Posted January 4, 2012 at 05:00 | Updated January 4, 2012 at 9:32
Should we legalize the electronic cigarette?
Tristan Peloquin
Press
The Food and Drug Administration considers hazardous to health. In Canada, the sale is still illegal. But recent studies show that electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes could have effects far less harmful than we think.
In the movie The Tourist , Johnny Depp in "grid" one on board a train. Leonardo DiCaprio was seen in cycling, electronic cigarette in his mouth. And dozens of other celebrities are willing to take a picture by the paparazzi, e-cigarette in hand, in the process of "spray" the lungs without hiding.
But there is not only Hollywood that electronic cigarettes are popular. A few years after their arrival on the world market, dozens of doctors and researchers from around the world have begun to support this gadget, considered less harmful than regular cigarettes.
Created in 2004 in China, electronic cigarettes are essentially composed of a rechargeable battery, an atomizer, a light-emitting and a nicotine cartridge liquid. When the "smoker" draws from the end, the atomizer heats the liquid nicotine, which turns into steam, giving the impression to the smoker to absorb a breath of smoke.
"It's not exactly the same sensation as smoking a real cigarette, but the effect is easing," said Raphy Cohen, an inveterate smoker - a pack a day for 15 years - which fell to Electronic Cigarettes Zen ago four months. Since he smokes e-cigarettes, nicotine consumption decreased to the equivalent of one pack a week. "It's been years since I want to stop and I can not. Thanks to electronic cigarettes, is the first time that I can control my cravings, "he said.
The e-cigarettes are sold under dozens of different brands: SafeCig, GreenSmoke, ePuff, BLU-Cigs, Volcano Vaporization System.
In all cases, they come from Chinese factories and can easily be obtained on the web.
The Press has also learned that some smoking-Montreal keep them prominently on their shelves. Complete sets are sold one hundred dollars. Yet under the Food and Drugs Health Canada banned the sale and importation into Canada. Their safety has never been tested scientifically, says Health Canada. "We have not yet received a formal request for approval to market this product," said Olivia Caron, spokeswoman for the organization.
Last October, Health Canada seized merchandise Ecigarette Zen, a company that markets the brand Beauce Zen. "They seized $ 50 000 for equipment," says Vincent Deblois, business owner. His company is now seeking a court injunction that electronic cigarettes are regarded as mere nicotine inhalers, such as those found on the shelves in pharmacies, next to the stamps and nicotine gums.
The resistance of regulators is as strong in the United States, even if the sale is legal. The Food and Drug Administration, which has no jurisdiction over
tobacco products, issued a statement noting that electronic cigarettes contain "carcinogenic elements, such as propylene glycol, an ingredient found in antifreeze." In plants, the quality controls are clearly absent, as are the public health warnings on packages, insists the agency.
Research support for the fight against
tobacco
But the industry of the electronic cigarette has more and more arguments to push regulators to change their minds. Last October, Italian researchers affiliated with the Center for prevention and treatment of smoking from the University of Cantania published a study showing that 50% of cigarette smokers mail had halved their consumption of nicotine after six months of testing. The sample was only 40 people, but smokers were recruited at the base no intention of quitting successfully. "These are very interesting results, but which merit further consideration," said Dr. Gaston Ostiguy, pulmonologist at the Montreal Chest Institute and director of the Smoking Cessation Clinic at the MUHC.
"Theoretically, the electronic cigarette can not be worse than the conventional cigarette, which contains 400 harmful products. I think people who use the electronic cigarette and come to me to stop smoking, I do not stop them from continuing to use it instead. But they must also have access to help to finalize, "says Dr. Ostiguy.
The Quebec Coalition for
tobacco Control has also revised its positions recently. "We are very open to any tool that could help people quit smoking. In 2007, we were bothered by the arrival of this product. Since then, our position has changed, "said the spokesman Flory Doucas.
But the Coalition points out that scientific knowledge on the subject remain preliminary. "And the problem is that in this industry, history shows us that there are many companies very opportunistic."
