E-cigarette ban is a victory for public health 3/25/2015

The writer is a resident of Kensington and a senior director at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

http://www.gazette.net/article/20150325/OPINION/150329562/1014/e-cigarette-ban-is-a-victory-for-public-health&template=gazette

E-cigarette companies claim their products are intended for adults, but there is abundant evidence that their marketing heavily targets kids. Advertisements for e-cigarettes have proliferated on TV shows watched by teens, and kid-friendly flavors such as Cherry Crush, Creamy Milk Chocolate and Captain Crunch are readily available online.

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E-cigarettes have not been shown to be “safe” — in fact, they expose users to formaldehyde and other potentially hazardous chemicals. Public-health experts agree that more research is needed to understand the effects of e-cigarettes on their users and the nonusers around them.

Yet, a federally funded study released last year revealed that the popularity of e-cigarettes among teens is now higher than that of traditional cigarettes. This finding suggests what may be the biggest danger posed by e-cigarettes — that they are making smoking “cool” again among kids.

This much is clear: There is no reason for kids to use e-cigarettes. The Montgomery County bill, which was introduced by Councilwoman Nancy Floreen and approved unanimously, will discourage e-cigarette use and help to protect the health of our kids.

Steven Weiss, Kensington

E-cigs may be cleaner, but not necessarily safer says Mid-Atlanic ALA, timeleader.com (PA) 19 Feb 2014

http://timesleader.com/news/extras/1201037/E-cigs-may-be-cleaner-but-not-necessarily-safer

If it’s Deborah Brown, president and CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, the story behind electronic cigarettes isn’t all that rosy.

“No brand has been submitted for evaluation of their safety,” Brown said. “In some initial lab tests in 2009, the (Food and Drug Administration) did find some detectable levels of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals, including an ingredient used in anti-freeze

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The association claims the e-cigarette industry is using marketing tactics of the tobacco industry by using celebrity spokespeople to glamorize its products, making unproven health claims, encouraging smokers to switch instead of quit, and creating candy- and fruit-flavored products to attract youth.

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“We are faced with a deep-pocketed, ever-evolving tobacco industry that’s determined to maintain its market share at the expense of our kids and current smokers,” Brown continued.

ACS opposes bill aimed at stopping children from using electronic cigarettes, Columbus Dispatch 14 Nov 2013

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/11/14/e-cigarette-bill-passes-house-despite-criticism.html

With the sales of electronic cigarettes reaching an estimated $1.7 billion in 2013, Rep. Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard, said her bill is focused on banning sales of the nicotine-infused products to people younger than 18. She said a national study recently found that the number of middle- and high-school students who have tried e-cigarettes doubled in one year.

“This new product is opening up an entirely new generation that can be addicted to nicotine,” Kunze said. “There is also an alarming trend of e-cigarettes being used as the vehicle for other drugs.”

When the user inhales, an e-cigarette heats up nicotine-infused liquid inside, releasing a vapor that is inhaled and exhaled. They come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate, cotton candy and Dr Pepper.

Rep. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said keeping e-cigarettes away from children is important, but the bill defines the products under a new category that protects them from state cigarette taxes and laws such as the indoor smoking ban.

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Kunze said the bill does not prevent future tax changes and she doesn’t understand why groups including the American Cancer Society and heart and lung associations are opposing it when they backed a similar measure last year in Indiana.

The Cancer Society has said that it did not become aware until recently that the bills were part of a nationwide push by the tobacco industry to avoid having the products taxed like regular cigarettes.

The Cancer Society says higher taxes are more effective at keeping tobacco products away from teenagers than laws restricting sales to youths.

E-cigarettes “contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and derived from tobacco,” said Jeff Stephens of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network of Ohio. “There is no reason to give these products special treatment in the (law).”

ALA’s Wimmer thinks ecigs are bad if they are different from cigarettes, or if they are similar, CNN 6 Jan 14

Another from the @SteveVape archives

http://stevevape.com/cnn-gives-ton-digital-ink-ala-spread-utter-misinformation/ outsources to http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/06/opinion/wimmer-ecigarette-danger/

by Harold P. Wimmer is the president and CEO of the American Lung Association.

For the makers of electronic cigarettes, today we are living in the Wild West — a lawless frontier where they can say or do whatever they want, no matter what the consequences. They are free to make unsubstantiated therapeutic claims and include myriad chemicals and additives in e-cigarettes.

Big Tobacco desperately needs new nicotine addicts and is up to its old tricks to make sure it gets them. E-cigarettes are being aggressively marketed to children with flavors like Bazooka Bubble Gum, Cap’n Crunch and Cotton Candy. Joe Camel was killed in the 1990s, but cartoon characters are back promoting e-cigarettes.

Many e-cigarettes look like Marlboro or Camel cigarettes. Like their old-Hollywood counterparts, glamorous and attractive celebrities are appearing on TV promoting specific e-cigarette brands. Free samples are even being handed out on street corners.

The above is the rather unique part of this, but the rest is a nearly fully catalog of ALA anti-THR claims.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the promotion of e-cigarettes is reaching our children with alarming success. In just one year, e-cigarette use doubled among high school and middle school students, and 1 in 10 high school students have used an e-cigarette. Altogether, 1.78 million middle and high school students nationwide use e-cigarettes.

The three largest cigarette companies are all selling e-cigarettes. Because tobacco use kills more than 400,000 people each year and thousands more successfully quit, the industry needs to attract and addict thousands of children each day, as well as keep adults dependent to maintain its huge profits.

Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, whether delivered in a conventional cigarette or their electronic counterparts. The potential harm from exposure to secondhand emissions from e-cigarettes is unknown. Two initial studies have found formaldehyde, benzene and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (a well-known carcinogen) coming from those secondhand emissions. We commend New York City recently for banning the use of e-cigarettes indoors.

No e-cigarette has been approved by the FDA as a safe and effective product to help people quit smoking. Yet many companies are making claims that e-cigarettes help smokers quit. When smokers are ready to quit, they should call 1-800-QUIT NOW or talk with their doctors about using one of the seven FDA-approved medications proven to be safe and effective in helping smokers quit.

According to one study, there are 250 different e-cigarette brands for sale in the U.S. today. With so many brands, there is likely to be wide variation in the chemicals — intended and unintended — that each contain.

In 2009, lab tests conducted by the FDA found detectable levels of toxic cancer-causing chemicals — including an ingredient used in anti-freeze — in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various e-cigarette cartridges.

There is no safe form of tobacco. Right now, the public health and medical community or consumers have no way of knowing what chemicals are contained in an e-cigarette or what the short and long term health implications might be.

Commonsense regulation of e-cigarettes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urgently needed. In the absence of meaningful oversight, the tobacco industry has free rein to promote their products as “safe” without any proof.

A proposal to regulate e-cigarettes and other tobacco products has been under review at the White House Office of Management and Budget since October 1, 2013. The Obama administration must move forward with these rules to protect the health of everyone, especially our children.