There's little research on how safe they might be or whether they're
an effective strategy for kicking the habit, but more people are giving
e-cigarettes a try every day.
About one in five adult cigarette
smokers in the U.S. had tried electronic cigarettes in 2011, nearly
twice as many as in 2010. Sales reached nearly $500 million in 2012 and
are expected to double to $1 billion this year. As the market grows,
even tobacco companies are jumping on board.
R.J. Reynolds Vapor
Co. launched its Vuse electronic cigarette this summer in Colorado.
Altria Group Inc., parent company of the nation's largest cigarette
maker, Philip Morris USA, will soon debut its product, MarkTen, in
Indiana
Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are a smoke-free
alternative to the traditional paper cigarette. The most basic version,
one that could be mistaken for an actual cigarette, is comprised of a
liquid cartridge attached to a white cylinder containing a battery.
The battery heats the liquid into a vapor that the user inhales. Instead of smoking, it's come to be called "vaping."
The
liquid is a mixture of propylene glycol (a common chemical used in many
in food products), vegetable glycerin, flavoring and nicotine. The
composition can vary greatly by manufacturer.
Typical electronic
cigarettes range from around $10 for a standard e-cigarette that
requires replacement liquid cartridges to as much as $70 for a polished
wooden model that can be refilled.
Although prices vary,
pre-filled liquid cartridges, each lasting about as long as a pack of
cigarettes, usually cost a few dollars, and bottles of flavored e-liquid
range from a few dollars to more than $10 depending on size.
But
as the market grows, little conclusive research has been done to
determine the health effects of inhaling a nicotine-laced vapor.
The
e-liquids themselves are not required to meet any federal standards,
although the FDA is expected to exercise its regulatory authority over
the products later this year.
Approval by the FDA means that a
nicotine product, such as a patch or gum, has met standards of safety
and effectiveness, said Dr. Anne Joseph, a tobacco researcher at the
University of Minnesota. For now, e-cigarettes are in a gray area and
are not regulated as tobacco products or medical devices, even though
they share similarities with both product categories.
Joseph adds
that electronic cigarettes may not be all bad for current tobacco
users, with a couple of important caveats: Nonsmokers shouldn't start,
and e-cigarette consumers should use them only with the goal of
quitting.
There's a lot scientists still don't know. That
includes the actual chemical exposure that users receive compared with
traditional smokers' intake; the way vaporized nicotine is absorbed by
the body; and the effects of second hand vapor.
"States and local
governments are having to revisit clean indoor air laws, and that's
important for a couple reasons," Joseph said. "One, we don't know what
they are emitting into the air."
Also, she worries that use of
e-cigarettes will undermine years of antismoking campaigns that have
taken cigarettes out of public places.
Compared with traditional
cigarettes, electronic cigarettes appear to have fewer toxins, but the
impact of e-cigarettes on long-term health must be studied, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said in February.
"E-cigarette
use is growing rapidly," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said
in a statement at the time. "There is still a lot we don't know about
these products, including whether they will decrease or increase use of
traditional cigarettes."
Katie Forster, who had tried to quit smoking with nicotine gum and patches, recently bought an e-cigarette.
"I
did a lot of research" about the safety, said Forster, 26, who works
for an accounting firm. "And if I'm picking between a cigarette and an
(e-cigarette), it's the lesser of the two evils for me."
Forster,
who said she'll stick with it until she can quit smoking completely,
chose a more elaborate device with a rechargeable battery and a
refillable liquid cartridge.
The liquid is available in hundreds
of flavors with varying levels of nicotine. It's those flavors, with
appealing names such as Mocha Madness, Cotton Candy, Bourbon, Cowboy and
Cuban Supreme, that have been a point of contention for some who worry
that teenagers may be enticed. And for now, there is no federal
restriction on the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.
Cindy
Armstrong, 57, of east Charlotte, smoked for more than 30 years. She
tried to quit smoking many times, and had gotten down to about five
cigarettes per day, but couldn't give them up completely.
"I
analyzed when I liked to smoke, and I realized that it wasn't the
nicotine so much as having the cigarette in my hand," she said.
When
her boyfriend gave her an e-cigarette starter kit for Christmas, she
never went back to smoking traditional cigarettes, and now, she only
uses a disposable e-cigarette occasionally.
John Toohey, 45, of Ballantyne, quit smoking cigarettes within a few weeks of ordering an electronic cigarette.
"One
of the great things with the e-cig is that you can gauge the nicotine,"
he said. "Even when I go to zero (nicotine), I'll probably still use it
because it satisfies the hand-to-mouth craving."
Scientists and
medical professionals, meanwhile, continue to offer the following
caution: Long-term health effects of electronic cigarettes are unknown,
and it could be years before consensus is reached about their safety.
For more information on e-liquid and vaping visit www.tobaccoeliquid.co.uk
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