Could This Be The Future Of Smoking?

By: Aimee Hummel, CIS Compliance Manager
aimeehummel@cis-partners.com

I was driving into work the other day when I heard a commercial for electronic cigarettes. The thought of an electronic cigarette sounded ridiculous, but as I listened, they caught my interest. They claim that they are a safer alternative to regular cigarettes. The commercial made them seem like a no brainer for those trying to quit smoking. They do not smoke like traditional cigarettes so you can use them in public places, they do not smell bad, and they say they are not as harmful. And in this case, they were offering a free trial. It just seemed too good to be true, and it might be…

The FDA released a warning on July 22, 2009 regarding the health risks associated with electronic cigarettes. There are many concerns about the use of these new “e-Cigarettes,” mostly due to the fact that they are not FDA-regulated. Currently, FDA scientists are testing the product to determine the potential health risks.

E-Cigarettes offer smokers nicotine without the tobacco or smoke. The e-Cigarette is a small cylinder that looks like a regular, or “analog,” cigarette. It has a battery operated heating element that vaporizes the liquid in the mouthpiece cartridge which contains nicotine. Users exhale a vapor that looks like smoke but without cancer causing tar and carbon monoxide, or so they say. E-Cigarettes are offered in varying levels of nicotine just like regular cigarettes, for example, light and ultra light. The whole idea is that they simulate real smoking, unlike other quitting devices such as patches or gum. This new technology is appealing to smokers who are trying to quit because it allows them to “smoke” indoors, around friends, and even in bars and restaurants. There is no need for ash trays and there is no smell; therefore, some business owners actually support it as an unobtrusive way to help smokers quit.

Since the e-Cigarettes are not FDA-regulated, it is not known if there are any harmful effects, or if they are in fact safer than regular cigarettes. So far the FDA has taken the following measures to protect the public: it has been fighting in court, seizing shipments into the US, and conducting testing to analyze the safety of e-Cigarettes. The FDA has found that e-Cigarettes generate cancer causing chemicals and other impurities, including low levels of diethylene glycol, a toxic component of antifreeze. The FDA believes that e-Cigarettes should be regulated as a new drug product, just like other nicotine products, such as patches and inhalers, which are only available by prescription. In order for e-Cigarettes to be regulated they will need to undergo clinical trials to show that they do indeed help people quit. Apparently, the suppliers are in the process of doing this, so only time will tell. In the meantime, healthcare professionals are advised to report serious adverse events or product quality problems associated with the use of e-Cigarettes to the FDA through the MedWatch Program.

In addition to health and efficacy concerns, it is also feared that since there are no age restrictions on electronic cigarettes, and they are distributed online and in malls, that teens will start to use them. They are offered in a variety of flavors such as chocolate, strawberry, and mint, which were recently banned in regular cigarettes because they were believed to increase tobacco use in young people.

Those who support e-Cigarettes, including some doctors, believe that this is the future of smoking. They believe that e-Cigarettes could help save the 400,000 Americans who die each year from tobacco, as well as the 48,000 who die each year from second hand smoke, and the 700 people who die in fires caused by smoking.

As you can see, there are both good and bad claims regarding e-Cigarettes, and until they are regulated we will not know if they are safer or better than traditional cigarettes. If indeed they are proven to be safe, this will be a huge development against cancer and other smoking related illnesses.

Sources:
1) http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm173222.htm
2) http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm173401.htm
3) http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm172906.htm
4) http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=327689