Contrary to the claims of Ellen Hahn and Carol Riker, the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association is not "closely affiliated" with any e-cigarette, tobacco or pharmaceutical industry associations. The Electronic Cigarette Association, which they mentioned, is a defunct group that has not even been active in quite some time.

CASAA is a non-profit, all-volunteer association of former smokers and smokeless alternative consumers. Its mission is solely to educate the public, media and legislative bodies about the benefits of tobacco-harm reduction for smokers who cannot or will not quit nicotine or tobacco use.

Tobacco-harm reduction includes the use of all modified or reduced-risk, smoke-free products, including but not limited to electronic cigarettes and low-risk, modern smokeless tobaccos.

Bravo, CASAA!

After smoking 2+ packs a day for 30+ years and trying every single government-approved smoking cessation product out there, I finally gave up on quitting. The constant quit/relapse/quit/relapse cycle left me feeling demoralized, depressed, and defeated. I picked up an e-cigarette in January 2009 in a desperate attempt to at least try to reduce what had then become an almost 3-pack-a-day habit. I wasn't trying to "quit"--I knew after years of trying, that wasn't going to happen. I was shocked that within days, I had completely replaced smoking with the use of e-cigarettes.

More than two years later, I remain smoke-free and have absolutely no desire to smoke. My lung capacity has improved, my nagging cough and breathlessness are but a distant memory, my sense of taste and smell have returned, and I feel better than I have in years.

The problem with so many of the "public health professionals" is they equate "quitting smoking" with "quitting nicotine." The truth, however, is that nicotine use in and of itself isn't much more risky than caffeine use. The problem isn't the nicotine . . . it's the inhalation of smoke that causes so many of the health problems associated with smoking. E-cigarettes, which produce no smoke, are inherently less dangerous than traditional cigarettes.

I am grateful to CASAA for sharing accurate and truthful information about e-cigarettes and other smokeless alternatives so that smokers can make informed decisions. I wish "public health professionals" like Hahn and Riker would understand the basic concept that in order to quit smoking, one does not necessarily have to quit using nicotine.

In the interests of full disclosure, I derive absolutely no income from e-cigarettes, tobacco, or pharmaceutical industries, either directly or indirectly. I am simply a woman who successfully replaced her 30+ year smoking habit with e-cigarettes nearly 2 1/2 years ago when nothing else worked.