Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: E-Cigarettes

"An epic battle between dirty cops and a drug dealing biker gang..." (IMDb)

Cymbeline, originally a Shakespeare play, is being adapted and updated for the big screen. Set in the 21st century United States, the movie provides lots of updates: modern clothes, vehicles, and everyday 21st century things... like e-cigarettes.

Milla Jovovich plays the character Queen and can be seen smoking an e-cigarette in the above scene as well as at other times throughout the film. The movie even includes the SmokeStik e-cigarette for sale in a convenience store scene right next to other common, household items.

The chief executive of SmokeStik International Inc., Bill Maragnos says, "I don't see a problem with glamorizing something that saves lives" in the Wall Street Journal Article. Comments like this are common when talking with e-cigarette creators, distributors, and advocates. Unfortunately, e-cigarettes are not that simple.

There is much more to the e-cigarette then what the industry is telling us (or trying to sell us). If e-cigarettes were a wonder product that saved lives would tobacco companies would be buying up e-cigarette manufactures? Would the FDA be planning to expand their tobacco regulation to include e-cigarettes? 

No. 

E-cigarettes are just new, shiny objects increasing the number of people who are addicted to nicotine. E-cigarettes are a drug delivery device.

E-cigarette labels, flavors, and comments from the manufacturers make it clear the e-cigarette industry is in the business of addiction and increasing those who are dependent on nicotine and in turn, their product. Most e-cigarette users although they might intended to quit, continue using traditional tobacco products. Using the e-cigarette where smoking is prohibited and using traditional tobacco during normal smoking/chewing times.

When movies promote the use of nicotine (no matter what the delivery device- a cigarette, chewing tobacco, e-cigarette, etc.) the behavior is, like Bill Maragnos said, glamorized. And not in a good way. Youth see movies with smoking or using e-cigarettes and that behavior doesn't seem as bad. When in reality the dangers are just switched, traded out as the harms shift.

Celebrity use of e-cigarettes, although we don't like to think they influence the way we think, play a huge role in our opinions of acceptable behavior. And e-cigarettes are definitely re-normalizing the use nicotine. Like Katherine Heigl on Late Night with David Letterman back in 2010 and more recently Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the Golden Globes.

E-cigarettes are re-normalizing what tobacco prevention has worked so hard to do. To teach youth that tobacco is dangerous, that nicotine is addictive. That no one is invincible to cancer and death. Not us. Not our favorite celebrities. Not even professional athletes. Curt Schilling, a Phillies Wall of Famer, said this about his battle with cancer, "I'll go to my grave believing [chewing] was why I got what I got...absolutely, no question in my mind about that."

Humans are not indestructible and e-cigarettes are not saving lives. Nicotine in any form is addictive and harmful to our health. Let's fight against this new industry trying to get away with Big Tobacco's old tricks.