I'm confused regarding your column on e-cigarettes. You stated that "preliminary studies from New Zealand, Greece and the FDA itself raise concerns." I have read all
three studies. The New Zealand study stated, “Relative to lethal
tobacco smoke emissions, e-cigarette emissions appear to be several magnitudes safer. E-cigarettes are akin to a medicinal nicotine inhalator in safety, dose, and addiction potential.” The study from Greece showed neutral results.
Only the FDA's press release took a negative stance, and a press release should never be relied upon as a scientific source. The FDA published their lab test results in a "Final Report" that paints a different picture.
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ScienceResearch/UCM173250.pdf
The lab report revealed that the FDA found "approximately 1%" diethylene glycol (DEG) in the liquid of one of 18 cartridges tested. That's approximately 10 milligrams--not enough to make a mouse sick. The NOAEL is 850-1000 mg/kg/ bw/d. The FDA did not find any DEG at all in the vapor, so it is not accurate to state that e-cigarettes deliver DEG.
The FDA failed to report the quantity of "powerful carcinogens" they detected, but from the New Zealand report we learn that in the liquid of a one ml cartridge containing 1.6% nicotine, there are 8 nanograms of TSNAs--equivalent to the quantity in a Nicoderm patch. TSNAs have never been shown to cause cancer at this tiny dose. In fact, snus user exposed to daily doses of 2000 ng or more do not develop cancer. Furthermore, the FDA did not report finding any TSNAs "delivered" (i.e., in the vapor).
The FDA's lab report states that in simulated use (i.e., the vapor), "nicotine was not observed in cartridges identified as containing no nicotine." While it is true that FDA found the nicotine to vary between 26.8 and 43.2 micrograms per puff, what's your point? Cigarette smoke delivers about 100 micrograms per puff. The "four other chemicals" you mention are alkaloids found in tobacco. They are not suspected of being harmful to humans when present at the quantities FDA detected--measured in parts per billion. So I am not following why you think there is reason to worry. Cigarette smoke contains all these chemicals in much, much larger quantities plus many other harmful constituents (e.g. tar, particulates, numerous chemicals created by combustion, etc.)
There is a growing body of research showing that simulating the smoking experience helps smokers switch from inhaling deadly smoke to inhaling vapor. Bullen & Etter surveyed over 3,500 people and found that 77% of daily users of e-cigarettes have stopped smoking. Recently, Palosa, et al. reported a 22% smoking cessation rate among subjects who were not interested in quitting. That's more than twice the spontaneous quit rate seen with NRTs.
We have been told that every cigarette smoked shortens our life by 7 minutes. Wouldn’t you agree, then, that the safest course for smokers is to stop inhaling smoke as soon as possible? If I had followed your "buyer beware" advice, I would have been inhaling smoke for the past 2 years and 8 months instead of being counted among the ranks of former smokers. I suspect that I would still be wheezing all night and coughing up phlegm every morning. In fact, I might have progressed to full-blown COPD by now.
