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Many news articles discuss about how e-cigarette help smokers “get around” smoking bans in public places. They generally make it sound like smokers are somehow doing something wrong by using e-cigarettes where smoking is banned. This is not true and here’s why: The e-cigarette does not burn or produce smoke. Rather it produces vapour, the [...]

This is the second in what is likely to be a long series of blog posts written to bust myths about electronic cigarettes, smoking, and nicotine.  In part 1 we discussed e-cigarettes without nicotine and the situation in Canada.  In this post, we will try to address myths regarding what is in an e-cigarette. Myth [...]

There are a couple of misguided beliefs about e-cigarettes I would like to discuss. Although some is speculation, much of this opinion piece is based on research and law. Myth 1: It doesn’t matter if an e-cigarette contains nicotine or not, they will be regulated the same. Busted? Currently the FDA is fighting in Federal [...]

What exactly is green home renovation? No, it doesn’t involve painting your home avocado green or turning it into a terrarium. Any improvements you make on your home that result in using fewer of the earth’s limited natural resources and cuts down on waste are steps towards green renovation. To begin, there are some quick fixes which can be done in an afternoon, like fixing leaky pipes, putting in some energy efficient light bulbs and caulking your windows and doorways. These are all no-brainers. But in order to really transform your home into an energy-efficient, money-saving powerhouse you’re probably going to have to do some major remodeling.

And as we all know, major home improvement costs major bucks, and even though it all pays off in the end (think lower electric bills), you will still have to come up with some cold hard greens in order to get the ball rolling. Luckily, there are options for homeowners who are strapped for cash. (And who isn’t?)

Get a Green Mortgage. An Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) is a loan which you borrow against your home- a form of refinancing. In order to qualify for this loan you need to hire an EEM certified home surveyor to ascertain what kind of upgrades are needed to make your home enviro-friendly, and how much they will cost. You decide which changes you’re willing to make and head for the bank. In the market for a new house? Consider applying for an EEM before you sign on the dotted line.

PACE funding. Properly Accessed Clean Energy (PACE)  is similar to an EEM, only instead of borrowing against your home you pay the loan back through property taxes over a fixed amount of time- usually about 15-20 years. Though the government has always embraced the PACE program and rewarded its participants, it has not been well received by lending institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who set forth a strict pay-back policy on PACE borrowers who decide to refinance their homes or sell.

Looking to buy a fixer-upper? The HUD 203K program allows you to consolidate all moneys needed to make that home yours into one loan. That means that all borrowing needed to purchase a home, to make it inhabitable, and to set your fixed mortgage thereafter will all be reflected in one bill- on the condition that renovations meet the HUD Cost Effective Energy Conservation Standards. In other words, they won’t pay for a new entertainment room, but they will help you insulate it.

For more information about obtaining an EEM see this list of lenders.

More info on the PACE program can be found on their website.

Find out about the HUD 203K by visiting their government site

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A recent study conducted by Washington University School of Medicine of St. Louis claims that human DNA offers valuable clues as to why some people are more liable to become heavily addicted to cigarettes and develop smoking-related diseases like lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The CHRNA gene was the focus of this latest research which links genetics with nicotine dependence, lung cancer and COPD; the results were published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS), Genetics.

Scientists detected two variants of chromosome 15 among 38,000 test subjects who were smokers; they noticed that smokers who were carriers of the riskier variant of CHRNA smoked more frequently, displayed a higher concentration of cancer-causing, tobacco-specific nitrosamines and were more prone to developing lung cancer or COPD than non-carriers of CHRNA 5, CHRNA3 and CHRNB4.

The team was led by Dr. Laura Jean Bierut, who explained that nicotine absorbed through smoking binds to nicotine receptors in the body. Some carriers of chromosome 15 simply have a greater quantity of these receptors and, she concludes, are also more likely to be chain smokers and ultimately develop lung cancer or COPD. Of particular interest is CHRNA5, which operates in both the brain and the lungs. Dr. Bierut is quick to point out that their focus isn’t on why people smoke, but rather how much- why certain people are able to comfortably limit their smoking to a few cigarettes a day, while others become heavy chain smokers from their first drag of tobacco.

The Consortium for the Genetic Analysis of Smoking Phenotypes (CGASP) is part of a collaborative effort of scientists to gather data linking addiction, lung cancer and COPD with genomic differences.

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Cigarette tobacco is one of the most harmful substances known to mankind, contributing to illnesses such as heart disease, lung cancer and emphysema, to name just a few. Worse still, its impact on the environment has activists all over the world calling for some green awareness and some social change to save the Earth’s precious elements.

EARTH

Cigaretts contribute to tons of waste- 4.5 trillion non-biodegradable buttes are dumped every year, and that’s not even including the paper packaging they come in. Forests are cleared away just to make room for tobacco crops. Trees are chopped down for wood used to cure tobacco leaves. In countries where wood is not available, coal or oil is burned instead. All in all, 600 million trees are destroyed every year because of tobacco.

WATER

Speaking of tobacco farming, how do you think they keep those leaves free from bugs and disease? They are sprayed with pesticide- poisonous chemicals which seep into nearby lakes, streams, rivers and (obviously) into your lungs.

Marine life such as fish, seals and sea birds don’t appreciate the cigarette buttes which litter the shores; they often ingest the discarded buttes, either by mistaking them for food or using them to line nests for their young. The result is death by choking or poisoning.

FIRE

Flicking a lit cigarette butte out the car window isn’t just obnoxious and careless- it also constitutes a major fire hazard. Cigarette buttes can take a while to go completely out- longer than many smokers realize. How long? Just long enough to ignite a raging brushfire, particularly when the weather is hot and dry.

AIR

Second-hand smoke is a concoction of over 4,000 ingredients- 250 of which are proven to cause cancer. In the USA alone that amounts to roughly 48 million “chimneys” puffing out carcinogenic fumes every day and every year. In our effort to prevent global warming and damage to the ozone layer, much has been said about alternative energy, alternative thinking and an alternative approach to waste. Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about alternative smoking.

Green Smoke already has. Consider the electronic cigarette: there is no waste involved because there is nothing to throw away. No paper packaging, no ashes and, best of all- no buttes. Let the trees be- these babies have no tobacco. Instead, they get their nicotine in a pure liquid form, and a zero-nicotine variety is also available for those who just miss the tactile comforts of holding a cigarette and blowing out smoke.

Only it isn’t smoke. Green Smoke electronic cigarettes are smoke-free because there’s nothing to burn. Instead, they use Propylene glycol, an FDA approved food additive which produces a voluminous smoke-like vapour with every toke. What about the smell, you ask? Nada. The fog emitted from an e-cig is scentless and completely harmless. You can smoke it anywhere and feel satisfied, without fouling the air quality of everybody around you. Your family and co-workers will thank you for it. Your pets will soon be walking with more of a spring in their step. Mother Nature will definitely be pleased. And thus the vaping revolution is born.

Got teens? Make sure they watch this really cool video from Planet Green, entitled No Butts for Mother Nature.

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