. Sitting there pretending to light up doesn’t solve the addiction in my mind. Your brain and hands still think you’re smoking. But at the same time, I can see how this would be helpful. At least you’re not harming your body with crazy chemicals. Although, this product could also help people start smoking. It looks and feels cool so why not try the real thing. This argument can go both ways. I just don’t see the point. If I want to stop eating ice cream, I’m not going to eat tofu shaped ice cream. It just seems a little counterproductive to me.