Lou Rebello of Swansea used to smoke three packs of cigarettes per day. He lost his mother to lung cancer, and said he tried to quit smoking using all sorts of methods, including prescription Chantix, but couldn’t kick the habit. Three years ago, a friend handed him an electronic cigarette. “I never smoked a cigarette again,” Rebello said.

He began his transition using 18 mg of nicotine in his e-cigarette, the equivalent of regular tobacco. He’s down to 3 mg of nicotine and said he could go to zero, but enjoys the little kick.

“Overall, I feel healthier,” Rebello said. “I don’t wheeze when I lie down. I don’t get out of breath walking up the stairs.”

Despite the experience of Rebello and others, the American Lung Association and American Cancer Society have concerns about the safety of electronic cigarettes. The United Kingdom says they’re 95 percent safer than conventional cigarettes and can help people quit smoking. Some 13 countries have banned e-cigarettes.

Health and government officials world wide can’t quite seem to agree on whether e-cigarettes are more or less harmful than tobacco, or on how to regulate or tax the devices.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prepares to set first-ever regulations, users of these stylish and shiny nicotine delivery devices tout their effectiveness in helping people quit or cut down on regular cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes come in many sizes. They all contain a battery that heats a liquid, often called “juice,” and emits a vapor, not smoke.

The juice is produced by extracting nicotine from tobacco, and can be purchased with zero to 18 mg of nicotine, and sometimes higher for certain devices. It is made in a huge variety of flavors — some that mimic traditional tobacco taste to every fruity and sweet concoction that can be imagined.

The liquid contains artificial flavoring, as well as propylene glycol (used in food, drugs and cosmetics and to make fog at rock concerts) and glycerin (also found in food and drugs).

The effect on inhaling the vapor into lungs long term is not known.

After working in construction all his life, Rebello took a chunk of savings and opened GoodFella Vapor, 147 Swansea Mall Drive in Swansea a year and a half ago. He opened a second store in Attleboro at the end of September to quench the growing thirst for electronic cigarettes.

“I made this mine because I believe in it,” Rebello said. “I enjoy this. I enjoy helping people.”

A customer purchasing juice at GoodFella Friday afternoon overheard the conversation and said vaping helped him stop smoking, too.

“I had my last cigarette driving to this place a year ago,” said Jason, a Fall River resident who declined to use his last name. “I was so sick of it, sick of spending the money. I can’t stand the smell of (cigarettes) now. I think it’s gross.”

Jason also started with 18 mg of nicotine and now uses 3 mg. “The ultimate goal is to get to zero,” Rebello said. The experience at GoodFella is not unique.

At the E-Cig Barn, 1348 Pleasant St., Fall River, both salespeople and a customer said they quit smoking traditional cigarettes because of electronic cigarettes.

“I smoked for 10 years,” said Darrell Palmer, 26, as he vaped a mod (a large boxy form of electronic cigarette) behind the counter at the Barn. “Two years ago I switched. I breathe better.”

Gage Decotis, 22, starting smoking traditional cigarettes when he was 8 years old. All the men in his family smoked, he explained. Two years ago when he was smoking three packs a day, he decided to switch to e-cigarettes to improve his health.

“I see more people vaping than smoking now,” Decotis said.

Clerk Derek Botelho said he “tried everything” to quit smoking but “nothing worked for me” until he went from smoking to vaping.

Both shops sell a huge variety of flavored juices to enhance the vaping experience. At the Barn, an apple flavor was ready for the season, along with many more like thin mint and nectar of the gods.

At GoodFella, which has a mafia theme, users can purchase the flavor of Bada Bing (berries and black cherry) or hitman (spiced chocolate). Strawberry custard is the current top seller.

When asked if these flavors are made to appeal to kids, heads wagged back and forth. Both stores said they card and never sell to anyone under age 18.

“As an adult you don’t feel you should have something sugary and sweet tasting?,” Palmer questioned. Rebello said he likes Apple Jacks cereal, so why not have similar flavors in his e-juice.

What the FDA might impose in new regulations is a concern to vape shop owners, and those who use the nicotine delivery devices. “I honestly believe vaping should be treated as something other than cigarettes,” Palmer said.

Rebello said government and big pharmaceutical companies want to see electronic cigarettes taxed the same way as e-cigarettes, not for consumer health reasons but for money.

“The state wants to classify us as tobacco,” Rebello said. “We’re 100 percent against tobacco. Ultimately, I’m here to get you off this.”

Source : Heraldnews