I was at a restaurant the other day enjoying my lunch when I noticed people around me were smoking….inside the restaurant! Due to the recent smoking ban in Wisconsin, I was quite shocked by this! But after taking a closer look I realized these “cigarettes” appeared to be plastic and were much longer than a typical cigarette. At that point, I realized that they were using electronic cigarettes.
We’ve known for awhile now that smoking causes many health problems such as emphysema, lung cancer, bronchitis, pneumonia, and mouth cancer. Recently, a new cigarette came out that is rumored to be better for one’s health, it is known as the electronic cigarette or e-cigarette.
The question that immediately came to my mind was, “is the e-cigarette really a safe alternative to the traditional cigarette?” Unfortunately, after doing some research, I found that this question is pretty difficult to answer. Since the e-cigarette has not been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yet, there is minimal documentation available for its effects.
Some of the issues that were addressed in regards to the e-cigarette are:
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No regulations. Currently, there are no regulations on how to make e-cigarettes and they can vary greatly from company to company. Sometimes the production of an e-cigarette varies within companies themselves, so not all e-cigarettes are created equal!
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Product chemicals. The e-cigarette does contain chemicals, according to the FDA some are considered to be safer for a person’s health but there are other chemicals that are known to be toxic or carcinogenic. These chemicals include diethylene glycol, myosmine, and tobacco specific N-nitrosamines among others. The amount of nicotine reported in each puff of the e-cigarette also varied greatly from 26.8-43.2 micrograms of nicotine per 100 ml puff.
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Marketing strategies. E-cigarettes have been marketed containing flavors such as chocolate, strawberry, and mint. This has raised some concern with parents over the fact that there are no legal age restrictions on e-cigarettes. Many are afraid this will lure in younger people. However, most distributors still require a person to be of smoking age (usually 18) to purchase this product.
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Not enough proof. Since the FDA has not been able to fully evaluate the e-cigarette, we don’t really know the potential health effects it may cause. The FDA is advising people who want to try e-cigarettes to wait until extensive testing can be done and the FDA can regulate what goes in them.
The fact is that there just isn’t enough research available to know if e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. Have you tried e-cigarettes or know someone who has? What concerns about e-cigarettes do you have?
I’d love to hear your comments and am always happy to respond!
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