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Worried about the lethal consequences of conventional cigarette smoking, people have eagerly adopted the new nicotine delivery system known as electronic cigarettes.
The product marketers have hailed the product as the healthy alternative to its original counterpart, and insist that there are no illness producing chemicals in the electronic delivery system.
E-cigarettes are so new, and moving so fast, that the government does not even have legislation in place to regulate it. In fact, its lighting fast adoption has precluded almost any in depth study on the possible effects of its use.
Experts however, would like to see regulation implemented and in depth studies made of both its effects and possible carcinogenic potential. Because the product is tobacco free, the government cannot use legislation already in place to regulate it or ask for testing of its effects.
The e-cigarettes however, have a delivery system that allows the user to obtain 300 doses of nicotine through one charge of the delivery system, the equivalent of one full pack of cigarettes. Nicotine is highly addictive, some say the most addictive, substance known to mankind. However, there could still be toxic compounds in the e-cigarettes, and that must be ascertained.
The British Medical Journal has already published evidence, albeit still scant at this time, that e-cigarettes contain carcinogens and other toxic compounds, although they are in much smaller amounts than regular cigarettes.
The more worrisome aspect of the product however, might be the unknown quantity of nicotine it delivers. Nicotine is known to cause heart disease and strokes. If the amount delivered is higher or equal to that of cigarette puffing, then regulation should be passed to both warn the public and reduce the quantity of nicotine to safe levels.
One of the proposed remedies to the 'lawlessness' of e-cigarettes is the modification of the definition of a tobacco product, to include any commercial source of nicotine. That could enable to FDA to start testing the product.
The medical community is still on the fence about e-cigarettes. They see any safer alternative to cigarette smoking as a viable alternative that should not be suppressed.
However, nicotine addiction should not be promoted as safe in any way, and e-cigarettes are making even non smokers, or people who fear conventional cigarettes, take up the habit, thereby creating a larger pool of nicotine addicted people than before its introduction into the market. In addition, it allows people who would have to curtail their intake of nicotine because of smoking bans, to increase their nicotine assumption through the use of e-cigarettes.
Partial Source : LiveScience/ 8.23.13
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