Cigarettes Without Smoke, or Regulation

[groovedaddy]

FALL RIVER, Mass. — During 34 years of smoking, Carolyn Smeaton has tried countless ways to reduce her three-pack-a-day habit, including a nicotine patch, nicotine gum and a prescription drug. But stop-smoking aids always failed her.

Then, having watched a TV infomercial at her home here, Ms. Smeaton tried an electronic cigarette, which claimed to be a less dangerous way to feed her addiction. The battery-powered device she bought online delivered an odorless dose of nicotine and flavoring without cigarette tar or additives, and produced a vapor mist nearly identical in appearance to tobacco smoke.

“I feel like this could save my life,” said Ms. Smeaton, 47, who has cut her tobacco smoking to a pack and a half daily, supplemented by her e-cigarette.

That electronic cigarettes are unapproved by the government and virtually unstudied has not deterred thousands of smokers from flocking to mall kiosks and the Internet to buy them. And because they produce no smoke, they can be used in workplaces, restaurants and airports. One distributor is aptly named Smoking Everywhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/us/02cigarette.html?th&emc=th

[liberalmuse]

1. A co-worker uses these.

They're pretty cool and blow out 'steam'.

[onehandle]

2. I love how they market these things in malls. (Joe Camel in a silk shirt)

They hire young attractive hipsters. Dress them in very contemporary styles. And coach them to overact using the inhalers in a exaggerated cool fashion.

They hawk down young people and tell them, "Now you can smoke Everywhere."

_______________________


WHAT FLUIDS ARE CONTAINED IN THESE E-CIGARETTES?

The fluid used in many e-cigarettes, commonly called “Ejuice” contain the following ingredients:

Propylene Glycol, which can cause gastrointestinal irritation.
Nicotine, the basic substance found in many cigarettes.
Tobacco essence, which does nothing to keep people from continuing their smoking habit.
Tetramethylpyrazine, which has been shown in lab tests to cause brain damage from prolonged exposure.
There are many other ingredients, some of which could be used as accelerants if exposed properly should one of these e-cigarettes break whilst charging. That plus using a rechargeable battery for a method of smoking cessation is just not a good way to get people to quit smoking.

SO SHOULD WE AVOID E-CIGARETTES?

Definitely!

Many manufacturers claim that e-cigarettes are similar in design to the widely available Nicotrol Inhaler. While this may be true, doctors prescribe Nicotrol Inhalers to patients who wish to quit smoking as a medically supported alternative.

Just take a look at the following points. You may now want to think twice before using an e-cigarette.

E-cigarettes haven’t been approved by the FDA for use as a tobacco / nicotine substitute.
E-cigarette manufacturers and promoters don’t offer any documented proof in closed testing by the FDA that they work as a viable form of tobacco cessation.
There’s no breakdown of exactly how the devices are supposed to help people quit smoking.
Another problem with e-cigarettes is that their use may actually violate many states’ non-smoking laws.

Whilst manufacturers of e-cigarettes claim that they release a harmless, non-toxic odor, the mere fact that they even look like cigarettes and emit toxic substances like a cigarette should be enough of a deterrent for potential consumers.


http://www.quityesterday.com/blog/2009/03/the-truth-about-electronic-cigarettes/

[DJ13]

3. I expect the FDA will rule these as dangerous

to the taxes being lost after the recent .60c per pack increase.......which is the real allure of these devices.

They're far cheaper than real cigs.

[tridim]

4. I think these are a pretty good idea, but I tend to ignore products..

That use the "printer cartridge" model at 1000% markup.

[MADem]

5. Well, they should tax the hell out of it!

Seriously, they need to test 'em and figure out where they belong--are they a "drug" or do they fit in the "cigarette" category? I've been reading about this damned debate for months. They should just get off their asses and do it!

Propylene glycol is used in antifreeze, and also to create artificial smoke or fog in theatrical productions. The F.D.A. has classified it as an additive that is “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. But when asked whether inhaling it was safe, Dr. Richard D. Hurt, director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic, said, “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure anyone knows for sure.”

Of the e-cigarettes themselves, Dr. Hurt added: “We basically don’t know anything about them. They’ve never been tested for safety or efficacy to help people stop smoking.”

Public health officials also worry that the devices’ fruit flavors, novelty and ease of access may entice children.

“It looks like a cigarette and is marketed as a cigarette,” said Jonathan P. Winickoff, an associate professor at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium. “There’s nothing that prevents youth from getting addicted to nicotine.”

Sales and use of electronic cigarettes are already illegal on safety grounds in Australia and Hong Kong, and some other countries regulate them as medicinal devices or forbid their advertising. So far the United States has focused only on stopping them at the border, although Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, has asked the drug agency to take them off the market until they can be tested.

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. The same asshats that mfg cigs are the bastards bringing these cessation aids to market

Mass murderers. Send them to gitmo.