FDA and the E-Cigarette

The FDA and E-Cigarettes

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the FDA’s deputy commissioner issued the following statement: “Public health experts, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society, have expressed concerns about the safety of these products and the risk that electronic cigarettes may increase nicotine addiction among young people and ultimately lead kids to try conventional cigarettes.”

The FDA stated in their July 22nd Press Release … “The FDA’s Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis analyzed the ingredients in a small sample of cartridges from two leading brands of electronic cigarettes. In one sample, the FDA’s analysis detected diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans, and in several other samples, the FDA analysis detected carcinogens, including nitrosamines. These tests indicate that these products contained detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals to which users could potentially be exposed.”

YouTube -- FDA issues e-cigarettes warning
Jul 23, 2009 … the FDA refuses to release a comparison between e-cigs and normal cigarettes.
Public health advocates have complained the products are marketed toward young people and can serve as a “gateway” to tobacco smoking. Because electronic cigarettes are not covered by federal tobacco laws, they are often easier for young people to purchase.

Electronic cigarette manufacturers state that there are “no ingredients in our cigarettes that can cause cancer.” Electronic cigarettes run on a battery. The user inhales as if using a regular cigarette. When inhaled, a battery warms the nicotine liquid, which is stored in a plastic filter. The combination of heat and the liquid creates the vapor of smoke.

Tou Tube -Watch the Rebuttal from the President of the e-cigs assc.
The electronic cigarette was invented by Hon Lik of electronics company Ruyan in Beijing, China and Ruyan sold its first electronic cigarette in May 2004. When a user inhales through the device, air flow is detected by a sensor, activating a battery, which in turn vaporizes a nicotine solution stored in the mouthpiece. It is this vapor that is then inhaled by the user. It looks and feels like a cigarette and has an LED light on the tip that simulates a cigarette and it is a product that offers the smoking consumer a choice … something that has never been available to them before and both the ongoing interest in the product and sales, have been growing steadily ever since.

Nicotine does not cause cancer. Many people believe that nicotine causes cancer but the fact is it only provides the addiction in cigarette smoking and does not cause ill health death or disease The carcinogens emitted in the smoking of tobacco products are cancer causing. According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco smoking causes 90% of the lung cancer fatalities in the U.S.

As smoking cessation expert Dr. Steven Schroeder of the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center said; “If it is a choice between smoking tobacco products or a nicotine replacement, of course keep taking the replacement. It is a heck of a lot healthier than tobacco smoking.”

While expressing concern about the intangibles of electronic cigarette smoking, both the World Health Organization and the FDA have not rules out the possibility that smokeless cigarettes may be a good alternative for tobacco smoking.

If you use e-cigs then you want to find help here:

Nicotine Anonymous provides support to people seeking freedom from nicotine addiction, including those using cessation programs and nicotine withdrawal aids. Group support is available, and recovery is based on the 12 Steps adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous. The Web site provides a searchable database of meetings by state and country. Internet and telephone meetings are also offered. Publications are available in nine languages: English, Danish, Farsi, French, German, Hungarian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

Contact Info Address:

PMB #370
419 Main Street
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Telephone: 415–750–0328
E-mail: info@nicotine-anonymous.org
Internet Web site: http://www.nicotine-anonymous.org

Sources from the above information can be found here:

http://electronic-cigarette-facts.blogspot.com/

http://www.smokelesscigarettesreviewed.com/the-fda-e-cigarettes

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32088790/ns/health-addictions/