Lakewood, NJ – Now you can do more than just worry about the negative effect that smoking tobacco cigarettes can have on your health. If you aren’t interested in quitting or you feel like you can’t, you might be relieved to learn that now you can satisfy your nicotine cravings and get all the satisfaction you get from smoking a tobacco cigarette without having to expose yourself to thousands of hazardous materials.
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A company in Lakewood NJ is selling a cigarette called The eSmoke Electronic Cigarette.
company officials claim that The Electronic Cigarette contains no tobacco and no actual smoke. It’s a healthier smoking alternative that delivers nicotine to its users through a cloud of water vapor instead of a heavy chemical-ridden smoke said Mr. Ron Benvenisti Vice President of eSmoke.
In correspondence with VIN News the company future explained: The vapor produced by the eSmoke Electronic Cigarette contains only three ingredients: nicotine, water vapor, and propylene glycol—an FDA approved ingredient found in food coloring that helps to give the appearance of real smoke. Compare that to the long and scary list of chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes, and it’s easy to see why The eSmoke Electronic Cigarette users are excited about the health benefits associated with switching to electronic cigarettes.
The company also proudly states that it has received encouragement for their product from Rabbi Shlomo Gissinger of Lakewood NJ.
Why don’t the Rabbonim in Lakewood just say that smoking regular cigarettes is ossur mideorisa, as they should do and should have done many years ago.
If Rav Gissinger wanted to be relevant to the lives of Yidden and especailly his talmidim, he would simply issue a blanket issur against all smoking without any conditions. The problem is that so many bochurim still see many older rabbonim “lighting up”, they think its OK…once and for all the rabbonim should say no smoking under any circumstances and anyone who does should be kicked out of the kolel or beth medrash.
great
As an ex smoker that smoked for 30 years this is a waste of time and money. Your city or County runs programes to assist you to stop smoking.
by the way, with this tchachke there will be people thinking it is ok to sit in kollel and in restaurants and other public places coz it doesnt make the offensive smell and smoke regular cigarettes do.
#3, maybe it’s because it’s not ossur midioraysah.
“The company also proudly states that it has received encouragement for their product from Rabbi Shlomo Gissinger of Lakewood NJ.” I wonder if the heilege rebbe is receiving any compensation for his endorsement. What kind of a joke is this…Rabbonim should not be lending their yicchus to commercial products. As other posters have said, the Rav should simply say it is forbidden by the torah…smoking is no different than a tatoo or any other deliberate effort to impose injury on the body. Not only that, but second hand smoke imposes harm on others in the smoker’s family, other bochurim in the kolel etc. Why is it that these rabbonim have time to scream about Lipa’s music but are silent on this public health issue.
#5 If “it doesnt make the offensive smell and smoke regular cigarettes do” then it should be “ok to sit in kollel and in restaurants and other public places”.
I hope your Kanous about smoking is directed at other dangerous health issues as well. eg. talking on the phone while driving, texting, not signalling, preparing laining from a Tikun while driving on the Parkway (amazing. no? Didn’t make this up) obesity, etc,
If it delivers nicotine, then it is addictive. So when this electronic cigarette is unavailable, or on Yom Tov when it’s probably “ossur”; the addict (pardon my expression) will use a regular cigarette. So “Mai ahana lei Rabonon” What have they accomplished?
If you want to sit in Kollel and smoke that’s your decision, just don’t expect me to donate money for your salary…
they might be addicted but the same way they control themselves on Shabbos they;ll control themselves for another day/
#8 A tatoo is a La 217;av in the Torah punishable by lashing. Sorry no such punishment for smoking. Your ignorance is showing
#9 There are a lot of health benefits to smoking. The question is only if the negatives outweigh the positive. Do your research!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Propylene Glycol, Alcohol
A colourless, volatile, flammable liquid produced by fermentation of yeast and carbohydrates. Alcohol is frequently used as a solvent. As an ingredient in ingestible products, alcohol may cause body tissues to be more vulnerable to carcinogens.
Mouthwashes with an alcohol content over 25% have been implicated in mouth, tongue and throat cancers. Note, the forms of alcohol used in cosmetics are not necessarily those used in alcoholic drinks, and may be much more dangerous.
Some examples
Ethylene glycol, is commonly used in acrylic paints, brake fluid, antifreeze, tile grout, primer, sealant paste, floor polish, tyre sealant and shoe polish. Oh yes…….and it’s also used in some “smoothing lotions” and “firming moisturizer”!
Known health effects: throat irritation, headache, backache, kidney problems, oedema (swelling), necrosis (cell death). If swallowed, can cause drowsiness, and slurred speech, possibly stupor, vomiting, respiratory failure, coma, convulsions, and death
Found in: skin “firming” lotions.
Propylene Glycol
A cosmetic form of mineral oil found in automatic brake and hydraulic fluid and industrial antifreeze. In the skin and hair, propylene glycol works as a humescent, which causes retention of moisture content of skin or cosmetic products by preventing the escape of moisture or water. The Material Safety Data Sheet warns users to avoid skin contact with propylene glycol as this strong skin irritant can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage.
Known health effects.
Eye irritation, skin irritation, skin drying, defatting. Ingestion has serious health effects similar to above.
