The electronic cigarette debate became viral about June of 2009 after the FDA publicized a report on smokefree cigarettes and their associated nicotine containing solution e juice determining them as harmful as they contained toxins considered dangerous to humans. The e cig camp fired back by hiring a renowned analysis firm to examine the FDA report and the methods utilized to reach their findings. This firm found the findings obtained by the Food and Drug Administration research was invalid because the screening methods they utilized were far from those necessary to produce these types of conclusive determinations.
So at this point, over a year later, what exactly have we discovered about the safety of smoke-free cigarettes? Well, quite simply, not much has changed. Each side of the debate still claim their assertions are correct. In the end, the electric cigarette user remains in the dark about the health and safety of the smokeless cigarette. Why don’t we take a closer look at what specifically we really do know.
In the interest of brevity, I won’t get into details regarding how the smokeless cigarette functions or how it’s used. It is basically a nicotine delivery product not unlike the physician prescribed Nicotrol inhaler. It works by heating and vaporizing a blend of glycerin and nicotine while the user inhales a puff from the device. The Food and Drug Administration’s major point of contention (since found wrong via the ancillary examination) is the nicotine formulated solution they analyzed contained contaminants hazardous to humans. The controversy regarding this aspect isn’t the issue at hand. The most significant point to note may be the fact that the FDA may have, if intentional or otherwise, made a most important finding.
In the United States, most anything we eat or drink has to comply with procedures controlled by a number of government agencies which ensure our health and safety. We often see products which were recalled due to the slightest incompliance with appropriate requirements. So now why don’t we think about e-juice (the nicotine product used in smokeless cigarettes) for a moment. At present, there are no rules or polices in place governing its production, who may manufacture it, how it’s stored or even its shelf life. Basically, you or I may go on the internet, buy e-juice products and start blending it inside our garages with zero regulation whatsoever. Of course for individual use this may seem acceptable. Having said that, I do not know of a comparable product manufactured for human inhalation which you may make for yourself let alone for mass consumption by providing it for sale on the internet. Nevertheless this is precisely what countless e juice suppliers are in reality doing.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am definitely not stating that e-liquid is hazardous. I am just saying there’s a real threat that because of insufficient regulation, a tainted ejuice might theoretically fall into the hands of an ecig user. Now you will likely think about the e juice that is produced by the e-cigarette producers themselves? Here again, we fundamentally have a similar situation. Manufactured for the most part in Taiwan, there is no regulation of any form concerning how this e-liquid is made. In the long run, it seems folks searching for ejuice need to think about the proverb caveat emptor or “Let the buyer beware”.
Want to See more about the e cigarette and the current controversy? Just visit Dr. Philip Monroe’s site for information on e-cigarette and other smoking aids.