It’s Time to Consider Electronic Cigarettes

By Obinna Odenigbo

My ribs cracked literally when I read this; Smoking in Nigeria is prohibited in public places and is punishable by a fine of not less than N200 and not exceeding N1000 or to imprisonment to a term of not less than one month and not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Jeez! I’ve never seen a dude charged a hundred bucks for smoking outside, let alone spend two years in Jail. My security man puffs all sorts of greenery and the closest the cops in the area come to poking him; is when they give him a high-five!

I mean; haven’t we had enough of these ridiculous laws?! Yea- they are ridiculous if they are not going to be enforced. Or do you know anybody in jail today for smoking? Please! And when foreigners read that crap, they go like, “Wow, this country must be civilized!”

I’m not saying we’re Bushmen. But hey, come on. How about some honesty?

A lot of mainstream cigarette companies are going to hate me for this. I can’t even imagine any of them putting an advert on my magazine after this article. But umm, it’s going to be a grave mistake to think I care. For me; if there’s some innovation out there that’s going to save lives; it is important that people know.

Now; if you or a loved one is a smoker, you don’t need to be reminded of the downsides of the habit. The Federal Ministry of Health warns bla bla bla…

e-cigarettes can be recharged

From the health risks, to the cost, to the smell, it’s not surprising that electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are grabbing the attention of so many tobacco smokers worldwide- except Nigeria of course. Oh I forgot- we weren’t part of this world. Or maybe we are in the world, but not of it. Whatever that means.

Well, some of you may ask; what exactly is this smoking alternative, and is it a safe and viable alternative to traditional cigarettes?

Electronic cigarettes are devices approximately the same size and shape as regular cigarettes. They utilize a small battery powered atomizer to heat flavoured liquid; creating a water vapour which can be puffed and inhaled through the tip of the cigarette.

An e-cigarette

In simple English; it looks like a cigarette, it tastes like a cigarette, it smokes like a cigarette, but it isn’t a cigarette, it contains no tobacco, and the “smoke” is just vapour.
These re-chargeable e-cigarette produces a real smoking experience without any of the deeply unpleasant side-effects of tobacco.

The vapour, which evaporates in seconds, is infused with nicotine and flavours to simulate the experience of smoking a regular cigarette.  And it delivers the same amount of nicotine as a traditional cigarette, along with a variety of flavours.

There is no doubt that they are much safer than regular cigarettes, because they involve no combustion.  They do not create smoke, ash or carbon monoxide, nor do they contain the thousands of harmful chemicals that are generated in a burning cigarette.

A regular Cigarette

Even better, electronic cigarettes do not generate odours and second- hand smoke, so they generally do not fall under non-smoking statutes.

So Just in case, you come across a weird cop who arrests you for ‘smoking in public’- e-cigarette is your perfect escape route- as you will not only confuse the cop; you’d also end up even confounding his bosses in high places.

And for those of you who desperately want to stand for a worthy cause; don’t blow this chance.

This way you’ll be saving many lives and equally helping the Federal Ministry of Health understand that their monotonous slang about smokers dying young can be debunked!

P.S: Notice from the 6th paragraph that this article is addressed to smokers and does not in any way encourage non-smokers to indulge.