Propylene glycol is Commonly found in:
* makeup
* shampoo
* deodorant
* detangler
* styling mousse
* cleansing cream
* mascara
* soap
* skin cream
* bubble bath
* baby powder
* conditioner
* toner
* after shave
* baby wipes
Also in:
* Tyre sealant
* Rubber cleaner
* De-icer
* Stain removers
* Fabric softener
* Degreaser
* Paint
* Adhesive
* Wallpaper stripper
Before promoting this product, has anyone given a hechsher on it?? And I’m talking about a real heimish hechsher that the Lakewood o’lom can rely on.
Also, is there a way to make a Kosher for Shabbos Cigarette? THAT would be a huge toeles (and prevent chilul shabbos from those of us who are nichshal). Smoking is an addiction that many of us bnei torah cannot control – sometimes on shabbos we are an o’nus. The tzar is great torture and it is very hard to overcome the nisoyon. Of course the tzar may create a din choleh, and if done with a shinuy, and l’tzorech mitzvah so that one can learn better – heterim can be found…but it would be a great toeles if it could be made kosher for shabbos use.
TOO LATE.. this type electronic cig. is more then a year old . from china & around the world. so NJ is not the new upcoming with that item.
As a heavy smoker for over twenty years – I started using this product about 4 months ago and for the first time I really feel like I don’t need a cigarette. this product really works. I have not smoked a real cigarette since I strted this.
For those who say that the Rabbonim should just assur smoking point blank. you obviously are clueless. Smoking is an addiction, you don’t just start and stop at the drop of a hat. This is a medical issue. if you want to assur someone from starting to smoke, that may be more realistic. But think before you put another stupid idea in the minds of the rabbonim.
I considered buying this product, but held back because it lacks kashrus supervision, I’ve also discouraged others. Being that this is a vapor not smoke, it does need an hashgacha especially that there are many different flavors out there.
In regard to smoking, it’s over rated. I believe more people die form being fat than from smoking. Of course, you repeat something so many times that it becomes a fact. In fact it was known in the times of the Chofets Chaim that smoking is unhealthy and he mentions it in his sefer Lekitei Amorim, that however has not held back many prominent gedolie yisroel, the biggest, from smoking.
The chofets Chaim mentions other reasons not to smoke besides health which concern me much more. The fact that smoking is used to sit around and waste time on smoke breaks. This leads to loshon horah and lots of bitul zman, it’s a fact. In regard to healthe, an unhealthy diet is much worse and that includes this mishegas of low fat. Low fat is over rated, but dangerously over rated, statistics show that since these professed doctors decided to go out in a war against healthy fat, depression and suicide has risen, so has attention deficit disorder. People tend to eat more and less healty because of this. Eat an healthy breakfast with regular milk and an whole egg including the yoke and you’ll live happier and healthier and will be full untill lunch, so no need for that muffen.
Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. the nicotine in cigarettes is as addictive as heroin, according to some studies. Nicotine acts directly in the ‘pleasure center’ of the brain and also affects ‘nicotinic’ receptors in the GI system and elsewhere.
See the November ’08 ‘health’ issue of The Jewish Observer for more details.
Many poskim have said that one is forbidden to begin smoking, and that one must make every reasonable effort to stop smoking. This is the view of Rav Elyashiv shlita among others. Secondhand smoke harms one’s spouse and children, as does the smoke on a person’s clothing etc.
I enjoyed the attempt above to say that one could be an ‘oneis’ to smoke on Shabbos. I guess Purim has come early this year. While all addicts seek their fix, there is simply no way to justify smoking on Shabbos and even doing so on Yom Tov in problematic at best–and this is for the poskim who do not outright forbid smoking.
Those who do not forbid smoking do so under the rubric of “shomer pesayim Hashem,” i.e. G-d watches over the fools. In other words, you are a fool to smoke!
[Whether that metaphysical protection is enough anymore, given the well-known risks and the fact that the world considers smoking dangerous, is beyond the scope of a post here, but many contemporary poskim claim that the risks of smoking are too high to permit one to start smoking.]
I would await direct word from Rav Gissinger shlita before assuming he has endorsed anything.
i can’t believe that anyone can seriously defend smoking in any way then again all adicts find a wat to rationalize their addiction.
Somebody asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe why he doesn’t ban smoking and he answered if he were to ban smoking then one day when there will be a cigarette which will have no bad health effects, it will turn out that that the Rebbe would have prevented Jews from enjoying themselves, since they would not smoke even the healthy cigarette because of the prohibition.
Several years ago, I posed a question to a young man outside a Beth Medrash in Lakewood (who was smoking). Would you eat michigs on a fish plate? Despite the Mochloket between the Shach and taz on this issue (to which he was clueless, he replied,”of course not”!. So, I asked him, “if a plate with mik and fish, which is arguably a Sakana, is something you would avoid, a cigarette which is definitely a sakana, lo kol shekain!” T’yuvta d’rav — T’yuvta!
There is a lot of data that not only with the direct smoke affect loved ones, but also that the smoke that gets embedded in a smoker’s clothing can have deleterious effects.
I am not in a camp, except that of reason and halacha. Cigarette smoking is dangerous, resulting in the premature death of at least 1/3 of smokers.
All this is in addition to the costs of smoking–in terms of wasted time and wasted money.
The Chofetz Chaim described cigarette smoking as a loathsome habit.
According to health studies the most people die from RED MEAT yes the Flanken that we put in to the chulent so when the rabonim will aser Behimeh Fleish they can ossur cigarettes
You’re all so not focused on this discussion. Everyone talking about cigarettes being assur… They are…. But these are not cigs they are water vapors and you can get them WITHOUT NICOTINE. what’s your problem now????