E-CIGARETTES – CIGARETTES TOO
Baku, September 17 (AZERTAC). According to the makers of electronic cigarettes, they are new devices that allow users to inhale nicotine but not the toxins of tobacco cigarettes. Advocates hail e-cigarettes as a possible quit-smoking aid.
But e-cigarettes have been criticized by the United States Food and Drug Administration as potentially toxic since they haven`t been tested in FDA-recognized scientific trials. Also of concern: there are no age restrictions on sales of these new nicotine-containing products.
According to a report released today by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children`s Hospital National Poll on Children`s Health, public concern about e-cigarettes is already quite high. In fact:
"It is clear from this poll that U.S. adults are not waiting for scientific evidence of adverse health effects of e-cigarettes before asking that they be regulated and restricted," says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., director of the poll and associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine in the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the U-M Medical School. "Rather, they support restrictions on e-cigarettes based on potential risks ? not just immediate health effects, but also the possibility that e-cigarettes may lead youth toward later use of tobacco cigarettes."
e-Cigarettes are battery-operated devices that look like cigarettes but do not burn tobacco. Instead, e-cigarettes have replaceable cartridges of liquid containing nicotine, which is inhaled as a vapor along with flavors like tobacco and chocolate. e-Cigarettes are available in stores, mall kiosks and over the Internet.
This latest information from the poll adds to the mounting public dialogue about e-cigarettes, which has so far consisted of claims and counter-claims by opponents and proponents but minimal scientific data, Davis says.
Last week, the FDA sent letters to five manufacturers of e-cigarettes, warning them of violations of federal laws regarding new drugs. The FDA stated that the companies claim that e-cigarettes can help tobacco smokers quit but offer no data recognized by scientific experts.
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