Some argue electronic cigarettes and other smoking substitutes could save lives. Others warn those options are just as dangerous.
Moses Mbane enjoys the sweet taste of tobacco in his mouth, the smooth rush of smoke in his throat when he inhales a cigarette. Smoking relaxes the 52-year-old businessman when he’s stressed, and warms him on chilly mornings and evenings.
And he knows it’s killing him.
Mbane, who lives in Wakiso district just outside Kampala, the capital, has smoked since he was 9. After doctors diagnosed him with stage 3 lung cancer in 2019, he tried to stop. He lasted two days.
“Then I started looking for alternatives when I realized I couldn’t stop smoking,” he says, sitting in a chair outside his spacious home. “A friend of mine told me about e-cigarettes and how they have helped some people stop smoking and that they are safer than actual cigarettes. But they are not here in Uganda. I wish the government lifts the ban so I can access them.”
Nakisanze Segawa – Global Press Journal – 2021-05-04.