- Image by mlibrarianus via Flickr
That will, of course, depend on the doctor’s personal opinion and whether or not he does consider an e-cigarette a safe smoking alternative. However, when faced with a patient who is obviously being affected physically by the use of regular tobacco, they may be willing to take some things into consideration.
For example, if the doctor believes that a smoking addiction is as much psychological as it is physical, they may conclude that smoking an e-cigarette is a safer alternative, especially if the device being used is one that contains no nicotine (as some of them do). The fact that the patient can imitate the gestures and movements (lighting up, inhaling and exhaling, and simply holding the device) that is as much a part of smoking as anything else may help with the psychological stage of the addiction
As for the physical stage, if the e-cigarette does contain nicotine liquid (as some of them do), then it may be in such a small concentration or may be so diluted by passing through the filter and water vapor that very little actually reaches the body. The doctor may feel that while even this little bit can be dangerous, it still may be satisfying enough that the patient can drastically cut down on his use of “regular” cigarettes, or even stop all together.
If you use an e-cigarette device, don’t keep that from the doctor. Rather, tell him you do, and be honest about whether or not it contains nicotine liquid. If it does, your doctor can monitor you to see if even that small amount is contributing to any health problems you have. If the doctor thinks so, they may, however, allow you to keep using it, perhaps alternating it with filters that have no nicotine liquid, in an effort to help you stop smoking once and for all.
