...com/locate/drugpo Research paper Nicotine control: E-cigarettes, smoking and addiction Kirsten Bell a,∗ , Helen Keane b a b Department of Anthropology, 6303 NW Marine Drive, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada School of Sociology, Building 22, Hayden Allen Building, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Background: Over the past year or so, electronic cigarettes, more commonly known as ‘e-cigarettes’, have achieved widespread visibility and growing popularity. These products, which deliver nicotine via an inhaled mist, have caused no small amount of controversy in public health circles, and their rise has been accompanied by energetic debate about their potential harms and benefits. Methods: Interspersed with an analysis of current media coverage on e-cigarettes and the response of mainstream tobacco control and public health to these devices, this article examines the emergence of nicotine as both as an ‘addiction’ and a treatment for addiction. Results: We argue that by delivering nicotine in way that resembles the visual spectacle and bodily pleasures of smoking, but without the harms of combustible tobacco, e-cigarettes highlight the complex status of nicotine as both a poison and remedy in contemporary public health and tobacco control. Conclusion: In consequence, e-cigarettes jeopardize the carefully drawn distinctions between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ forms of nicotine. © 2012 Elsevier B.V...
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