Is this the first time tobacco companies have tried to kill an alternative?
It was only just a few months ago that the tobacco cigarette industry was looking to crush electronic cigarettes, stop them making it to the mass market and maintain their control over the smoking industry. If we fast forward a few months, the electronic cigarette industry has managed to wriggle free from the grasp of big tobacco, sales are growing exponentially and there is talk of multi-million dollar takeovers and mergers.
When you bear in mind that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the tobacco cigarette industry as a whole have attempted on various occasions to crush the electronic cigarette industry, is this the first time an alternative has been targeted in a pincer like movement?
Rumours and speculation
While there is no doubt that the tobacco cigarette industry is enormous, there is no doubt it has impacted the lives of many people around the world and to all intents and purposes it is seen as an “enjoyable” pastime. However, over the years there have been rumours about attempts to crush alternatives to tobacco cigarettes and indeed potential “cures” to tobacco addiction.
It is sometimes difficult to separate the rumours from the fact, the speculation from the truth although time and time again the industry has come under the spotlight. If we sit back and take a few moments, how is it that we have been able to cure some of the most damaging diseases and ailments ever known but nothing yet has really touched tobacco addiction?
Have cures been swept aside in the past?
Over the years there has been intense speculation about potential tobacco addiction cures ready to come to the market and effectively demolish the foundations upon which the tobacco industry is based. If you search the Internet for a potential cure for tobacco addiction you will find bits and pieces, speculation and rumour but nothing definitive. Could it be that over the years a number of potential treatments for tobacco addiction have been bought up, closed down and packed away?
When you bear in mind that the tobacco cigarette industry turns over in excess of $700 billion per annum, it has tentacles flexing across the world and due to the massive tobacco tax income governments receive it has the ear of many politicians, we can only guess what goes on behind closed doors. This is fact, not fiction, although there is no doubt that various governments around the world have encouraged the use of tobacco cigarettes in years gone by, allowing distinctive and eye-catching advertising methods, sponsorship of leading events and even political donations.
Is everyone acting in the best interests of the worldwide population?
When you bear in mind that the electronic cigarette industry is perhaps the greatest opportunity we have to crush tobacco addiction, to improve the health of millions around the world and hopefully wean people off tobacco, why are governments not pushing it harder? If governments are not able to see the benefits of electronic cigarettes, as voiced by electronic cigarette users as opposed to the industry, then perhaps they are not truly looking for an alternative at this moment in time?
There are various parties around the world with a vested interest in muddying the water for electronic cigarettes, pumping out fiction and untruths and talking down the industry. Can we truly and honestly believe this is not the first time those with a vested interest in the tobacco cigarette industry have attempted to crush and stub out a potential alternative/cure to tobacco addiction?
Conclusion
There is no definitive proof that potential fast acting long term cures to tobacco addiction ever existed, the tobacco cigarette industry is one which attracts love and wrath in equal measures but how on earth, bearing in mind the billions of dollars poured into pharmaceutical trials each and every year, have we yet to find a long term cure for tobacco addiction?
For many people the use of electronic cigarettes is but a stepping stone across the wide gap from tobacco addiction to a life without tobacco. While many people believe that nicotine itself is highly addictive, there is scientific evidence which suggests it is as addictive as caffeine and it is only by mixing various chemicals and ingredients with “natural tobacco” that it becomes even more addictive.
Mark Benson
Bio
Mark Benson is a contributing author for Spinfuel eMagazine. His continuing columns will bring a level headed approach to the dynamics involved in realizing a positive future for the e-cigarette industry. For more information on electronic cigarettes and the various products available please visit the OKCigs website
