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E-Cigarettes Come Under Scrutiny on Safety

Published: 2010-09-14    Views:99 reads

 

Brief: Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may have set in motion a grueling testing and review process to determine whether e-cigarettes really help consumers stop smoking conventional tobacco, and whether they're safe and effective.

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A pack-and-a-half-a-day smoker, Nawar Ahmed had tried the patches, the gum -- even hypnosis.

"I had to take a break and step outside to smoke," said the 31-year-old Allen Park father of two.

But earlier this year, Ahmed stumbled across electronic cigarettes -- battery-operated devices that look and feel like cigarettes -- that he said helped him put down cigarettes for good.

Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may have set in motion a grueling testing and review process to determine whether e-cigarettes really help consumers stop smoking conventional tobacco, and whether they're safe and effective.

In letters to five manufacturers and the Electronic Cigarette Association on Thursday, the FDA warned that the e-cigarettes cannot be sold or marketed for claims that have been unsubstantiated.

With a heating element, an atomizer and a cartridge that contains nicotine or other chemicals, the e-cigarettes convert the contents of the cartridge into a vapor that is inhaled by the user. They've been lauded by some for producing no secondhand smoke.

But public health leaders are scrambling to figure out how best to control them and define any health benefits or risks.

John Mannino and other Michigan retailers began stocking them as the state geared up for the May 1 ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. The ban doesn't address e-cigarettes.

Mannino, who sells e-cigarettes at the Answer Stick kiosks at Oakland Mall and Macomb Mall, said he's never marketed the items as products to help consumers stop smoking, even though they helped him, a longtime smoker, stop months ago.

Starter kits cost $59.99 -- a relatively inexpensive way for smokers to feel like they're lighting up, even when they can't under Michigan's smoking ban, Mannino said.

There may be no proof that they help smokers quit, but "customers jump to that conclusion," he said.