"I have never smoked; it is something that has never interested me, so I appreciate the efforts of the inventor of an electronic cigarette designed to really help those that wish to quit who has also devised the Stop Smoking Scheme (SSS)" Bob Bluffield
In what is
believed to be the only scheme of its kind, a Hertfordshire business owner has endorsed
a way to wean cigarette smokers off their habit using a specific brand of
electronic cigarette. The plan is pro-active and is believed to be one of the
most effective methods available to quit smoking. The Scheme works on the
premise that by reducing the nicotine levels a smoker takes in until this
reaches zero, will completely remove the desire to continue smoking. The
dangers of smoking are well known.Tobacco contains over 4,000 toxic chemicals,
at least 19 of them cancer causing ingredients; but nicotine is the one substance
that hooks smokers in the first place and creates the addictive desire to
continue the habit.
The StopSmoking Scheme (SSS) has been created to work over a period of weeks or months
(depending on the individual) by reducing a smoker's dependence on nicotine by
using only one specific brand of electronic cigarette recommended by the
Scheme. By adhering to the Scheme's recommendations, it is believed that
existing smokers that join SSS will be more likely to quit smoking for good
than by using any alternative anti-smoking products currently available including other,
non-recommended brands of e-Cigs, nicotine flavoured gum and patches.
It may come
as no surprise to learn that the innovator of a brand of electronic cigarette,
Black and White, which is recommended by the Stop Smoking Scheme, is a lifetime
non-smoking entrepreneur who has never been able to understand the attractions
associated with tobacco or smoking in general.
Having grown
up in a family environment of regular smokers, and with many of his friends
addicted to cigarettes - Tony Miceli believed that the best way to give up
smoking was never to start smoking in the first place.
However
while those around him continued to smoke - and become seriously ill from the
habit - he was angered at being subjected to passive smoking and felt strongly
commitment to assist those around him to quit the smoking habit. At one point
he even took various family members to a hypnotist in the hope of finding a
cure. But did t work? Well yes - but only briefly - as within 2-3 days all had
started smoking again!
"It is
not just the inherent serious health risks we are all familiar with that
concerned me" he said, "but the devastating affects it can have on
families. There are literally millions of poor parents around the world that
are struggling to provide even basic food for their children, yet they always
seem to find the means to buy cigarettes. When everyone is aware of dangers of
smoking, this can no longer be acceptable. Families are being crippled financially
and babies are dying because they are living within close proximity of those
that smoke. It concerns me ... it really does".
Tony
considered that being a silent bystander was no longer an option. He needed to
act and realised that the explosion in the popularity of electronic cigarettes
provided a massive opportunity to try and make a difference by assisting those
smokers who genuinely wanted to quit smoking. After racking his brain for a
solution he came up with a new and positive way to get smokers to quit by
linking flavoured electronic cigarettes to a stop smoking campaign that he is
confident will really work.
When he
researched the e-cigarette market, he was shocked to discover that the majority
of these products were actually being produced and distributed by the major
tobacco companies. This, to Tony, was like waving a red flag at a bull. He was
unable to equate how commercial considerations were driving the morals of the tobacco
industry. "They are not content to reap unbelievable profits from selling
tobacco products to smokers, but, they have turned their attention towards
those that are already making an effort to quit smoking by making money out of
e-cig products that are meant to discourage smoking. The tobacco giants are, of
course, only interested in making vast sums of money for their shareholders, so
they are promoting e-cigs as a 'cool' and desirable way to smoke (or vape as
they refer to it) that is comparable to the cigarette advertising we used to
see until it was banned. Instead of discouraging people from smoking, I believe
this could lead ultimately to some people losing their battles to quit smoking
by using high nicotine e-cigarettes as a vehicle. I also feel by promoting
'vaping' in a positive way as the tobacco companies are tending to do could encourage those that have never smoked,
to take up the habit. This, in my opinion, includes young people who may be
taken in by glamorizing e-cigarettes and 'vaping' in advertising in a way that
might lead youngsters to start smoking".
Tony
believes the major cigarette companies have a hidden vested interest in
attracting young people that could ultimately lead them to take up smoking tobacco
products once they have become hooked on vaping using electronic cigarette
products that contain high levels of nicotine flavouring. "The real
message they should be promoting is that smoking in any form is definitely
'un-cool'. But, instead of trying to actively encourage smokers to quit the
habit, the evidence suggests they are doing quite the opposite"
"My aim
in setting up Black & White is not just to encourage existing smokers to
quit, but more specifically to dissuade those that have never smoked from ever
starting by joining the Stop Smoking Scheme. My aim is to two-fold, to help as
many existing smokers as I can to quit; and to prevent non-smokers, especially
teenagers, from taking up smoking in the first place".
The Stop
Smoking Scheme will be recommending Black & White as the e-cigarette of
choice specifically because it is the only low-to-no nicotine electronic
cigarette. It is widely accepted that electronic cigarettes are a much safer
option to tobacco smoking as none of the 4,000 known toxic substances are
contained in them that is present in tobacco smoke. Unfortunately, the majority
of e-cigs still contain sufficient doses of nicotine to keep users hooked. "Adding
high doses of nicotine to electronic cigarettes may benefit the major tobacco
companies - but it is of no benefit to anyone genuinely committed to giving up
smoking. This is where the brand officially recommend by the Stop Smoking
Scheme is different as it has been specifically developed as the first
e-cigarette brand in the world that actively discourages users to stop smoking
- entirely.
"Our
philosophy is to attract smokers to our approved brand by removing the element
that gets them hooked on smoking in the first place - NICOTINE".
