en españolWhat Are E-Cigarettes?E-cigarettes look high tech, so it's easy to believe the hype that they're a safe alternative to smoking.Unfortunately, they're not: E-cigarettes are just another way of putting nicotine — a highly addictive drug — into your body.Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered smoking devices often designed to look and feel like regular cigarettes.They use cartridges filled with a liquid that contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals.A heating device in the e-cigarette converts the liquid into a vapor, which the person inhales.That's why using e-cigs is known as "vaping."Because e-cigarettes don't burn tobacco, people don't inhale the same amounts of tar and carbon monoxide as they would with a regular cigarette.But anyone using an e-cig still gets an unhealthy dose of nicotine and other chemicals.Electronic cigarettes have been marketed to smokers as a way to help them quit, but there's no evidence that they actually help people stop smoking.Instead, they've been found to be a health risk for people who use them, as well as for bystanders who breathe in the secondhand vapor (what comes out of the device and the user's mouth) and third-hand vapor (what's deposited on surfaces such as upholstery, clothing, and floors).

Now that e-cigarettes have gone mainstream, regulators and scientists are studying them a lot more.Expect to see more information coming out about e-cigarettes and their health effects.E-cigarettes don't fill the lungs with harmful smoke, but that doesn't make them a healthy alternative to regular cigarettes.When you use ("vape") an e-cigarette, you're still putting nicotine — which is absorbed through your lungs — into your system.In addition to being an addictive drug, nicotine is also toxic in high doses.It was once even used as an insecticide to kill bugs.Nicotine affects your brain, nervous system, and heart.It raises blood pressure and heart rate.The larger the dose of nicotine, the more a person's blood pressure and heart rate go up.This can cause an abnormal heart rate (arrhythmia).In rare cases, especially when large doses of nicotine are involved, arrhythmias can cause heart failure and death.After its initial effects wear off, the body starts to crave nicotine.You might feel depressed, tired, or crabby (known as nicotine withdrawal), and crave more nicotine to perk up again.

Over time, nicotine use can lead to serious medical problems, including heart disease, blood clots, and stomach ulcers.Kicking the Habit Because nicotine is so addictive, the best way to avoid the trouble of trying to quit smoking or stop using e-cigs is never to start.If you smoke and want to quit, e-cigarettes probably aren't your best option.Using an e-cigarette mimics the experience of smoking tobacco cigarettes more closely than other quitting options, like nicotine gum or patches.You don't want to successfully give up smoking only to find you're now hooked on e-cigarettes.If you've already tried using e-cigs and think you might be getting dependent on nicotine, you'll need to follow the same steps for quitting as you would with tobacco: Make a specific plan.Set a date to begin the quitting process.If you smoke cigarettes, try going cold turkey before relying on e-cigarettes to help.If that doesn't work, it's time for a plan to wean yourself off nicotine.Make a specific goal, like using one less e-cigarette each day for a week.

Keep cutting back until you no longer smoke or vape.Take your mind off cigarettes by exercising or doing something that involves your hands, like art, music, knitting, or woodworking.ecigarette-evifranceStay aware of specific times and situations that make you want cigarettes (like at a party or after a meal), and come up with a plan to handle those times.e cigarette fog laneDelay giving in to a craving.e cigarette gong badakWhen you crave a cigarette or e-cig, put off giving in to the urge.It can be easier to tell yourself to "wait" than to tell yourself '"no."Do something else to take your mind off the craving.Chances are, the urge will pass, and — congratulations — that means one less cigarette!Keep focused on why you want to quit.

Write down all the reasons you want to stop using cigarettes or e-cigarettes, like the money you'll save or the extra energy you'll have.Keep the list where you can see it.Read it every day, even though you already know the reasons.Doing this helps your brain automatically remind you of a reason when you feel a strong craving.Turn to your family or a trusted adult for moral support when you really want a cigarette.It also helps strengthen your resolve to tell other people that you are quitting.If you don't want friends and family to know you smoke or use e-cigs, join an online or in-person support group.See if friends will join you in quitting.If not, ask them not to smoke or use e-cigarettes in front of you.Be good to yourself.Some people use e-cigs to avoid harming friends and family with secondhand smoke.But secondhand vapor is also problematic, and you're still hurting them by harming someone they love — you.Be your own best friend and give yourself praise each time you avoid reaching for the e-cigs.

Nicotine is an addictive drug.It's almost never easy to quit using it once you've started.The best strategy is to never start in the first place.If it's too late for that, remind yourself that it is possible to quit.Other people succeed, and so can you!Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MDE-cigarettes are often touted as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, but according to a study released by the Harvard School of Public Health, they may just pose a different threat than their nicotine-filled counterparts.According to the study, 75 percent of flavored e-cigarettes and their refill liquids were found to contain Diacetyl, "a flavoring chemical linked to cases of severe respiratory disease" such as the incurable condition called "Popcorn Lung."SEEALSO: With feds slow to act, states target e-cigarette sales to minorsAccording to Harvard, the condition otherwise known as bronchiolitis obliterans was "colloquially termed "Popcorn Lung" because it first appeared in workers who inhaled artificial butter flavor in microwave popcorn processing facilities."

But despite the name of the disease, there is absolutely nothing savory about it.Popcorn Lung is a debilitating and irreversible respiratory disease which causes "scarring in tiny air sacs in the lungs that lead to excessive coughing and shortness of breath" similar to that seen in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Image: Getty In analyzing 51 different flavored e-cigarettes, author of the study Joseph Allen and his team found at least one of three top toxins — diacetyl, acetoin and 2,3-pentanedione — in 47 of the e-cigs.Not only that, "the amount of diacetyl in 39 of the e-cigs exceeded the amount that was able to be detected by the laboratory.""Diacetyl and other related flavoring chemicals are used in many other flavors beyond butter-flavored popcorn, including fruit flavors, alcohol flavors, and candy flavored e-cigarettes," said Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard.He found this particularly disturbing because of the appeal fruity e-cigarettes such as "Cotton Candy, Fruit Squirts, and Cupcake" may have to young people.

Since e-cigarettes are a fairly new technology, the study's co-author David Christiani, Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics, warns that Popcorn Lung may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dangers e-cigs pose to their users:Since most of the health concerns about e-cigarettes have focused on nicotine, there is still much we do not know about e-cigarettes.In addition to containing varying levels of the addictive substance nicotine, they also contain other cancer-causing chemicals, such as formaldehyde, and as our study shows, flavoring chemicals that can cause lung damage.Based on that, it might be best to try and kick the habit ASAP.See how e-cigarettes almost cost this man his life:More on the dangers of e-cigarettes:Man severely injured after e-cigarette explodes in his mouthAn e-cigarette left this man in the hospital on a ventilatorFDA proposes first regulations for e-cigarettes Read Full Story Sign up for Breaking News by AOL to get the latest breaking news alerts and updates delivered straight to your inbox.

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