So here I am complaining a couple posts back about random mis-informed blogs like Mero Guff trashing electronic cigarettes and now I hear a supposedly respectable NPR stream trashing electronic cigarettes showcased at CES also.

What gives?

I actually have 2 NPR streams that I would like to compare and contrast in this post for you. I must warn you though. If you listen to both of these streams back to back while reading this you are likely to be either very upset or very happy.

If you are like me you will be very happy and I will explain why in a second.

First, go ahead and give a listen to the first NPR Stream, What’s Hot at CES 2009 in Las Vegas Nevada. About 2 minutes into the stream, NPR correspondent David Was is asked what was the worst thing he saw at CES.

His answer?

The greatest thing I saw was the e-cigarette, the electronic cigarette, which is supposedly to help you to quit smoking. A Chinese company is marketing this. A smokeless nicotine delivery system that you hold in your hand. It makes what looks like smoke, its actually water vapor. And, I figure the digital syringe is just around the corner. You know if you shoot virtual heroine instead of that horrible Mexican stuff…

First, a clarification. Mr. Was, if by saying electronic cigarettes help you quit smoking you mean that you will be able to switch to a smoking alternative that is technically not smoking then yes they may help you quit.

Electronic cigarettes are still not approved as a smoking cessation product though. Be careful what you say Dave or the World Health Organization (WHO) may jump on your case.

I don’t know what company and e-cigarette brand he is referring to, but I am assuming it is probably the same one the video at Mero Guff was showing off as you can see here:

video referred to in NPR stream

OK, so the guy explaining electronic cigarettes in the video is kind of a jerk, but you get the point.

Now, check out this NPR stream #2, Study: Military Smoking Rates Higher Than Public. The gentleman that conducted the research cited many interesting findings in this 5-minute piece.

Some things I found especially interesting in this NPR stream is that tobacco companies used to target the military and the Red Cross used to put cigarettes into their care packages for our troops.

Personally, this bothered me, but what if you are one to think, “so what?”

Well the most interesting thing in this NPR stream about the findings of the research in my opinion is that more troops will actually die from illness related to tobacco and cigarettes than injuries sustained in war!

The NPR stream goes onto to say that this statistic makes spending initiatives to reduce the rate of military cigarette and tobacco usage just as important spending on supplies such as body armor.

While, even I think that is debatable lets take a step back here for a second to compare and contrast this and then I will tell you why I am so excited.

Both NPR streams are stories about a problem of cigarette and tobacco addiction that is beyond epidemic proportion in America. The story about military smoking rates is searching for a place to spend money on a solution. The CES 2009 stream has found the solution and has quickly discarded it as a novelty or a joke.

Please understand that I am in NO WAY insinuating that there is any humor in our troops coming back from defending our freedom totally addicted to nicotine and eventually dieing from smoking related illness.

I do at least find a little humor in the fact that the mass media and even a particular outlet has reported both the problem and the solution, but has not made the connection between the two yet.

So do you want to know why this excites me?

Initially I got upset when I heard anything in the media like this against electronic cigarettes. As of this post I have decided that this type of news now excites me. Why? Because looking back I realize that often times if people didn’t take something like this seriously in the past that this is an indication that a shift is taking place.

People are scoffing and ignoring electronic cigarettes like they are a joke while many suppliers of the devices are quietly distributing their products and retailers are amassing their stocks of electronic smoking products.

Within a few short years (maybe even this year!) a tipping point will be reached and electronic cigarettes will be mainstream making every smoker aware that they have a choice.

Hopefully people other than me will look back at this post and laugh at these NPR streams harder than I am now.